38 Random Facts About Me

by Julian Ignatowski, Sr.

Okay.  So you’re probably saying to yourself, “Why the heck 38?” “Why not 10, 21 or 50?!”  To be short and to the point…I’m going to be 38 this summer, so I figured I’d use that number…I think it’s rather kind of you to show up and check out my weblog, so I might as well let you in on a few random facts about me.  This way you can understand the background of where I’m coming from on my posts.

1.)    I was born in the summer of 1973, raised on my parents’ vegetable farm in southern Connecticut, and lived there until I turned 18.

2.)    I’m 6’4” but horrible at the sport of basketball.  The high school coach wouldn’t leave me alone until the threat of a restraining order my junior year caused him to back down.  I have two disorders that have impacted my inability to perform well at this sport: “The dude has two left feet” and “White men can’t jump!”.

3.)    My wife and I have the privilege of parenting four of THE BEST KIDS on the planet.  Really, I say that with no bias or prejudice whatsoever.  If you ever meet them, you’ll agree! <snark>  We have the honor of homeschooling them.

4.)    I married my best friend my senior year of high school…It was rather controversial.  We both knew what we wanted and went for it!  This year we will celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary and I can honestly say I love her more today, than I did when I married her.

5.)    I LOVE MAYONAISSE!!!  Mayo is God’s gift to earthlings….I don’t care what sandwich I am eating, it must always include “extra mayo”.  I’ve been guilty of eating it like yogurt.  I had to kick that habit after my cholesterol got in the way.

6.)    I don’t enjoy topics of discussion that involve biology.  Words such as “veins” “arterial” and “blood clots” are my kryptonite.  I used to make my lab partner, Suzanne do all the dissections in biology class.

7.)    I love to cook.  My wife loves it when I cook for her.  It’s fun to open up the cupboards and experiment.  If I had gone to vocational school, I was going to become a chef and own my own restaurant.

8.)    I’m a pretty excellent driver.  Love speed…and can drive better in reverse than I can forward.  I once chased after a car of friends for nearly a mile on a winding road in reverse and was able to keep up.

9.)    At the age of 10, my daughter was diagnosed with a rare pediatric brain tumor.  It was the week before Christmas.  After much prayer, five months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation therapy she is totally cancer- and tumor-free!  She has lifelong health concerns that will need medical attention, but she has beaten this awful disease.  Her strength has truly inspired me, and so many others around the globe.

10.)        I’m slightly addicted to most social media outlets, especially Facebook and Twitter.  Also, there’s this awesome blog called “Customer Service, R.I.P.?!” too.  Enough said…

11.)       I will be a millionaire before I’m 49!  I will I tell you! I will!

12.)       I never forget a face…names are another monster. But faces, I will not forget.  Seriously, I could be a face recognition system for the Department of Homeland Security.

13.)       I pity bigots.  I also get pretty disgusted with those among us who are indifferent, uncivil, apathetic and ignorant.  These people suck the life out of those around them.  Their toxicity is cancerous.

14.)       I would love to adopt at least four children.  Notice the key phrase “at least”.  I want to be a father to the fatherless.

15.)       I am super competitive.  Honestly, I won’t want to play a game unless I have a pretty good feeling that I’ll win.  I know we’re all taught that it doesn’t matter if we win, but how we play the game…well, to me that phrase was put into the atmosphere by someone who has never won before.  I play to win. Doesn’t matter if it’s a sport or a card game, I want to win. Friends have stopped coming over to play boardgames with my wife and I because we destroyed them!

16.)       I auditioned with a close friend of mine for the realty show, “The Amazing Race.”  A lesbian couple was chosen in our place.  Could have been so beautiful!

17.)       I was a strict vegetarian for 18 years, until we moved down south. It’s hard to live in the heartland of America where BBQ is a way of life!

18.)       My father died when I was only 7.  I feel for those who grow up fatherless.  I think that’s where my passion to have a large family comes from.

19.)       My IQ is 143.  I love learning new stuff everyday…

20.)       I had high hopes of getting around to obtaining six pack abs for myself by age 21….that goal was extended to age 22, then age 25, then 29, 30 and now it’s 39.  I need to get this done so I can say I was in great shape before I turned 40.

21.)       I’m a strong believer that everyone should develop their own “bucket list”, not so much to endorse death, but to celebrate life.  Six things from my growing list include: skydiving; taking ballroom dance lessons with my wife; learning conversational Polish; traveling Europe; swimming with dolphins; and, acting in a movie or TV show.

