What happened to Customer Service?

This week has been the worst week of customer service for me!  I spent several hours working on getting a phone / internet provider to do what they promised us they would do for our church.  They spend they same amount of time trying to get out of doing what they promised to do.  Plus they tried to make me feel stupid for demanding that they do what they promised to do when we agreed to let them provide the phone and internet services for the church.

Prior to that I spent a great deal of time talking to the bank that is doing the refinance on my home.  After telling me for 80 days that the closing costs would be one figure they proudly informed me on the eve of closing that the closing costs would be double what they originally quoted.  This without the slightest hint of regret or any explanation as to the difference.  They merely gave me the new figure and were puzzled why I told them no, I won't pay that without a reason. 

I struggle with this because I am in the service business, as an insurance Agent I have to take responsibility for the actions of the companies I represent even though I can't control what they do and that is on top of being responsible for what I do.

Think about this ... if gas goes up, we all complain to each other.  If your auto insurance goes up you complain to the agent.  No one ever tells the gas station attendant that they need to sharpen their pencil and give them a better rate on the gas.  Why would you think the insurance agent could make the insurance company lower its price?

I'm not complaining about that perception, I just want to establish that as an agent I have to provide great customer service or people will move on to a new agent ... and they should.  But by the same token, I demand the same level of service in my life that others do from me.

Demand good service and make companies do what they are supposed to do, then be loyal to them so that we can all finally get the service we deserve.  Those of us that provide good service want to know that you appreciate the effort, and those that don't care about their professional image should not be encouraged to continue giving sub par service. 

J

How important is good service when talking about life insurance? I'll be the one giving your loved ones a check when they need it most!

I Invented the Internet and He Hates Puppies!

I don't know how you feel during election time but I always feel a little less smart just listening to the ads and the candidates.  It's always funny to me how everything is always someone else's fault, no candidate ever says "yep, I did that and it was wrong, but I'm trying to fix it!"  In fact most go out of their way to show how everything is the other guy's fault, even when there is no way that the other candidate could have had anything to do with it. 

Better yet, don't you love it when the candidate takes credit for something totally out of their control.  Remember when Al Gore said he invented the Internet?  What President ever personally created a million jobs in 4 years?  What President ever personally caused a financial crisis in 4 years?  Many of the policies a President would want to enact, take funding that is not under the control of the President, and must be approved by Congress.  So why do we listen to these ridiculous claims that in 4 years they will do something they can't possibly control?  Why do we hand our precious vote to a guy who claims that he can walk on water while accusing the other candidate of hating puppies?

The answer is three fold.  First we are looking for a leader that we can trust, and in the absence of personal knowledge of their trustworthiness we must rely on the evidence pointing to the opposite.  If the other candidate can show himself to be less untrustworthy then we have to go with him.  Second we are looking for a leader that really wants the job, if a candidate isn't willing to go toe to toe and take a beating for the job then they don't really want it and that means they might not have the "GRIT" or "STONES" to do what needs to be done.  Finally, we are looking for a leader that leads.  Claiming authority and making decisions is a skill and inspiring others to do what needs to be done is the primary skill necessary to be a successful leader.  In fact I believe that the best speach is the they way to pick your president.  If he can stir emotions and inspire you to action with just his words over the TV then he's the one.

So, good luck choosing a leader this year, I hope you pick the right guy!

Be the leader in your family and get life insurance on yourself!

Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Give up!

Sometimes taking a stand is painful ... no scratch that, it is always painful!  Everyone (even those that stand with you) seem to have a ax to grind with how it is handled.  Some thing you are too strong, some think you are too weak.  Some say don't be so gruff, some say don't be a wimp.

The bottom line is that when you find an issue meaningful enough for you to take a stand on ... you know drawing a line in the sand and saying everything on this side is okay but when you cross this "we've got a problem" ... don't expect that the crowd will rally around you and praise your eloquent handling of those that have an opposing view.

People are often afraid of how the world will judge them if they stand too firm.  They're afraid that someone will "call them out" and make fun of them or argue better than they do.  In short they are afraid of being made a fool of, and that is a powerful deterrent for most folks.

