Winning Words 3/15/12
“The Principles of Honest Business: Truthful, Dependable, Trustworthy, Honest, Fair, Legal.” (Awake magazine) In my hometown there was a store with the slogan, “Your purchase free if we ever forget to thank you.” Penney’s was originally called, “The Golden Rule Store.” You could trust them. They were fair. How do you shop these days? Is it price, service, loyalty, fairness, niceness? ;-) Jack

FROM SHARIN' SHARON: Local, trying to keep some of the money in the community right around me. I liked Penney's. They used to sell fabric. Same with Montgomery Ward and Sears. Now going to buy fabric takes a whole big trip for me to the nearest fabric store out of town. More and more it's getting to be the catalogs and letting the UPS drivers deliver. They provide good service.////FROM JACK: Is your closest Minnesota Fabrics store in Minneapolis? BTW, when I was a kid, we used to call MW, Monkey Wards. And, yes, UPS provides good service with their brown trucks and brown uniformed drivers.

FROM RG IN ARIZONA: I suppose it is no coincidence that what is righteous seems to apply to any venture we, as mankind, might engage. Finance, politics, education, industry, etc., do not provide a pass from what is right. How many times have we heard (or said), "well, that's politics" -- as though one does not expect righteousness to apply to such a thing? ////FROM JACK: It's unfortunate, but true, that discussing politics and religion, is something to be avoided, because most people can't do it objectively.

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Price.////FROM JACK: You'd probably do well as a contestant on, The Price Is Right. Have you ever thought of tying to get on the show?

FROM GOOD DEBT JON: Initially price. But service and honesty after a time. I buy a lot from Amazon.com because of prompt service along with their good prices.////FROM JACK: One of the problems for not buying local, is that the locals go out of business without local support. "You never miss the water til the well runs dry." Somebody's probably written a song about that.

FROM MY ATTORNEY VACATIONING IN FLORIDA: More and more retailers are asking their cashiers to engage in very friendly conversations as the checkout counters. Just yesterday, at Publix, the cashier was so nice and engaging. Hope this is a trend of things to come.////FROM JACK: Sing this song to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic...
It isn't any trouble
Just to S-M-I-L-E
It isn't any trouble
Just to S-M-I-L-E
So smile when you're in trouble,
It will vanish like a bubble
If you'll only take the trouble
Just to S-M-I-L-E

FROM BM IN MICHIGAN: Each of the five qualities is important (& there are others, of course), but at least one of the other four needs to go with “price”. Every Starbucks seems to embody one or more of the other four, while quality helps to offset the impact of the price. The Starbucks business model has always intrigued me.////FROM JACK: You get what you pay for, and if you're able and satisfied to pay a little more, then do it. I see you coming out of Starbucks with your "TALL," so you must be satisfied and able.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY: Usually price is the reason. However, I have my very favorite stores where I shop...Meijer's, JoAnn's, Michael's, Gordon Foods, and Kohl's. They are all within a mile or two of our house and each store perfect for our needs. They are also truthful, nice people, trustworthy, honest and fair and CLEAN.////FROM JACK: Yes, convenience is a big attraction, but sometimes I pass by the closest to get to the one I "like."

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER: Convenience.////FROM JACK: I suppose you use the ATM and the self-checkout line, too.

FROM LH IN MICHIGAN: I like this, especially coming on the heels of a Greg Smith, a director of Goldman, Sachs' resignation, because of his disgust with the greed-based decisions based on the company's profit-making rather than in the best interest of the clients. (Twelve years ago my son - at a much, much lower level : ) - left Goldman, Sachs for the same reason: "I can't work for people who would take advantage of my grandparents' generation's hard-earned savings." I was proud of him. And I'm proud of this Smith fellow, too. P.S. I liked learning what JC Penney's was called. I had never heard that.////FROM JACK: A word that isn't heard much anymore is: scruples. I'm glad that your son had someone teach him to have scruples. BTW, the Penny's used to have a golden ruler across the front of each store, with J.C.Penny painted on it.