the rare soul in business

Each year I try to take a chunk of time away with my family, off-the-grid, as an imperfect balance to the 100+ days away that defines the rest f the year. This year, we’re going to be near my parents, who are getting too old to visit, and so who we don’t see enough. They live near Hilton Head, SC, so we got a house on the Island, sort of near the beach.

Last night I rented bikes for the month online from Hilton Head Bicycle Co. My parents had warned me about island prices, but ok, it’s vacation.

This morning, I got an email from the owner: “I don’t feel good about the rate that came up for you,” he or she wrote. So they preemptively lowered the price by 25%.

When I was growing up, my dad (who ran a steel fabricating firm) would always explain behavior like this with a phrase like, “it’s the right thing to do, and it’s good for business.” That always puzzled me because it couldn’t always be both, or else why would we need to call it “right” (as opposed to “wrong”). 

But it strikes me the ether that are the Nets could help the second part a bit, so more did the first bit. So here, Nets, please notice: there was plenty of whuffie earned here. 

(And BTW: please excuse the silence after July 17.)

(Original post on Tumblr)