jump in, buckle up, and get ready to laugh and learn! From worst customer experiences to Social Media Dos and Don'ts and many things in between, its going to be a good ride.
Get ready for the upcoming Fig Fest in September - an event you don't want to miss! you can Find Fig Fest Tickets Here! Use code Fig10 for 10% off.
Hit us up on Instagram and give our hotline a call at 864-982-5029. Happy listening! And remember to leave us a rating and review.
We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales on Sundays and Thursdays at 8pm est. Use Code Fig10 for 10% Off.
Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @Farmshenanigans. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Use Coupon Code Fig10 for 10% Off Your Purchase. Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
jump in, buckle up, and get ready to laugh and learn! From worst customer experiences to Social Media Dos and Don'ts and many things in between, its going to be a good ride.
Get ready for the upcoming Fig Fest in September - an event you don't want to miss! you can Find Fig Fest Tickets Here! Use code Fig10 for 10% off.
Hit us up on Instagram and give our hotline a call at 864-982-5029. Happy listening! And remember to leave us a rating and review.
We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales on Sundays and Thursdays at 8pm est. Use Code Fig10 for 10% Off.
Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @Farmshenanigans. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Use Coupon Code Fig10 for 10% Off Your Purchase. Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
Come on, you late as usual. We got to go, I am not always late.
Speaker 2:You gotta make me the late one you are. Get in we got to go.
Speaker 1:People be texting me. Get in come on, let's go.
Speaker 2:it's time for another episode of who's Driving. Welcome to who's Driving. I'm Wesley.
Speaker 1:Turner and I'm Stephen Merk.
Speaker 2:we're two best friends and entrepreneurs who's Driving is an entertaining look into the behind the scenes of our lives, friendship and business.
Speaker 1:These are the stories we share and topics we discuss, as two best friends would on a long road trip.
Speaker 2:Along the way, we'll check in with friends and offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media and all things home and garden.
Speaker 1:Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Speaker 2:You never know who's driving or where we're headed. All we know is it's always a fun ride. And on this week's episode we are going to be discussing some social media do's and don'ts around here, and this pertains to I think it's a fun topic even if you are not doing social media, even if you're just a viewer, to kind of know some ins and outs and some thought processes behind it.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure I won't get picked on because I break. I break one of the biggest rules every day.
Speaker 2:All the time you are breaking rules, but I'm good at it.
Speaker 1:I just need to be consistent, right, but we've had people who want to get into social media like doing it for a job as an influencer or creator.
Speaker 2:We have people ask us questions like a look in, like kind of behind the scenes, and that sort of thing. So we're going to be talking about that, but before we get there question and this was actually submitted by a viewer and it just came to my mind, so I don't have it written down, but it was something like if you don't know, steven also does real estate. He sells houses on the side, on the side. We all have our side hustles.
Speaker 2:We've got to have a side hustle. So they ask what is the weirdest thing you've seen, like showing a house or something Like, have you seen anything weird or maybe spicy or anything too crazy when I'm showing a house or going in a house?
Speaker 1:You know, sadly, I really haven't. Well, that's a disappointment, I really haven't. I mean, I would love that One time you thought there was a body in the closet. I did One time there was. I was showing a condo and the owner of the condo lived out of state and would do business in Greenville. I didn't know all this at the time and had a blow-up mattress that they would sleep on in this empty condo. Well, they had left the closet door open and it was wrapped up and it looked like a dead body. You know, because it wasn't completely lit and all I could see was like it looked like you, wrapped up in a tarp and I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 2:Did you like freak out for a second? Because you get very spooky in other houses and stuff.
Speaker 1:Well, you have to be careful with safety, and so I did get a little creeped out. For just a second I went over and kicked it.
Speaker 2:But you haven't gone to any house that has a stripper pole.
Speaker 1:No, and I would love that Something spicy or kinky, like someone has their whip collection displayed on Nothing. Nothing, but I bet we have some listeners out there that are realtors and I would love to hear those stories.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, are you a realtor and you've gone to someone's house to show it or something and seen something odd, spooky, spicy, whatever? Let us know, give us your best story. You can text or call our hotline 864-982-5029. And it will be down in the show notes. But speaking of spicy, I guess it's not spicy but condo, something that you cannot get off your mind. And I know you're dying to talk about DragonCon, DragonCon.
Speaker 2:So we were recently, a few weeks ago in Atlanta for we went to Market. We were staying at the Marriott Marqueece Marqueece Marquee and while we were there, they started setting up for DragonCon. And if you were watching our stories, we were talking about it and we decided this isn't really our group of people. I don't think.
Speaker 1:Like are any of you listening? No, I know they're not my people, but I'm not. I'm happy they found their group of people. I think that's really cool, right, like I've told you, I think that's great. They're just not my group.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it was really interesting because when we got there the first day they hadn't the hotel was completely normal. The second day, or that night, they started setting up for DragonCon and it just got like, what's going on, what's going on what? And then by the time we left, the attendees were arriving. So DragonCon we had to look it up. It's a. What do you call it? A festival, a gathering, a convention? It's.
Speaker 1:I guess it's the largest convention in Atlanta, so it's huge.
Speaker 2:It spans like six or eight hotels in Atlanta in downtown Atlanta and several buildings and they have a parade and everything. But it goes along with like gaming, art, comic books.
Speaker 1:Movies, everything. And a little I think, like cosplay gets thrown in there, sort of situation I don't know, I mean there are men walking around like dressed normal, wearing pink tutus, yeah, and then there'll be somebody like dressed up like in a complete Scooby-Doo costume or whatever comic, whatever, anything.
Speaker 2:The last day we were there. We left the day before it was actually starting, so but people were rolling in. I mean, the lobby was packed and they were bringing in like car loads of costumes and wigs and props.
Speaker 1:And I've never seen anything like it. I mean, a drag show hadn't got nothing on there.
Speaker 2:I mean seriously.
Speaker 1:And my question is and if you're out there listening, please let us know and again, we are not saying this in a judgy kind of way, it's. I find that they're interesting, fascinating, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It was very fascinating because it's this whole community kind of its own world, yeah, of dressing up like characters and the comic and the gaming.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I'm not into. I was never into gaming. I mean, we had an Atari back in the day. I loved.
Speaker 1:Atari. We had an Atindo, say that was past me, say I stopped at Atari. Oh my gosh, but I just don't under, I don't, my brain doesn't work like that, yeah. So I just have questions, and you know, normally we were there for a furry convention one time and I went up and and did my interview with those people, and I would wish I had interviewed some of those people because I want to know what do you do for a living?
Speaker 2:No, where do you?
Speaker 1:work.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think it's just all. I think it's all walks of life.
Speaker 1:But it's just a hobby. I don't know, is it? I don't know, I don't know.
Speaker 2:OK, next year let's go to it To watch and record and do some interviews. Yeah, like from an outsider perspective.
Speaker 1:Tell us about you what you have going on here.
Speaker 2:We could go to market the same time, but just back it up a day, yeah, and we would be there for one day of the convention. We only need, we only need like two hours.