22.)       The violin is my favorite instrument to listen to.

23.)       Three of my favorite television shows are:  LOST, Dexter and Criminal Minds.  I’m also semi-addicted to the news.  It is my static noise.

24.)       My favorite author is Frank Peretti.  This man is amazing.   I devour everything he pens.  My favorites of his include:  The Oath; House; and This Present Darkness.

25.)       I’m very intrigued by sharks…too much so.  Plus, I’ve watched many movies on sharks.  Shhh! Don’t mention this to anyone, but I’m petrified of going into the water.  Pools, I will dive into.  Beaches, lakes, ponds, and large rivers– it’s not happening folks. Sharks keep me out of salt water.  Leeches keep me out of fresh water.  I have standards.

26.)       I’m guilty of being (and acting out as) the “middle child” of my family.  I gravitate towards antagonizing and instigating a lot of trouble among my siblings.  But, on the good side, I’m a huge loyalist!

27.)       Although I live in Tennessee, I have a sister who lives in Florida, another sister in Arkansas and a brother in Connecticut who happens to enjoy free rent in the prison system.  Don’t ask…let’s just say, “Crack is whack!” and leave it at that.

28.)       My favorite insect is the dragonfly. Dragonflies not only are gorgeous, but they feast on mosquitoes! 

29.)       I’ve worn eyeglasses since the 8^th grade.

30.)       My most recent love is building puzzles.  I especially love landscapes of 500-1,000 pieces.

31.)       I am a Christ-follower.  My faith is the cornerstone of my existence.  I begin and end each day in prayer.  I mess up all the time, but am thankful that I serve a very gracious, loving God.

32.)       I’ve worked since the age of 3 on my family farm.  Later on in my teen years, I worked as a cashier at a toy store, gas station attendant, camp counselor, and a customer service representative at a clothier.  In my adult years I worked as an executive assistant, self-employed tax accountant, college adjunct professor, CFO of a multi-millionaire dollar real estate firm.  Now I am a consultant, blogger, aspiring author and communicator.

33.)        I have three cats: Larry, Ellie and Awesome.

34.)       My favorite color is green.

35.)       I love all things superhero.  I am not usually disappointed by anything that DC or Marvel puts out.

36.)       I’m a compassionate conservative who believes in the free market enterprise system and smaller government.  I do enjoy a healthy dialogue with my liberal-minded peeps.  It’s nice to know you’re in the  “right”…plus, it keeps the brain juices flowing.

37.)       I’ve been delaying saying this one…but, I tend to procrastinate.

38.)       I have a penchant for quality customer service.  If I’m treated well, I will make note of it and praise you and your company publicly.  If you don’t know how to treat me as your customer, I will take names and rant about you on my blog, thus exposing you for your lack.

Pillar One: Strive to Understand the Importance of Making Your Customer "Happy" and then Make it Happen.

by Julian Ignatowski, Sr.

Pillar One is many times overlooked or outright ignored by so many businesses.  You might say to yourself, "How hard can it be to understand the importance of making your customer happy and then doing it?"  Well, you'd be amazed at just how many businesses get this all wrong.  They forget that the customer is perhaps the greatest stakeholder there is, and without customers, you have no revenue.  Without revenues, you have no business.

Most people are vocal enough to express what is important to them as a customer, but if you encounter a customer that has trouble speaking their mind, you should ask them what is important to them.  Go ahead and ask your customer three simple questions:  "Do you enjoy being our customer?"  "What keeps you coming back for more?" And, finally, and perhaps most importantly, have thick enough skin to ask the customer, "Is there something that you're looking for that you wish we were doing/providing for you?"  Just these few simple questions that take you zero effort to ask, will provide a plethora of information that is not only priceless, but worth putting into practice immediately.  In many cases, it's the simple things that bear little if no extra cost or effort on your behalf.

For example, when I was a tax accountant of my own firm and I'd get a phone call from a prospective client, one of the first things I'd ask is, "Who referred you?"  The answer to this question tells me a lot about the new prospect that I can use to start assessing the way I can tailor my services to this client, (should I be successful enough to win them over).  For instance, if the person who referred the caller is a "Type A client" then I know that I will need to make sure that I'm always punctual, and that I've performed my due diligence a third or fourth time to make sure everything I present to the client is absolutely perfect.  If the referral was from a "Type B client" I know I can unbutton my top button and take off the tie and relax a little.  Do these assumptions always pan out for me?  No, but 85% of the time they do.  But, I digress...

