Good Medicine

Right people, right purpose, right place - that usually makes for good medicine and that's just what I had this past week in the Flathead Valley of Montana. I was there to meet with our new map publishers and to reacquaint myself with the communities of Whitefish, Kalispell and Bigfork.

It's a sleepy time of year there right now. The ski hill, Whitefish Mountain Resort (formally Big Mountain) had just closed for the season and the broad valley carried an early spring chill. But there was nothing chilly about my accommodations at the impeccably run Good Medicine Lodge. The innkeepers, Betsy and Woody Cox, treated me like I was visiting family and I'm not sure I've ever been more comfortable in an Inn. We took over the living room couch in their cedar log lodge for a daylong business meeting. Woody noticed we were going long and brought us water, then wine, then wine and cheese. All fabulous.

We got to chatting about hospitality and service, the economy and what makes a good business. Betsy and Woody had it down cold. They've owned the Inn for eight years yet run it with the enthusiasm of newlyweds. I think the best part is that as a guest I never felt like they were providing service because they knew it was expected of them. Instead, it felt genuine, like they really cared because they do. And boy, what a difference that makes to an experience.

There are a few merchants in Whitefish who could learn from their example. I took a couple of hours to stroll through the heart of town. The main drag, Central, was completely torn up and you had to walk a block through construction to get to some of the shops. There are some neat stores there; worth finding, and since I'd made the effort you'd think that they'd be over-joyed to see me and that service would be over the top. Not so. In one beautiful very high-end store the clerk barely looked up from de-fuzzing her clothes. She did not engage with me the entire time I was there - even though I was the only person in the store. It's not like I looked schlocky - wearing a beautiful and high-end looking coat I purchased in Santa Fe last summer. Couldn't get out of that store fast enough. They certainly were not interested in my business. I went up and down the street. A couple of the staff were pleasant, but not a single person in any store seriously tried to engage me or make a sale. And as anyone whose ever hung out with me when I'm on the road will attest, I'm a pretty easy sell. Being in sales and sales training, myself, I just want to help them make the sale. Then I stop myself.

So, to all you small business owners out there, all the great advertising in the world will only bring people in your doors. You're wasting your money if your staff does not know what to do with them once they are there. Training your staff on how to engage customers and sell would be good for your business. Paying them on commission and not by the hour might be good medicine too.