Speaker 1:All we need. We don't have to go into the convention part All we need to do is walk around the hotels, yeah. And ask questions. Yeah, and we'll do. We'll record it Podcast on the go. Yes, oh my gosh, I would love it that would be fun. It's very interesting to me, because it would be interesting, because we saw, like Cannon Barbie it was a lot and it was interesting because I would say they were in their late 40s or early 50s.
Speaker 1:But he had like the hair, he had a wig on and it was like the hair of a 20 year old Perfect, perfect blonde hair and his body was chiseled Like. But he was petite, right, but perfect. He looked like a Ken. A Ken yeah, and and his wife or partner. Whoever she was looked like. She popped out of a cardboard box like a Barbie doll yeah, it was like they. You can tell they lived to be Ken and.
Speaker 2:Barbie Right. So my question like him, like, what procedures have you had done? Like, was that his natural body tone or has he had?
Speaker 1:procedures. Have you always been a fan of Barbie and Ken? Like is that? And you remember the guy that I can't remember his name, that looked like a Ken doll? Yeah, we met him at market several years ago. Do you remember? Oh yeah, the guy that had all of his?
Speaker 2:the one that's been on several shows that had all those. So let us know or I mean, maybe dragon con is your thing Did you attend? What was the highlight and what do you do? What do they do all weekend? I know they have a parade and they have booths, but I don't know what the booths are for.
Speaker 1:I just want to know all about it. I want to know all of it. So if you were there or if you would like to go there, let us know, and some people go really all in and do body modifications.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:One lady had the biggest breast implants I think I've ever seen. Well, and they were hanging to her waist. Well, there was no.
Speaker 2:It looked like they were going to fall off.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, she would have had to have rebar to hold those things up. They were like two watermelons and she was very small framed.
Speaker 2:I mean, but they look like summer squash, because they were like I mean they were about to rip off, that's what I'm saying the body.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that was in her shirt. Like she had a shirt on? Yeah, it was. So it was a very fascinating group and look into this Like I mean we're not talking like just a few people shut Like this was a Nauseous Sure Of the.
Speaker 1:It's the largest convention that Atlanta host. It was huge and it's everything from like 18 year olds to men that appear to be 50s.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sure there's all, all, all walks of life, and straight and age and everything.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you name it, it's there. Yeah, but I want to know more. So, if you're, if, you're.
Speaker 2:Well, I do know that it's Labor Day weekend every year, so next year we'll we have to do it. We'll bump it up a day and we'll yeah, or back a day, or whatever, we've got to get our be there Mobile, a mobile mic.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, we've got to get mobile mics and because these people are, if you're nice to they're very nice, you can have the mic and all video recorded.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then we can. Yeah, because you could not walk up and ask I know, good yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it is and again, I'm not I'm not saying it from a judgey standpoint at all I think it's great that all those people with that same interest found one another. It's no different than racing cars, or.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Football or anything else.
Speaker 2:It's just I've never seen that many interesting people in one place and they all kind of have the same like look, persona or something. Yeah Same vibe. Okay, moving on from that, we're going to make you go. This just popped in my head, kind of goes along with what I'm going to say. I saw this on. I think this was on some social media, probably TikTok or something like that. I had never thought about this or heard this, but maybe you're like this. Did you know? Like if I say, close your eyes and picture an apple, can you picture an apple or is it just black? It's just black. That's a thing I thought everyone could picture. Like, are you serious? Like, if you can't really picture an apple, like the person was saying. I never understood when people said picture this in your head.
Speaker 1:Like, I can picture, I can picture, I can think of what it looks like, but I can't picture it. Picture an apple, I mean, an apple is an apple.
Speaker 2:I know, but like I'm just saying anything in your head, picture an airplane. Well, if you close your eyes and picture an airplane, can you see an airplane? Can you did your mind see it airplane? Do you know what an airplane looks like?
Speaker 1:Not really. Does it really work? And I'm creative yeah?
Speaker 2:See, I thought that was weird because I can picture it and I'm dyslexic. We've talked about that before, or maybe we haven't, but I've mentioned it, and one thing that I didn't learn until recently that is normal is a lot of dyslexic people can picture things almost like 3D. Like if you take an Ikea this is a good way to describe it If you take an Ikea piece of furniture and laid all the pieces out in front of me, I can picture what that all those pieces are supposed to look like, and that's how I know and you put stuff together like you really will.
Speaker 2:That's how I know how to put things together. I can physically picture that piece of all those pieces as the 3D version of what they're supposed to be and see.
Speaker 1:I can't do that, but what I can do is walk into a room and picture the way I see the room. Yeah, and I know that sounds weird, you can project the picture, I can project it, but I can't like look at something like that and I can't describe it.
Speaker 2:This is makes sense. I saw everyone picture the things in their head. I mean I walk into a room and I'm like, okay, I see this here and I'm picturing a general layout of what I want to see, but you're picturing like the room is a canvas and what you, and you can see how you want it to look when it's done yes, which a lot of people can't do. That's why a lot of people can't decorate.
Speaker 1:And I can do that with design right, with arrangements, with flowers, I can do all that, yeah, but as far as if you sit me down and told me to close my eyes and picture an apple, hell, no, I mean, I can't. That's random.
Speaker 2:It is, there's a name for it Like different levels, like some people can picture, like close your eyes, it's dark. You can picture an apple. There's an apple sitting in your head, like a picture of an apple.
Speaker 1:But see, I feel like the challenge is because I'm so ADD. But you see, you're very ADD and you can do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but see, with my, with the dyslexia, I can picture, like I said, a 3D, like if I see all the pieces laid on the floor and I know this is supposed to be a cabinet I can picture exactly what it's supposed to be and I can say, oh, this short piece needs to go on this side because it's going to make this piece of the furniture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've always been able to do that.
Speaker 2:Without reading any directions or anything, and can put it together. That's just so. I just had never thought about that.
Speaker 1:And you were that way because you're pretty self-taught with like plumbing and electrical.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause I visualize it and it makes sense. I'm like, oh, this just got to go to there. It goes to here, these connect and that's it, and it just and the electric always asking me that like how did you know to do that? How did you know to do that? Like we went to the Florida house not too long ago and the shower door, the truck, I called you. I said should I?
Speaker 1:The track was messed up, I forgot. I said do you want me to put in a work order, cause I'm not gonna fix it? I'm not a I'm not a handy person like that. And you said no, let me look at it.
Speaker 2:So I go there. Well, first off I forgot that it was falling off the track and it nearly fell on Daniel's foot and I was like, oh yeah, stephen told me I was supposed to fix that and I told him I would look at it. And then I immediately was like, let me look at it. And I was like, oh yeah, just grab me a, a screwdriver and this hooks under there. I think if I loosen these screws I can adjust it like this and it'd be fine. And I fixed it literally in like five minutes.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:Daniel was like how did you know how to do that? That's not even like a shower door we have or had, and I was like oh, it just makes sense to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, see my, my tool of fixing that's the telephone. You're calling someone, yeah. I was like oh yeah, cause Dylan's parents stayed in that bedroom and used that bathroom and it fell off and almost broke his foot, oh my gosh, and I was like oh, sorry, we probably should get that fixed. Like sorry, sorry about your foot. Don't worry I said I'm glad it was your foot, Not another big, not someone else's yeah, it's fixed, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I'm not. I'm not. That was just something I thought of. I was surprised because I visual, I'm very visual and I visualize.
