The humor (all be it sophomoric) comes from how Sloan instructs users to use the new toilet technology.  The sign (I believe unintentionally) uses American bathroom jargon to communicate how to appropriately flush the toilet to conserve the maximum amount of water.  Simply put, the sign instructs you to lift up for #1 (liquid waste), and push down for #2 (solid waste).  Enough said.

So then I got to thinking.  I bet the person who created this sign (most likely a mechanical engineer) probably inadvertently described the instructions using “#1” and “#2” to explain the various processes without thinking of the secondary meaning—the American bathroom jargon for #1 equaling urine and #2 equaling stuff that comes out from around the corner.  However maybe I’m not giving Sloan’s engineers enough credit—perhaps they did this to have a little fun.  After all, the #1 and #2 explanation really was redundant to the description in parenthesis (See photo).

I could just see the documented formal technical design specifications reading something like, “To operate the Sloan handle flushing technology, you lift the handle to initiate flushing process #1, which the toilet will flush 25% less water to dispose of liquid human disposal.  However when the user pushes the handle down, flushing process #2 will occur, in which the toilet will have a stronger stream of water to remove more solid waste, and use the standard supply of water.”

Thanks for giving me a chuckle Sloan, even if it was unintended.

Out of kindness, I called the MIDAS guy back and told him about the reviews.  You would be surprised how many business owners never look at what customers are saying about them online!  I nicely informed him that I was no longer interested in dropping by with my car for the repair work.  The MIDAS guy, who was also the newly appointed manager of this store location, told  me that he has only been there for 3 months and he is working hard to fix the service quality and address the reviews (I guess he read them).  He also said that he cannot blame me for being cautious.  What shocked me is what he said next.  He said “That it was hard to stop anyone from writing bad material and that he alone cannot please everyone all the time.”  Though I believe that you cannot please everyone all the time, should you at least make it your mission to try?  This is an easy cop out on MIDAS guy’s behalf.  Secondly, he also forgot that many people will also write about their good experiences too.  In fact, if you check the very same website where the bad reviews were posted, you will also find a broad range of positive reviews.

So MIDAS guy’s core issue is solving the following question:  How do you turn such a public forum of bad reviews around?  Mike’s argument was that his “corporate store ratings” have improved, however the problem with this is the public facing reviews are the ones that are deterring new business.  You need to get the “corporate store ratings” somewhere where people will see them.  The “corporate store ratings” don’t mean anything to new customers seeking out business online.  Plus keep in mind, even the smallest reputation damage for an auto repair business is made exponentially greater due to the preexisting stigma that auto repair shops come with.

I want MIDAS guy to turn things around.  Let me give you a few ideas that will help the MIDAS guy (or anyone experiencing similar issues).  Once someone has completed service at your store, give them a $0.02 note card that asks them to share their experience online (at Yelp!, Google Reviews, Angie’s List, any of them).  In fact, since you have a big hole to dig out of, I would even consider giving your customers an incentive to do so.  Offer them something like a free oil change!  Here is the hook.  In order to redeem the free oil change, upon return, you must provide MIDAS guy with your Yelp! or Google or other user name upon requesting the service, therefore MIDAS guy can verify their actual review submission.  MIDAS guy, in order to keep from people gaming the system, you’ll most likely need to keep a database of reviews to make sure people aren’t double redeeming on the same profile name.

The net impact should be good for your business.  Those that redeem the 2nd service are most likely the people who were happy about the 1st service.  Those that were unhappy are likely to not come back and redeem the free offer. By promoting “good reviews” the happy people will be greater motivated to write a positive review, which will in turn dilute all of the bad ratings that are currently in place.  Once you have the ship right again, you can ween off the freebies as you have fixed your ailing customer service problem.

Consider the several free oil changes you offer the cost that you have to incur for removing the store’s stigma.  Remember, the world has changed, and people can talk broadly about their experiences.  The positive (and occasionally the exceptional) experiences need to rise to the top.  Sometimes to get the ball rolling, you have the grease the wheels.

In an average year, this lay impacts about 5,500 taxpayers.  The article talks about the ethical dilemma between choosing to cut off grandma’s life support (or a treatment that may keep her around for another few days to 12 months) or paying Uncle Sam 50% of the fair market value of grandma’s home.

Morbidly so, we are about to find out what is the value of those few extra days & months of life.  One could guess that the average amount of deaths (of those qualified) will go up, meaning that some family members may persuade grandma to opt for the quick departure–that is only if the price is right.  How much are those few extra precious days or months worth?  As the clock more closely approaches midnight on December 31st, 2010, we’ll soon find out.

I made the comment to David that online marketing or an online presence is only as good as the people who hear about it,  Furthermore, it is only as good as the value it gives to the marketplace (that inevitably makes people want to tell everyone else about it).  Many times I have noticed that  offline marketing (word of mouth primarily) is what propels online activity.  To get the word of mouth going–you have to find the influential people (Malcolm Gladwell refers to these individuals as either Connectors or Mavens), and then get the excited about your product and about telling everyone about it.  There are a number of “trend watching” and “cutting edge technology” sites out there–and guess what–this is where these “influential” early adopters are hanging out.  Here is a list of a few that I find valuable for finding the newest (and coolest ideas):

http://www.springwise.com
http://www.trendwatching.com
http://www.coolbusinessideas.com

So for all of you newly minted marketing people keep in mind that marketing is not graphic design, media buying or any activity done alone in an office.  The best marketing is done by meeting people (customers),  reading and learning eclectic things (and finding patterns of similarity), observing what it is that pushes humans buttons (both in a good way and a bad way), and find creative ways to solve the world’s problems (using that eclectic background).  Then the fun part is finding creative ways to motivate people to tell everyone they know about what it is you’ve just done–which many times can be solved through making a truly amazing product or idea.

Evidence of this can be found in the information technology world, where you witness developer after developer crunching out some great software, usually because it solves their own needs–or needs of a close friend or family–not because someone is making them do it.  Sure enough, is that making money off the idea is usually their  2ndary motivation–which explains many of these new software companies challenge with making a profit.

Amazing things can be done if you, or your team, is intrinsically motivated.  The challenge is creating an environment that is driven by these intrinsic rewards.  How do you do this?  Well, for starters, find out who your most generally motivated people are.  Then find something that they care about.  Then let them run loose and let them find a way to make something amazing–without strings attached or a poking stick.  Watch what happens–they end up making something that people LOVE!  Why…because they did it for the sake of fulfilling their own intrinsic motivations, and found passion in doing it for the greater good.

This video does a good job at explaining what I’m talking about:

Today’s question (please comment with your response)–What are some examples of ways you can intrinsically motivate those around you in business, life or other?

With the advent of social media technologies such as LinkedIn, it is quite possible that some of the hidden powers of networks can quickly become diluted, as anyone and almost everyone can reach everyone and anyone I know–and can do so by associating themselves to me without letting me assess the situation or even open the door.

This being said, I see incredible value in devices such as LinkedIn.  But one thing I learned about networking over the past 2.5 years, is that networks are the strongest  not by the technology that you use to organize and acquire them, but by the personal and memorable relationship that you build with those individuals.  This is not easy.  You have to be extremely unique to leave such a lasting impression, and you have to be extremely organized in keeping up with your network–Oh…and extremely credible in following up on your promises.

So now I ask the community, what tips & tricks or advice do you use of follow to be either more organized, more unique, or more credible?

Whoever is in charge of choosing the ever-so-powerful default option should be closely watched, as this individual has the power to skew each choosers individuals lives by making the default option cater to their individual benefit.   What default options do you give others in your life?