Another important question I ask is this, "Would you like to come to me or would you like me to come to you?"  This question always won me the client.  Boy did this make the prospect happy.  They knew immediately that if I was willing enough to accommodate them upfront, then great service was sure to follow! When I finally got to meet with the client I'd always make sure to find out who their predecessor accountant was, what they liked and what they didn't like about that accountant.  Again, the vital responses that they gave me always went a long way.

Making the commute to clients sure did take up a lot of my time.  In an effort to be an efficient time manager, I would usually schedule visits that were in the same area, so I could "kill two birds with one stone". The benefits of the numerous referrals that were yielded just from this small simple act more than outweighed the cost for my time on the road.  If I knew a client was blind, elderly, disabled or perhaps just had a baby, I'd always offer this accommodation.  I understood that this simple act made the client happy and I made sure to put it into practice.  I was a tax accountant for nearly 20 years and when I retired from the business, many clients didn't even realize I actually had an office of my own!

Someone who really understands the principle of Pillar One is Bob Farrell.  He is well-known for his amazing whit and charm at approaching customer service.  Check out this link to hear his story which has gained worldwide popularity.  Mr. Farrell's got it right...It's not what we serve, but who we serve. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISJ1V8vBiiI&NR=1

I learned that going to my clients vs. having them come to me was their "pickle" and I gladly gave it to them.  Do you know what your customer's "pickle" is? Are you willing to give it to them?  How about as a customer -- what is that special "pickle" for you?  Something that will make or break it for you?  I'd love to hear from you....

Five Pillars of Excellent Customer Service Representation

by Julian Ignatowski, Sr.

Over the years, I've developed some key principles that I believe are the foundation for stellar customer service and have personally enjoyed teaching them to my college students, implementing them with my employees and putting them into practice with my own customers.  I will refer to these Five Pillars of Excellent Customer Service Representation time and time again, as I honestly and strongly believe that all five of these core concepts MUST be a part of the customer service process.  An absence of any of these will leave you short-changing your customers and, in return, only harm your bottom line.  I will use future posting opportunities to emphasize the education and implementation of these and even detail these pillars for you with real life examples. But for purposes of this introductory post, I will merely list them out for you.  Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to introduce you to (drum roll, please):

Pillar One:

Strive to understand the importance of making your customer "happy" and then make it happen.

Pillar Two:

Meet your customer's purchasing needs.

Pillar Three:

Retain your current customer base and grow it!

Pillar Four:

Encourage and promote new products & services to your customers!

Pillar Five:

Always be on the lookout for new ways to add value to your customer relationship.



If you're a business person, how have you scored on these five pillars?  Are you impressed with yourself?  Or, do you need to grow in this area? 

If you're a customer (and, everyone is), which one of these do you find missing in your day-in and day-out interactions with businesses?  Which companies please you the most?  Which give you the most displeasure?

Welcome to my blog!

Let me start off by saying, thanks for stopping by for a look-see...

Second, I'd like to introduce myself.  My name is Julian Ignatowski, Sr., but you can call me Jules.  I grew up on a vegetable farm and was used to hard work at a very young age.  Some of my earliest memories are being in the fields or riding a large tractor with my parents and siblings.  Working on a farm that sold produce to the general public, I was able to learn the essentials of great quality control and the importance of solid customer service.  For instance, our farm hand-washed all our produce prior to sale and made sure only the cream of the crop was packaged for transport to the local supermarkets, mom-and-pop stores and, my personal favorite, our family roadside stand set up in our garage.  By six years of age, I had learned that if you price a product correctly, you will not only instill quality in the minds of your potential buyers, but will also get them coming back for more!  It was the little things like: putting on a smile and greeting your customers when they approached; being knowledgeable enough to answer product questions and offer suggestions; calculating the correct total amount due; counting back the proper change to the customer; thanking them for coming in; and requesting that they come back again, which allowed our farm to thrive during harvest.  These basic principles that were ingrained in me at such an early age became the bedrock for the success that I've had in my professional career as an entrepreneur, executive and educator.

This blog is an attempt to communicate these bedrock principles to you, share the moments when companies get it wrong and when they get it right, but most importantly, what those companies did or did not do in order to achieve said results.  We are all secret shoppers and food critics, except that the majority of us aren't financially compensated for our input on such things.  This blog, Customer Service, R.I.P.?! will allow you to vent your awful situations involving customer service and also allow you to offer praise where praise is due. Hopefully, along the way, we'll even learn from each other.  Thanks again for stopping by...can't wait to hear what you have to say.