Speaker 1:Now I get electrical and I can change out, you know, lights and switches and all that. But I don't like to, I think because you know, and I've told yeah, cause of my grandmother electrocuted in front of me at two years old. You know something? Stick with you. You got to tell that story. I think I told it on here didn't I?
Speaker 2:I don't think so. Did you? Have you talked about your grandmother getting electrocuted?
Speaker 1:I don't think so, Well she didn't die, thank goodness she lived. She lived to be almost 90. Um, but she was making me rice with butter and I was in my high chair. Yes, I remember it because no one else was there and I remembered it all and I verified it with my grandmother and she's like, how did you remember that? And I was like, well, I guess I was so traumatized. So, um, the refrigerator was not grounded or the stove wasn't, they were side by side. My grandmother just had her left hand on the range where she was cooking you know spy coincidence and grabbed the refrigerator door to get the butter. Completed the circuit. Completed the circuit she did. And my grandmother wore around the house. She wore these mummies and she wore these red wedge house shoes, house slippers. They were heels yeah, they were little wedges, little kitten heels.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:No, they were wedges. They were bigger than kitten heel.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And she, so it started like shocking her. It was started running through her and she smart enough. My grandmother was smart and she kicked herself off of the appliance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I can remember um, I can remember the red shoes being strewn about the kitchen and at that time I could.
Speaker 1:I called her mama, but at that time I could not even say mama, that's how little I was.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I was looking over the high chair saying ma, you, okay, Ma and I. I rehashed this to my grandmother one day. We were talking about it, and I said, well, I remember where I was sitting in the high chair. Yeah, she said yes. And I said you had on your red house slippers. She said yes, and I remember you laying in the floor and she said yes, and she said you were saying ma, ma and I, and I guess the only reason because I don't remember a lot from that age, but I guess it was traumatizing enough, Right, that I could remember it it burned into your brain.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you know, I'm a little, I'm a little antsy when it comes to electrical.
Speaker 2:You know that's too funny.
Speaker 1:Okay, I have a. It didn't kill my grandmother, though, but it did burn her feet, and hands were burned. Yeah, like charred.
Speaker 2:I have another subject I want to bring up.
Speaker 1:Okay, why are we? Are we in our sexy voice now?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I don't know how it's going to go with you because I hadn't told you I wanted to bring it up, but I was thinking about mine the other day. What is? Because I know yours, but I'm going to see what you bring up. What is your most memorable like? Worst customer encounter. Like you as an owner and a customer.
Speaker 1:Okay, first of all, I'm very proud and let me say this I have a very, very, very, very bad temper, but I go to the nth degree with every one for customers, for people in general, yeah, but customers get a little extra because you know they pay my paycheck Right, so that matters to me.
Speaker 2:I mean, we love our customers.
Speaker 1:But you know, I love 98% of all of our customers. I love, I genuinely like and love and care about them, but you know, there's that other 2%.
Speaker 2:Well, what happens is just like anything I feel like in life. You find and this is a good thing for small businesses or going into social media we're going to talk about you find your customer and your customer finds you and you literally legitimately connect. You have a relationship. You have a relationship and you know some of them are different with each person, but you know, you might just be on a hey, how are you? But you recognize their face or whatever.
Speaker 2:But there's, there becomes this natural level of connection and trust Like, oh, this is my favorite garden store and they always, you know, do things right. Or this is my home store and they always do things right. Or this is social media and Wesley always does this. Or always order from an online store. I know if something comes in broken, they're going to make it right. Okay, but then you get those people who are not your people, your people, they are not your people, never going to be, they're never going to be and you are never going to connect. So in that instance, the customer is not always right and, as business owners, it is much easier to make a customer happy and retain a customer than get a new customer. So, like you're saying we will go way beyond to make a customer happy. We try to, but sometimes there's no making a customer happy.
Speaker 1:Well, I have two of those situations. I have one McDonald's in one garden store.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm hoping the garden store is the one that I think it might be. Well, the McDonald's one because I have a garden store went to.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll tell the garden store. Second, the first one was McDonald's and it was in the first McDonald's that I bought and I work there a lot because I was broke as we've gone through and other.
Speaker 1:So I was working 14, 16 hour days and my fuse was probably a little shorter than it should have been, but you know, in this case it needed to be and there was a lady and I'm using that term very generous. She came in from the drive-thru I don't know if there was a pickle on her cheeseburger or what her devastating issue was, but it was earth shattering and she came in and was complaining, and so I was, you know, bending over backwards, right, you know, taking it up the tush to make her happy. Whatever it takes, let me give you the keys. Do you want the bank back? Whatever you know, yeah, and this woman, more like an animal, would not shut up.
Speaker 2:Okay, can I interject something here, or should I do it after your story? You can do it now. Because as a customer, or, on the other end, as us, because I don't know where the story is going. But the weirdest thing to me and this is when you know they're not your people if you make a mistake, like I'll use, is the nested fig before you know. No one's perfect. Things are going to happen especially when you got lots of employees and things coming in, go in and lots of customers and lots of business.
Speaker 2:But, for example, if you ordered an orange stem online at the nested fig and you get a green one and you contact us and say, hey, you sent me the wrong thing, and then we will say, oh, I'm so sorry about that, you can keep that one or give it to a friend and we're going to send you the new one, like the situation has been corrected. But the people who are not your people go on and on. Well how could this have happened? I'm so disappointed.
Speaker 1:I'm so devastated. This ruins my Christmas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm like you're going to have the new one in two days, like it is going out today, like it is not calm that big of a deal Like it just baffles me when you didn't have to do anything to have it corrected, except for to notify us, and we're right on it. It's not like we made you wait two weeks and then we, you know, it's like literally I have answered people like they've sent the email how devastated they are. You know, blah, blah, blah. I'm so sorry to hear this. We will have a replacement out tomorrow. And then they email like three more times how disappointed they are. How could this have happened?
Speaker 1:What do you want? More validation. Do you need? We screwed up, right.
Speaker 2:Or it got broken and we're sending you a new one, like what happens.
Speaker 1:I know, but anyway so and that was, I'm sure you know, I'm sure you know. Heaven forbid, she got a pickle on our cheeseburger or something. It wasn't anything crazy.
Speaker 2:Right, it was a little mess.
Speaker 1:And I know, you know I don't remember all the details, but I know my norm and I would have probably replaced it. I probably gave her a refund. You know, yada, yada, yada kissed her ass and it was just going nowhere and I it was in January, so I had very few employees there and I was actually working on the front counter myself and she would not go away Like I had tried to end this like 20 times, like we're done. You know, there's nothing more I can do. Do you want to shoot me?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so another very nice customer was walking in business lady and this animal just kept sitting there, you know, and I Mowing and mowing and mowing, and so I was just trying to to take the attention from her and give it to this normal, nice, polite customer. So I took my right hand and I put it in her face.