As I age I'm less likely to take a stand on minor things but much less fearful of being made a fool of, in fact I could care less about people that know me thinking I'm being foolish.  The lack of fear is my best asset in a moral battle.  People can sense when you are are solid ground with your understanding and at peace with the consequences of your stance.

Your confidence will shake theirs, your fearlessness will instill fear in them, your calm attitude will shake their resolve.  When you are not worried about the pain of a moral stand ... truth and right will prevail!  So, don't be afraid if you are standing firmly on the side of right, the pain will fade and when the smoke clears the world will be better for your sacrifice!

Email me to see how inexpensive it is to protect you family's future!

Getting Mixed Signals?

Ever notice how the guy with no money is an expert on making more money?  Sure he is, just ask him.  The fellow with the crappyest car is knows exactly what you need to do in order to get your car working better.  I mean, live is confusiong enough with all the experts on TV and the web giving out conflicting advice ... go left , go right, stay straight, buy, sell, hold ... take the stock market today, one radio expert tells you to buy gold to preserve your principle and get out of stocks so the market doesn't devalue your cash, the next will tell you to buy all the under valued stock you can so when the market rebounds you'll bring home the bacon.


How do you know who to trust? Good question, here's my advice; if they don't know what you want to accomplish with your money then don't trust them.  A good advisor will ask more questions than you want to answer but that is part of the process, if they don't ask you a lot of questions then how do they know what you need.  If they don't know you, how can they give you advice on financing?  Find someone that you trust and talk to them about what your goals are, and let them help you explore your options.  Don't be afraid to say that you want to think about it, because if the advisor has your best interest at heart he will want you to think about it.  Don't be afraid of scheduling a second meeting, if you want to think about it set up the next meeting at the end of the 1st one.  If you're anything like me you won't give it another though unless you have a deadline.  Finally, if you are married involve your spouse, have them go to the meeting with you, they may not trust the advisor like you do or they may have different concerns than you do.  If you are not married then take your mom or dad or if you are older yourself take your kids.

I don't listen to the radio and TV "experts" because well 'they don't know my life' and they don't ask me any questions.  I also don't take cooking advice from a plumber or plumbing advice from a chef ... be sure the people you are listening to are advisors or agents not the guy in line at Walmart or your friend with the minimum wage job and no money for lunch.  Those folks have a lot to say but it's nothing you want to listen to.

Investing is tough because everyone is different in how they handle the stress of risk, and in what they want to accomplish with their money so there is no magic path that everyone can take, just a lot of paths leading in the direction you want, so follow the guide that makes you feel the safest.

J

Let me ask you questions about what you want your money to do!

Help! My retirement is Shrinking!

With the continuous losses in the stock market many folks have put their money in secure vehicles like CDs but now CD rates are below inflation which means that their money will not buy as much next year as it does this year and the interest they are earning on the CD is too little to even keep pace with the ever growing costs.  In short they are losing money everyday that they own a CD with interest rates below the current inflation rate.

In 2010 the average inflation rate has been 1.7% while the average interest rate on 1 year CDs is .49% up to 1.5% on 5 year CDs, neither of which will keep your money from shrinking in value.  Think of it this way if you had $1000 in a CD making .49% you would make you $4.90 (minus $1.23 in taxes) during this year and your $1003.67 will buy you the same in the next year as $986.61 this year.  Yep even with the gains you lost money because it buys less this year than it did last year.  So what do you do with  your nest egg so it is safe and still protect it from lost value due to inflation?

I like the way fixed annuities look for this ... they offer substantially higher rates than CD's (Farm Bureau's are at a guaranteed 3% and some even offer a bonus of 2% on the first year) and they grow tax deferred (so you will get second year interest on 100% of the interest you earned in the first year).  Using that same example your $1000 in a fixed annuity would earn $30 (taxes are deferred) and that $1030 will buy you the same amount in the next year as $1012.49 so you still have the same (or at least a little more) buying power that you started with.

This may not be the strategy for everyone but for those wanting to preserve their nest egg it is a much better option than losing their purchasing power every year until they have lost all that they worked for through their whole lives.

Take a look at fixed annuities to see if they make sense for your retirement plan, I think you will find that they can be an important part of your overall plan.