Dial 300 for Harry
You should go mattress shopping.
I did, today.
I admit, I don’t think I’ve ever been mattress shopping before. What an astonishing experience. If you don’t believe the "storytelling" riffs in Liars, this will convert you. It’s an entire room filled with virtually identical objects, varying in price by as much as 2,000%. And while you can lie down on any of them, lying down on a mattress is totally different from sleeping on one over a decade.
All you can buy is the story.
However, this isn’t a post about the story. It’s a post about the phone on the Sleepy’s salesman’s desk. Our sales guy, who was outstanding by the way, explained that all 400 stores in the chain are owned by one guy, and that the instructions are clear: if there’s anything in the store, anything important, that’s broken and not fixed within 72 hours (including policies, prices, inventory, whatever), his job is to pick up the phone and dial 300.
And Harry Acker, the owner, the billionaire, answers. "This is Harry." And you tell him and he fixes it.
I love that.
Even better… every once in a while, the phone rings. It’s Harry. "What’s up?" he asks. And if you tell him good news, he hangs up on you.
I think I’m glad I don’t have Harry’s job. But I was (amazingly, surprisingly, shockingly) glad I shopped there today.