Speaker 1:Like to stop talking to stop talking, like talk to the hand. Yeah, and then I turned my hand and started speaking to the customer. I was like hi, how are you, can I help you? And just kept holding my hand up to her face Like I'm not listening. Yeah, and she got really mad and stormed out and the other customer chuckled and I as did I, and she, um, she called the 800 number. Okay, fyi for everybody out there, those 800 numbers are pointless.
Speaker 2:It just goes to the owner.
Speaker 1:It was. It was like ding on my phone, so I see it and immediately you know I hit call.
Speaker 2:Okay, so when they call an 800 number, do you get a voicemail? Is it like a voice recording?
Speaker 1:We can get. We can access both. We can hear the customer complain, we can call in and actually hear the. That's really good when they're really just unhinged crazy person.
Speaker 1:It's fun to listen to that, yeah, you know, cause they're just right. And then you get you just, and then you get one that's just printed out of what was said, you know kind of summarize a summary. So I I called this he then and I was like, hey, you, just, this is, you know, this is Steven Merck, the owner. You just filed a complaint on the 800 number. Yes, your manager, blah, blah, blah, and I was like no, ma'am, that was me. And she was like that went dead silent. Well, I said that was me and you're no longer allowed on my property and you can take your business somewhere else, because I don't have time for this, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I said click, and that was it, that was it. But you know, she was like. I'm sure she still thinks about it when she drives by McDonald's.
Speaker 2:Did she ever come back in? I mean that you know of.
Speaker 1:Not that I know of, but you know, after you make me that mad, I'll have your ass hauled out of there.
Speaker 2:Right, so don't.
Speaker 1:That's kind of like my stuff, yeah, and then at the garden store. Let me tell my garden store. Okay, you tell it.
Speaker 2:Because this is what made me think about it. So I had. You know the story. I mean, this is it's been a long time. It's been a long time because this would have been we had an outdoor area but I was working on it, so this would have been like 2012, 13, somewhere around there. So we had because it was in our early days, because we had just moved recently to our new location and that was kind of like starting up. You know, it was still growing and then we were having our outdoor area. But I can remember it was at the beginning of our outdoor area because I was outside working on it when this customer came in. So we had this customer, lady, loosely called lady heifer.
Speaker 1:And we hope you're listening.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh gosh, but anyway. So she came in prior. We do custom arrangements, you know, flower arrangements and potted arrangements. So she came in, she lived in one of the fancy neighborhoods near our store and she's having a party and she needs all these arrangements done for her party. And I'm like, yeah, we do, you know, do that. And then she wanted potted arrangement. So this was, like you know, two weeks before a party or something. So then she comes and drops off all of her containers or whatever and I do them all and it's like a car. I mean we're talking probably like I don't know 10 arrangements. I just remember it was around like $2,000, $2,500, which is.
Speaker 1:That's a big, that's a lot, that's a big order, a lot of work.
Speaker 2:Well, this woman, where the complaint starts. So she had her party and then she came back in the Monday after the weekend. Well, I need this when I mean, let me remind you, she told me what to put in the things in there. I need this taken out of this arrangement. It's, I think I'm allergic to this flower. Well, okay, it was like a calancho that has no potted. Well, there's nothing to be allergic to. You're not allergic, right? So then she brought all of them back. I just I'm allergic to all of these plants. Well, no, no, heifer, you're not.
Speaker 2:You had your party, you had your arrangements done, you wanted to impress your friends and now you want your money back because you don't want these things after you've had them for a week. And you know, and people do that, yes, and people will do that. I was pissed because she did it over a couple of days, like kind of in stages, phases, and then I was like, no, I'm not giving you your money back. Like, you're not allergic to these green plants, that's not a thing. Like you would know I'm.
Speaker 1:most of them were green plants.
Speaker 2:Green indoor plants. We're talking things that don't have pollen. There's nothing to be like. If you're allergic to these, how are you walking around outside? You would be dead. You know what I'm saying? Situation, and it went on and on and on and she kept harassing me and saying who she was going to call and she's going to do this and who she is, and I got this and I live here and whatever.
Speaker 2:So she finally broke me down because I was like, what am I going to do? I mean, this went on for days and so and she would come. I can remember because, like I said, we were working on the outdoor area getting the fence up and she would come out there and it lingered like a bad cold. Oh my gosh Just on and on.
Speaker 2:So finally, I was like okay, the only way you're going to make this go away is to give her her money back. So I go in and I'm like, okay, so let me just get this right, because I want this to. I pulled the nice car, that's it. So let me get this right. So you just want to return all these plants you're going to bring back in your containers. We'll take everything out of your containers and we'll repot it into little plastic pots for us and then I'll just return all of that money to you for the. Yes, I just can't have these plants. I'm like, okay, okay, so we did that. She brought in all her stuff. So it was time for her to come back and pick up her containers. So she comes in and I'm like we got all your containers cleaned up. Here they are.
Speaker 2:I was like, let me just refund this. And I mean I'm being like really nice and I printed out and I'm like, okay, here's your refund, here's the breakdown. Does that look correct to you? Yes, Thank you so much. That looks great. I was like, okay, you just need to sign right here, whatever. So she signs it. And as soon as she signs it, I rip the receipt out of her hand and I'm like, listen here, you bitch. And I lay into her and I'm like I have never been taken advantage of like this and you are standing there taking advantage of me and you had those for your party and now you want to bring them back and you're acting like you're somebody and can afford something. And you didn't. And I laid into her and there were I mean, there were customers in the store.
Speaker 1:It didn't matter who was it.
Speaker 2:It did not matter. I mean, that is probably one of the top five most unglued I've ever come, and especially on a customer is top one. And then she that heifer was like wow, I mean I would still like to be able to shop here. And I was like no, don't ever come back in here. And I said if you ever even touch my doorknob I'll call the police so quick to make your head spin. And she was like shot. Do you know that heifer still called? She called an employee. I saw this container in there. I really want. Do you think I could pay over the phone and you could bring it out to me?
Speaker 1:I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Yes, I was like no, I don't want anything to do with you, your money, your credit card nothing.
Speaker 1:You were meaner than I was. Well, I think on both, on both stories.
Speaker 2:Oh well it was yeah. I mean, I literally cussed her out from head to toe.
Speaker 1:Oh, I remember.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that was mine. Well, no one's pushed me that far in a long time. I try to like no.
Speaker 1:Just let it. It's not even worth it.
Speaker 2:No, but that was okay. The thing was that was when we were a lot smaller. I had worked over time, stayed late to get to make it happen. We only it was like me and one designer at the time and so this was a large order didn't want to take away from other customers.
Speaker 1:And that money was a big deal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a big sale and a big deal, especially back then. And to have someone blatantly steal.
