By John R. Ingrisano

How to survive and thrive in a tough economy:  It’s not the big things; it’s not the little things.  It’s both the big things AND the little things that will make it a slam dunk.

Example:  Recently, a friend needed a new alternator for her car.  I shopped it around.  One place charged me $37 to do a diagnostic (since I wasn’t sure it was the alternator going in) and then said they could replace it for $460. 

Business # 2 said they could look at it, no diagnostic charge, and if it needed a new alternator, the cost would be $370.

Business # 3 said they’d look at it, no charge and, if the work was necessary, the cost would be around $350. 

Business # 3 got the business based on the cost and because we knew them from previous work.  That was the big thing.

Now for the little thing.  A piece of molding on the driver side door, by the window, had been loose for some time.  About a week after the alternator work was done, we noticed that the molding had been fixed – at no charge and without even a word about it from the shop. 

Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  Talk about a neat, little five-cent extra that warmed our hearts and cemented our loyalty.  That was a little thing that made a big difference.  So, guess where we’ll be going for ALL our future repair work? 

The moral to the story:  Work hard, make money, have fun, and remember that it is both the big things and the little things that make you successful.

P.S.  Giving credit where credit is due, if you live in the Kewaunee County or Door County area of Wisconsin, the name of the shop is Sahs Auto, on County S between Algoma and Sturgeon Bay.  Check ‘em out.  

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