Guest Blogger: Chuck Pestow, Jr.

I still remember the first time I met Chuck over coffee.  He was considering a career change and a mutual friend suggested he get to know me and thought I might help.  Chuck's reaction to what I was throwing out there faster than I could drink my coffee about Rippling and how it could play a definite role in helping him land his next position was met with a little skepticism.  Heck it usually is by people who meet me for the first time.  But Chuck was polite, asked a lot of good questions and before long we had a tremendously positive dialogue going.

Chuck listen to me prather on and on about the virtues of connecting and engaging people the right way and I think finally relented after the last sip drained from our cups and yelled "Uncle!"   He left our meeting with a completely different perspective on the power of Rippling and committed to try some of what we had talked about.

Since then Chuck has proven that he understands the power of Rippling and our casual connection has turned into genuine friendship.  And for that I am truly grateful and indebted to the person that put us both in touch.  In fact Chuck appreciates the concept of Rippling so much he took the time to share a story with me that was just too good not to share with you.

So I am truly honored and proud to have Chuck Pestow, Jr. as today's guest blogger.

Enjoy and as always.....

Ripple On!!!

The Power of a Penny

I visited a convenience store around the corner the other day, one that I had visited many times before.  On this day I happened to pay attention to what I was purchasing and noticed that my total was $6.01 so I gave the clerk a $20 and then something amazing happened.  The cash register automatically rounded my purchase to $6 and indicated change due of $14.
 
WOW… What a thoughtful gesture this store owner was making…if you really step back and evaluate the situation he is paying it forward one penny at a time.

At that moment a feeling of euphoria set in and I began to realize the power of a penny and began to think why this emotion? why now? after all it’s only a penny.  Then it hit me…It’s what the penny gave me or didn’t give me that created the emotion. 

For starters it gave me a crisp dollar bill which expanded my later possibilities.   Having a dollar vs. 99 cents just makes things easier and saves you time later.  It’s not that you can’t spend 99 cents, it is after all currency, but have you ever tried to put a penny in a soft drink vending machine.  When is the last time someone asked to borrow 99 cents?  And then what about all that change you accumulate.  Have you seen the kiosk in the front of local stores that charge 10% to convert to cash or taken it to a bank lately, even your own bank?  They act as if it’s an inconvenience…What a hassle.  How long would you bank there if you had the same experience every time you attempted to deposit cash?  Dollar bills just make things easier.

In business we too often get wrapped up in the things we believe will have a big impact on our customer and forget that sometimes those little things can make all of the difference.  Take this convenience store that I stopped at…I don’t usually fill up there but often stop for a soft drink, etc. but a penny has set the wheels of change in motion.  What are the things in your business like that penny that would cost very little but offer huge returns?  Do you know? Have you taken time to ask? 

Now is the time to find out.