Speaker 1:That's what it was, yeah.
Speaker 2:Take advantage of you in that form, to your face. It's kind of hard not to like lose it on someone for that.
Speaker 1:Well, mine was kind of the same, and I don't really just for the record.
Speaker 2:I don't regret it.
Speaker 1:No, it's fine. No, we should.
Speaker 2:That's when you know, going back, you find your people like that was never going to be my people, that was never going to be my customer. She was going to be that kind of customer that returned everything every time Everything was going to be a problem. Everything was going to be a problem. She was going to return it every time something happened. We have another customer like that too.
Speaker 1:But let it go. Let it go so well. Mine was similar. It was at the garden store and we had had a sale.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And these lovelies came and mother and daughter. This is the one I was hoping you'd tell us. They did a very large purchase of items on sale after the season at 40% off which we, as you're aware, those sales are final Right, and so they decided to drive. They lived an hour away and drove it back and was not happy with it. Was that plus an arrangement they were not happy with?
Speaker 2:So wait, what were they? They weren't happy with.
Speaker 1:They were not happy with an arrangement that one of the designers did.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:A faux arrangement. So that was one thing, well, and then they had brought back all of this stuff that they had bought on sale?
Speaker 2:Yes, because they probably bought it right before the holiday was over. Because we, like, say, at Christmas I don't remember what holiday it was, but like a Christmas, when we'll start a Christmas sale the week before Christmas. So then some people will try to buy it and then they'll try to return their Christmas merchandise decor after the holiday because, again, they're done with it and these were just rubbing me the wrong way from the get go.
Speaker 1:And I, first of all the arrangement was things that they had picked out. Right. For the arrangement, we didn't say it would look good, yeah, that's what they wanted, right. And then you're going to come back because it's not right. Well, you didn't want us to pick it out, you know, because we would have done it right. But anyway, with a smile, I refunded that the basket, refunded that, and or the arrangement. The arrangement, yeah. And the basket they had bought. They wanted to keep the basket, okay, all right. So I refunded that. And then they had these other items that they wanted to return and I said you know, this is not our policy, but I will give you credit for these sale items that you're bringing back months later that are not returnable, and I'll give you credit on a gift card.
Speaker 2:Right. So instead of giving them money back, you were going to give them gift cards. I said I'm not yeah, the merchandise that should have never been returned in any form anyway, correct?
Speaker 1:And I was kind of firm with it, but nice and polite. Well then it was all fine and we all go back to work. And then they were, like Steven this customer's back. They had sat out in the parking lot for like 20 minutes, festering over this.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Smoldering out there because they didn't get their way.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Came back in and said, well, your policy's not posted. I said first of all, it is, it's right there. Well, we couldn't see it. Well, that's not my problem.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's right there. It's their clearest day on the wall.
Speaker 1:They wanted a credit on their charge card. Yeah, and I said they were looking for money.
Speaker 2:Money.
Speaker 1:And I was like I hear you, but what I'm telling you is I've already you know, I've already bent the rule and I'm doing this for you, but I'm not going to do that. And it went on and on, and on and on. It was just like needling me, Right. That's how poking the bear poking the bear, poking the bear and then, in one split second, the bear let loose and I had the gift cards in my hand.
Speaker 2:It was a door basket.
Speaker 1:It was a door basket and gift cards and I had the gift cards in one hand, a door basket in the other, and I said what you're going to get are these gift cards. And I slammed them on the counter and in your damn basket and you can get the hell out of here. And I threw the basket in the parking lot. Right?
Speaker 1:What you just opened the door I opened the door and threw the basket into the parking lot. And the employees had never, because we do not act that way, right, that's very, very, very rare. They had never seen me like that and everybody was like quiet as little mice. And then I was like it's okay, I'm good. And they're like, wow, we've never seen you like that. And I was like, well, you've never seen an asshole like they were.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But it was really. It was really. They were wacky yeah. And then well, there's more to the story that you got to mention, there's really not more to the story. That is the story.
Speaker 2:Well, when you called me and told me the story, you also told me that one of the people I guess the one you were hollering at- I had one leg.
Speaker 1:She had a wooden leg. She had two legs. One was wooden.
Speaker 2:And then you done, threw her stuff out in the parking lot.
Speaker 1:Listen, I am sorry she has one leg. I mean I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but I had taken all I could take and I had given all I could give and that was it. That was it. But I wish I'd been there for that, but, but they were obviously were insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because a family member came and actually talked to me and apologized. Right, yeah Within 30 minutes or an hour, yeah, and they were like we are so sorry, we hope we can still shop here. And I'm like absolutely, absolutely, they're like. You know. I could tell that they were embarrassed.
Speaker 2:Embarrassed.
Speaker 1:Second, I'm like it is fine, I'm like and you know, because they shop with us and I'm like you know us.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know we're nice people, you know, and they're like absolutely.
Speaker 2:So that made me feel so much they understood.
Speaker 1:They completely would have done that themselves. Okay, I think they would have probably ran them over. Yeah, oh, my gosh so it sounds like we're a horrible customer service.
Speaker 2:But we knew that is only three incidences and we and for me in 30 years, yeah, and we deal with hundreds of customers, so we're not bad people.
Speaker 1:If you got any.
Speaker 2:We try to go over and beyond, yeah, and beyond, to be on for that to make everything right, because we want you to be, obviously, we want you to continue to shop with us.
Speaker 1:And be happy. Yeah, so, yeah. So it's been a bit, but some people don't want it. They come in not happy, they're not going to be happy With nothing.
Speaker 2:Never going to be happy. It ain't going to happen. You know another place I learned. That is with Airbnb. You get, you know those customers and we've done a whole segment on Airbnb and how great it is, and it is great it is, we have very few problems. But occasionally you get that customer. This is what I learned, because it used to kind of I won't say affect me, but I would try to bend over backwards.
Speaker 1:In the beginning Everything.
Speaker 2:Right. You know, oh my gosh, they're not having. Something's not right. They're not. Some customers Airbnb stays could be, whatever you know you're running on Never going to be happy. That's who they are, so you can't make them happy. So what I learned a long time ago is unless it's a legitimate complaint, hey, we got here and something has happened. And then I'm like, okay, I'm on it, I need to get it fixed, I'm on that. If it's anything else, I ain't worried about it. They can chat, they can send messages. One there's net. You're never going to make them happy, they're never going to leave you a good review, you're never going to resolve the situation, and it just goes on and on.
Speaker 1:Because in the beginning we used to. It's me, yeah, it's me again, margaret, that's how they did yeah. In the beginning we both went over. Oh my gosh, you know there was a wrinkle on the sheet. We've got to give them their cleaning feedback. We can. What can we do? Can we come there and cook you dinner? I mean, we went over and beyond yeah, ridiculous. And then they would leave us a two-star review after we refunded all their money and did everything and it would be something so stupid.
Speaker 2:Dumb Like so stupid.
