Rules of Business: Stop Sucking (Part 1)

I’m more than a little annoyed at the accumulation of bad experiences I’ve had lately. So here are the basic rules of business I think, no matter what field you’re in, you should apply. Following these rules doesn’t just make good business sense, it makes you a good person.

Rule #1: Stop Sucking

It’s kinda obvious folks. If you say you are going to do something, do that something well. People pay for a Butterfinger, they know what they’ll get. It’s consistent, and it’s always good. If you asked me for a Butterfinger and I gave you a piece of celery, you’d be pretty mad, right? I mean, you’d be mad because I probably just called you fat, but you’d also be mad because you didn’t get what you paid for. Well, I recently went to get a haircut. They had a book of hairstyles, and I pointed at one and said “I want that. Just copy that picture.” Simple enough, I’d say.

Here’s what I asked for.

And here’s what my hair looks like now.

I think she got confused, and thought I asked to be a Jersey Shore extra. I kept getting stabbed in the head with the trimmer, but at least I got a haircut right? No. Someone lopped off my hair, it was, however, not a haircut. Edward Scissorhands did a better job. After this horrendous, lopsided hack job, she slathered my head and neck in some very thick, sticky, disgusting hair product. She called it “styling gel”, but it felt more like I was accepting an award on Nickelodeon. She then wanted to sell me a bottle of shampoo that was 42% off, and it was only 39.99! What a deal… it smelled like it would power my car if I put it in the tank, so I think Chevron is a better deal here.

Here’s my point; if you want to be a successful business, or even if you just want people to like you, whatever you do, do it well. I would feel terrible charging someone for a portrait session, and then instead of giving them time, care, attention, and making the picture they want or asked for, I just clicked the camera once and they got what they got (hmm…sounds familiar). I technically took a picture, but it’s not what you paid me for. This means you need to learn your craft. You need to practice, and constantly be improving. If you are trying to sell something, stop sucking and sell a good product or service. A good friend of mine got her family pictures taken and printed at (for the sake of anonymity, let’s say it was Walmart, because it totally was) and when she got her prints, they were very decent quality prints of her and all her kids… from the neck down. All of them. That’s right. She paid Walmart for her family pictures, and all she got was a reminder of the sweaters they owned that year.

So whether you are a business, an employee somewhere, or just being someone’s friend, when someone asks you to do something (like give them a haircut) I encourage you to do whatever you do wholeheartedly the best you can, and just do it well. Please, help make the world suck a little less.

To not end on a sad note, here’s an example of something awesome. It also happens to be two pictures I made this week.

Do you have any thoughts or memorable customer service experiences? Feel free to share in the comments.

Enjoyed Part 1? Here’s the rest of the series.
Part 2: Treat People Like People
Part 3: Be Yourself
Got any ideas? Post them in comments and I can always add more parts.