Tough Mudder

This last weekend I went to Cascade, Wisconsin for my third Tough Mudder event. I did my first one last summer and it was by far one of the most challenging athletic events I have participated in. This one was no different.

The weather was perfect. Around 50 degrees at the start and maybe 70 when we finished. The course was great and we were rocking! 

There is nothing like finishing a Tough Mudder. 

Jessie went all the way across the Funky Monkey monkey bars....




AND I conquered my nemesis - EVEREST. A skateboard type ramp that you have to sprint up and hope someone grabs your hands and then you swing your feet up and they pull you over. In Wisconsin last year it took me 4 times and in Minnesota in May the rain and mud and short runway made it so I had to eventually just walk around. So this was redemption - 1st time!!! It was amazing. 

I have to say....it was a different experience this time because it was just the two of us. At both of the previous Tough Mudder events, we had friends to help us on obstacles. But this time we got ourselves over the huge 10-12 foot Berlin walls without help and conquered our events. 

But what I wanted to focus this blog post on is my experience at Culver's. When in Wisconsin..you eat at Culver's! We stopped Saturday night and the teenage staff there was awesome. When was the last time you saw teenagers work really hard, be very nice and accomodating, and go out of their way to assist you? They were so nice and helpful we decided to stop on the way back home. The manager at that time made sure the Green Bay (yuck) game was on for the customers, a girl came around to our table and asked if we needed refills, and another girl was sweeping the floor. I sat there in shock at how hard these kids were working. What is sad is you really don't see this very often anymore. I went right home and sent them a comment card to show my appreciation. 

I found this blog post on the web and it is exactly what I'm talking about from my experience at Culver's. It is from "Motivation Shots from the Doc" 


Unfortunately, most of us have grown up in a negative culture where it’s much easier to tell people what they did wrong rather than praising them when they succeed.
Research in the United States found that 65% of employees received no recognition for good work in the past year.  Similar research in other countries of the world shows comparable results.
Other research has shown that the number one reason people leave their job, and customers take their business elsewhere, is that they don’t feel appreciated.
And if you think about it; many people leave their partners for the very same reason!
If customer’s leave an interaction with you or one of your team feeling better than they did before, then they’re much more likely to:

• Come back
• Recommend you to other people
• Spend more with you.

If one of your team feels better after an interaction with you then they’re much more likely to pass that feeling onto a customer.
“The way you treat your staff is the way they’ll treat your customers” – Karl Albrecht
If you give five positive comments to one negative comment to the other people in your life, then you’ll have:

1. More happy customers
2. A workplace that’s more productive and more fun
3. More friends
4. Better relationships
5. A healthier, happier and longer life

Remember – “Hand out warm glows, not dampeners.”

Next time you see or experience something positive, tell them!! The benefits will far outweigh the time it took you.

Have a great week and as always, if you like my blog, please do me the honor of sharing with your friends and family.

Lindsey