Speaker 1:And then you would have someone that had a major problem, a legitimate, like something that we can't control, like I don't know, power outage or something crazy. And they're the nicest, most wonderful people I know. And you know, the last time I had a big issue was when my washer and dryer and Hilton head went out. Yeah, and I had the new one delivered, but it wouldn't fit into the closet area, so it was sitting in the dining area and there was nothing we could do at that time because we didn't realize we were going to have to take door frames down Right. And this little girl called and it was just like college kids that was the end of the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I said, you know, I mean it went on and on and on and I was like here's the deal that will be put in tomorrow, you know, and they weren't even there long enough to even need a washer and dryer. It was just that it bothered them and you know I hung up and I said you know I am never going to make them happy, right? So I went and refunded their stay and called them out. Yes, and I said this is just not going to work for us and you have to leave.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, sometimes you have to do that, and then she was like no, it's fine.
Speaker 1:It's fine, it's not. No no, no, no it is not fine. No, you need to roll on down the road, sweetheart, it is not fine, because you better get out, or I'll drive down there and drag you out and you would, just for principle, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I'm changing my handle doesn't change my content. I'm getting asked why the whole thing? So I thought this was the perfect time, because we do get asked, or specifically I do if someone's wanting to start out, how do you get started, like naming and that sort of thing. So that's what I thought we do.
Speaker 1:No one can spell shenanigans.
Speaker 2:Right. So there's a few things. The reason why I want to update my name from Farm shenanigans and it goes back to when I started Instagram. I had no intention. I mean, I didn't even know you could get a following on Instagram when I started it.
Speaker 2:It was a thing I had, no intention of using it as a creator and as part of our business and that sort of thing. So we were moving to the farm and I just wanted a fun name and we were going to be renovating the farm. I knew we'd have farm animals, so Farm shenanigans was born and I have loved that name because it fits. But then as we've done renovations and moved on, and now that we in the past few years we have our own line store and I'm showing things from that, I'm showing things at our warehouse, I'm doing little cooking things or arranging with flowers or decorating or whatever, I feel like a couple of things has happened. One, some people see farm in the name and they think it doesn't relate to them.
Speaker 2:So I want it to be a more broader appeal, because those are our customers and we want new customers. So I want to ditch the farm name because it's so much more than farm. It's not just about us on the farm, it's not farm or farmhouse or anything.
Speaker 1:It's not about that.
Speaker 2:The other thing is when I'm out and talking to people oh, I love following you at Farmhouse shenanigans. Well, there's no house in my name, which is fine if you, I don't care if you mess it up. But what I know happens is you're like oh, you need to follow Wesley at Farmhouse shenanigans, and that's not. There is a Farmhouse shenanigans, but it's not me, and you lose followers and you lose followers.
Speaker 2:And then the other thing is shenanigans. No one, including myself, can spell shenanigans right off the bat. I'm like I'll see someone how you need to follow me.
Speaker 1:I don't even know why you pick shenanigans, because I know when you picked it you couldn't spell it.
Speaker 2:It was a fun name Shenanigans, Farmhouse shenanigans, I agree.
Speaker 1:But you, but you but you should have clicked with you even then. You know, I can't even spell this word.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I have to say it out now Shenanigans.
Speaker 1:I said like if you.
Speaker 2:A-N-I-G-A-N-S. Yeah, I have to like do it, but anyway. So that's the thought process behind wanting to change my name. But what I thought is that really leads into if you are thinking about getting on social media doesn't matter what platform it is or if you are changing your name. It's almost like the same thoughts of when we talked about naming your business sort of situation. The only thing different is it's acceptable and normal for people to use their name like Wesley in their handle on social media. We talked about you kind of want to steer away from that when you're doing a small business like a retail store.
Speaker 1:This is different.
Speaker 2:This is a little bit different.
Speaker 1:And you have to be careful too, because even with my handle and you and I came up with mine keeping up with Steven, which I really like, but there's no G, is just keeping, and I know that costs me followers.
Speaker 2:Right, so that's what I was going to get to it's confusion.
Speaker 2:Is, if you're coming up with a name for your social media handle and you want to do it as a job or as a creator or influencer and get discovered, think about how does it sound to other people if you are just saying it. You can't look at it from in print is what I'm saying because, like yours is keeping up with Steven. We don't realize how many times for social media you just say that like right here on the podcast hey, follow me at keeping up with Steven. Then how do you do? You say it's keeping up with Steven, with no G, and then you're trying to explain what your name is, and then Steven with a V.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's tagged below, by the way, if you want to follow him.
Speaker 1:Right, so we need to work on your.
Speaker 2:We're going to have to update yours next yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know how, but so it's really hard, and that's what you have to think about. There's other things that you need to think about when coming up with your name on social media, for example, you can't have an apostrophe S, so it can't be like Wesley's anything or anything that needs that symbol, because if you remove that symbol, then people are confused. Like well, does it have that, does it not? Like how do I search it? So that makes things harder. So that's another thing to think about is okay, I can't have any symbols like that in my name. And then the other one that a lot of people do and have done is they'll use the underscore in their name. Like you know, wesley underscore home underscore whatever.
Speaker 2:Because if again, if you're verbally telling someone, it's hard for them to remember. Now, where do I put those underscores? How do I find you Now?
Speaker 1:what is it? I mean, that's happening to me and I couldn't remember. Wait, where is the underscore?
Speaker 2:Yeah, where does it go? How do I find that? Or you don't want to necessarily put a dot in your name, like Wesley dot Turner, because then it's. You know you have to say that. Follow me online at Instagram at Wesley dot Turner, like. It just complicates things. So you want to find the easiest way to be discovered if you're looking to do it as a business or an influencer or that sort of thing, and it's really hard because you know you got to then go on the platform and search it to see if someone else already has that name. Because I've had a handful of ones that I really like and I go to search them and for some reason they're all dog accounts. Anything with my name, like I like life with Wesley was one that I came up with. It's a dog account. Who names their dog Wesley?
Speaker 1:Is that a comment? It's kind of a cute name. It is Wesley Wesley.
Speaker 2:Can you start calling me?
Speaker 1:like that, wesley.
Speaker 2:Come on, I'll probably come to that. Come on, boy. So that is the things that you need to think about with your name. Now, I do like I feel like the more updated social media names do include your name in some form, because it gives you some identity and also, um, you know, sets you apart if you have something.
Speaker 1:Fun A lot of it makes it fun to having something else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of people will just use their name. I don't necessarily want to use just my name, like Wesley Turner, because then if you're scrolling and you're kind of looking, there's a lot of them too. Yeah Well, there is a lot of Wesley Turners. And then it's like, oh well, that doesn't just seeing that name doesn't say, oh, he's a creator, or or um influencer or a business or it doesn't really mean anything.
Speaker 2:So like having Wesley something or something, wesley it kind of says oh, he does this or does that or whatever. So we're hashing out the names, but that's, that's the um but we managed to screw up not one, but two handles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, daniels is great.
Speaker 2:Pedal pickers. That's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, dylan's isn't that great because he abbreviated about oh, it's all about Dylan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean see, I thought all about Wesley, and then I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 2:So we'll see what it lands on. Um as far as. As far as that and you know there are people who have made these names work. You know, like um, we love MB and hers is living with MB, but there's no G on living um there, which you know what it has worked for her and it's working well. But starting out now, if I were starting out and like what am I going to do it? You want to make it very, very easy to understand. If you're telling someone it, you don't want it to be too long so that you can post it places and that and that sort of thing. I can't wait to see what I land on. Yeah, you're not going to use all about Wesley. No, is it already some gone, Gone?
Speaker 1:You just looked at that for me. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:The other thing is, if you are wanting to get into social media, it doesn't matter what platform you're choosing, because I get asked this a lot. Once you get your name and I would I would look and will look for me and try to have the name available on multiple platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, so that it matches what you want it to be Um, so your name is consistent, because it's almost just like a business. You're kind of creating a brand, so you want it to um to match. That's the other thing with Farm Shenanigans. I don't have a ton of followers on um. Tiktok. I have like 28,000 or something.
Speaker 1:That's a lot.
Speaker 2:I haven't put a lot of effort in there, but Farm Shenanigans was already taken over there, so I had to do that one as the real Farm Shenanigans. So I want it. I want it to all. It's just time for an update and I know people love the name. I love the name and it's fun, but it's time for an update. But if you are wanting to break into social media as a job, as a side hustle or that sort of thing, first of all, it's never too late, Always get that.
Speaker 2:Well, so many people are. It is an industry. It's just. That would be like saying I can't open a retail store because there's too many retail stores. There's room there. Like we mentioned earlier, you're going to find your people. You got to find your people and stick to your lane. So my first number one tip after picking your name is if I were starting out, I would maybe have in my mind this is where I want to go. Like, I want to get some type of following. Like, you have to have your goals, but the number one thing that you have to do is A just get on there and B be your authentic self.
Speaker 2:Do not try to say I am getting on here, this is my goal, and I'm going to put out this persona and be fake because it does not work. And not that you're being fake, but being something you're not. You have to be 100% your natural self, because if you aren't from the beginning, then you're getting followers who think you're one thing and then that's really your. You know persona.
Speaker 1:But it's not comfortable.
Speaker 2:But then for you it becomes overwhelming and too much work for you to keep up that persona.
Speaker 1:It's like dressing up in a clown costume, though you know what I'm saying. If it's not you. That's what I struggled with. You know, when you were getting me on Instagram, was you know I was like, but you know it's me, I say shit.
Speaker 2:And I'm like we'll do that from the beginning. You have to do it, you have to be you. Be you from the beginning or it's way too much work and it's not natural, it's not comfortable, it's overwhelming.
Speaker 2:Feels like a job Not seeing a lot of people come and go because of that, because really they started out, especially back in the day. There was, you know, like cotton stammer's, a huge home decor account. She quit, but there were a lot of influencers back in the day who saw her and then tried to emulate her Right and come on and do that same thing because she was being successful and they thought that's what they needed to do. But then they burned out and they're gone because that wasn't who they were and that didn't come natural. So sign up, get your account started, but be natural, be you, be what comes natural to you.
Speaker 2:It's just like starting a business. You're not going to go start a business copying someone else's business. You might have similar products, but you're going to display them and, you know, do things your own way. And it's the same thing on social media and that's the, I feel like one of the biggest mistakes that I see. Be true to you, be true to you. And that's like, for example, with me. People ask me all the time for more recipes and things and I'm always like, ah, that's not really my thing, but then I like doing them. What I've done is I'm like, okay, people want to see this. I'm going to share recipes that I would literally make, or that I do literally make, and my recipes are very basic because I'm not and very snacky.
Speaker 2:And I'm not going to get on there and show you how to make a cake, mate, and decorate it. Yeah, because I guess what Wesley is? Not decorating a damn cake, not happening, not going to pretend that I know how to do that and not going to put that out there. I'm going to show you how to throw something in a crescent roll, or you know what I'm saying. I'm going to keep it very, very simple and I need to share more recipes, showing what we eat for dinner. I get asked that all the time, but our dinners are very, very, very basic. But maybe other people like that just the same way. You know they've liked these other recipes. So that's one thing that I've gotten.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to get myself more comfortable showing because I felt like. I feel like when people, when you're showing recipes and stuff, they want it to be like you made this whole something fancy. When I'm like I don't bake like that, I don't cook like that, like our dinners a lot of time are sauteed vegetables and we throw them in a wrap and we have some cheese on and they're, but it's really good, you know. Or we might do potato tacos or something like that. So again, it just goes back to being get on. It's never too late. Everyone started at zero. Everyone started at zero and if you're on there and you're authentic self and showing that, you will gain a following of your people. However, mr Merck, you're not going to gain a following of your people if you are not on there regularly, as in daily consistency consistently.
Speaker 1:And I'm bad about it.
Speaker 2:And you're very bad about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I am, and I'm good at it. I really like it. Now it's now. I just have to be consistent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you've been saying that since January and we're already in September. I know, yeah, I know and you haven't gotten consistent. I know you have had good intentions, but it hadn't happened. I know, but that's fine. You're also not moping around saying I don't have this following or followers, or I'm not, because you know your problem.
Speaker 1:Because, yeah, I know why is not growing.
Speaker 2:Right, it's my fault, so you got to get your name right. You got to get on there, be you. And then you got to post consistently and then, if you are doing it for again to be an influencer or a creator or a business, whatever you want to call it and you've probably heard this, but that is what that page is for Do not post anything else. Like don't post your kids swimming at the swimming pool, and then you, whatever your niche is like decorating home decor or you might be, you know, doing a clothing, or you could be doing exercising. Whatever your wellness account, whatever your account is, could be beauty. Don't confuse your followers. Like, if they are following you because you're a beauty account, they're expecting beauty content. They don't want to see your children. They don't want to see your children.
Speaker 2:And that sounds bad, you can throw your children in as you get a bigger following and people want to know you more personally or put it in your stories, or you can do it in your stories.
Speaker 2:Hey, I'm with my kids, we're doing this and that you can show glimpses of that. But if they look at your page where you have your posted squares, your photos, or it could be reels or whatever they don't want to see. If you're doing beauty, they don't want to see a makeup tutorial and then your kid doing something that needs to be consistent to right that needs to be.
Speaker 1:Your page needs to have a consistency to that right. And I'll add to this because I'd everybody knows I do have a real estate business on the side and so I had a real estate page.
Speaker 2:Right A real estate Instagram account? Yeah.
Speaker 1:If you're out there, if you're a professional realtor or any professional services like that. But I'll pick on realtors for a minute because it was I did it.
Speaker 2:No one's going to follow you outside To see what house you're posting.
Speaker 1:No, they don't, because you can go to Zillow, you can go to realtorcom, you can do all the houses. So do you know how many clients I've gotten from my real estate Instagram Zero? Do you know how many millions I've sold off my Instagram account?
Speaker 2:That's just your people, that connect with me. Right, because they see your house, oh, he has good taste. They see you're doing this, oh, I trust him.
Speaker 1:They've made that connection and then I throw in every now and then when I tour or I list an amazing, you know, multi-million dollar home. I'll throw that in there Right Just to share it with my followers. But you're not selling it. I'm not selling it there. You're showing it, you're showing it Look at this in this pretty, I'm showing it. Yeah, so I get lots of business from a lot of out of state business.
Speaker 2:It's all about how you present. It is what is exactly what it is. Because you present even though the house might be for sale, and if someone is in the market for a house and they like that house, they'll contact you. You don't need to say this is for sale.
Speaker 1:I don't need to describe it, I don't need to give that hell. Mls rundown.
Speaker 2:Right, they'll contact you. But when you broaden it and say, let me show you this gorgeous house, then it appeals to everyone. Everyone likes to walk through and see someone's house. Not everyone's in the market for a house, that doesn't mean they don't want to see it. So that's what you're doing there is, you're broadening the connection with the audience and so they're going oh, we're walking. Look at this house, stevens walking through. It's so gorgeous. Oh, look at that. Look at that. The handful, if someone's interested, like I said, will contact you and then the other people who aren't interested, may not be in the market for a house at the time, will take it away in their memory. Oh, I'm now, two years later, I'm in the market for a house. Let me contact Steven.
Speaker 2:He's always showing gorgeous houses. I want something like that.
Speaker 1:And I feel like everybody has those few extra attributes that make them stand out from the rest, mine are I'm a good designer, right, and people know that, so I can look at a big turd of a house and say you know, if we do this and we do this and we do this, this will be gorgeous, right, but at the same time, I also have been a business owner for many years, so I look at it as an investment, right, and I'm not just trying to sell you something.
Speaker 2:Because you will say to people well, this house needs this, this and this, and you're really not going to get your money back. Yeah, I'm going to be on it If you do need to sell it within the next 10 or 15 years.
Speaker 1:So I feel like my followers know I'm upfront and I'm going to say this is not a good investment for you and it all depends on how long you're going to be there. If they're like we're going to live here for 20 plus years, well, you can pretty much do what the hell you want to do. You're going to get your money back out, unless you're just been in a crazy amount. But I feel like it tells your story. Even if you're I don't know if you're a cake decorator, you need to show your whole style image, your whole story of who you are.
Speaker 2:So they're connecting with you Not just a cake. Right, you got to go, you got to tell the story, you got to make the connection. Yeah, you can have pretty cakes and just post a pretty, but they won't. People want to see. That's a great example. If you're a cake decorator, you can't just show the pretty cake. You got to show the tablescape and you got to show the process of making the cake. You don't have to tell your secrets. You can edit and show this. But you can say you know you can do a real. Let me show you this cake that took me eight hours to make.
Speaker 2:I started with this and you can, you know, take them on the journey. The connection.
Speaker 1:Share your art Right, Because it is what you do. What all of us do is an art. Right and you have to.
Speaker 2:It's as a platform to share that art Right, and I do see people who, with home decor, who are wanting to grow their accounts. I'm watching them not grow at all because they're talented and they have pretty things, but all they'll do is style something, take a picture, write a description and they're done. Well, you're just looking at another picture. The world is jumbled with another picture. There was no journey, there was no connection, there was no. This is what I'm going to do, or how I got here, or anything like that. So their accounts accounts don't grow any because it's just another, just noise.
Speaker 2:It's just another pretty picture Might as well be Pinterest Right, and so you have to have that connection to get people to want to follow you.
Speaker 2:You got to show up in stories, whether you want to or not. You got to show your face, and if you're not willing to do that and that's what I think some like accounts that want to be influencers need to hear If you are not going to be the face and you're not going to show up and do it in stories, you're not going to make it. Stop now and put your efforts into something else. Put your efforts into being a Pinterest person, because there are people who make really good money off of Pinterest and you don't have to ever have to show your face. Find what works for you. It goes back to being being natural and original. If you are going to dread getting up and having a camera in your face every day and that's not your thing If that's going to feel like work, just do not start it, because you are wasting valuable time and effort where you could be growing some other platform.
Speaker 1:But it can be fun if you'll just put yourself out there, right, because I was. I went kicking and screaming and I I really enjoyed it. Yeah, like it's fun If you do it.
Speaker 2:I mean, I would say, if you're wondering well, will I like it or not? Do it consistently, every day for three weeks, showing up doing videos of yourself, doing stories. And make it fun. Make it fun, make it who you are. And if after that you're still dreading it and not comfortable, then it's probably not for you.
Speaker 1:And if you, if you're southern on it, yeah, we do.
Speaker 2:You have that southern accent, you can own it. We do. Yeah, I mean Wesley.
Speaker 1:Ray on his head from.
Speaker 2:Tennessee and I own mine from six miles South Carolina.
Speaker 2:I know it's. You know I thought about using Wesley Ray. Wesley Ray, I don't know, we'll see where this gets, but I feel like we're getting a little long. So that's a good intro. I think we need to do a part two on about posting and tips and even for people listeners who aren't on the influencer creator side, how you can help your favorite influencers and creator and what things really mean. You've got a good idea.
Speaker 2:You probably hear you know us, beg you, like hey, go by, comment, share, save this. But I'd love to give, like, the insight behind the scenes of what that that really does. But I think that's a good intro. So, to recap, if you want to get on social media, it's never too late. Start now, be yourself, pick a good name that when you say it out loud, everyone can understand. Like don't make it too complicated to spell, don't put hyphens in it, underscores in it, dots in it, nothing. It needs to be very easy to understand. And then make sure from day one you are who you are or it becomes a job that you don't want to fight with.
Speaker 2:You want it to be natural and easy. Also, make sure you're showing up regularly, posting regularly in stories, regularly connecting with people and sticking to what you want your account to be. You need to have some idea of what you want your account to be as you're getting started. Not that you can't ebb and flow and bring in other things, but do you want to be a beauty account or do you not want to deal with beauty every day? Do you want to be showing apparel or do you not want to dress up every day? Do you want to show home decor or are you going to get tired of decorating, you know? So that's the tips on getting started for your social media do's and don'ts. I need a pit stop, Are you? Yeah?
Speaker 1:I got a TT.
Speaker 2:I know that's going to wrap up this week's episode of who's Driving. We'll definitely do a part two to social media.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that'd be a good one, and we need it. We need to remind ourselves of things, ourselves of things, too, it's true.
Speaker 2:It is. Don't forget to leave us a review wherever you're listening to your podcast. It really helps us out. And also remember that you can tap the show notes and get links to our social medias. Maybe mine will be changed by now. It should be. It should be so you can find my new name there, but if you're already following it, you won't notice any difference.
Speaker 1:And call our hotline if you have any info?
Speaker 2:Yep, and you can follow Stephen at Keeping Up with Stephen. No G in the name and he spells it with a, b, so see how complicated that is. How about you just tap down there and you can have the direct link and text us and call us on our hotline. It's also in the show notes, but it's 864-982-5029. And we'll see you next week. Thanks y'all.