Lessons From the Road: Good Luck - Bad Luck
As many of you know, I spend a lot of the summer months working remotely from an RV (AKA from Doris the RV). I am truly grateful for this privilege. Rich and I enjoy seeing the beauty of Canada and spending time in nature. It is also a great opportunity to connect with family and friends coast to coast.
There have been many lessons on the road. This is only our second year, so we knew there would be a steep learning curve on the mechanics of the RV, what is necessary to bring, and what you can do without when space is very limited. There were surprises that were easier to manage: such as not planning to get work done on days we were driving to a new location. Facing the annoying reality of not being able to anticipate where internet service will be good means I always have to be ready to turn off video or switch to phone calls for meetings. On occasion, I’ve even had to move a meeting to another day.
On a recent trip, with two days of travel troubles, a fellow traveller told me about an old children’s book called Good Luck Bad Luck. The concept of the book is that even in bad luck we experience good luck. As always, these lessons have wisdom in them that I can apply in business and in everyday life.
Our Good Luck - Bad Luck Experience Day 1
Near the beginning of the journey we’d planned for that day, our friends and travel partners blew a trailer tire in a spectacular way. Later that same day, Doris’ steering wheel started vibrating something fierce. Our friends’ trailer was a rental, and it was the first time this avenue was used to rent a trailer. We quickly discovered that not all the equipment was there, and we had a tough lesson in checking someone else’s work.
We now know that we should always check the spare tire and necessary tools to change the tire - in this case, a jack and lug-nut wrench. You shouldn’t have to check other people’s work/services, but when you are in a new relationship it is necessary so you can manage any impact on your own business.
Our friend’s blown tire was solved with a call to CAA. Fixing Doris’s shake was left for Day 2.
Lesson: When engaging in a new relationship, be more mindful of deliverables. Until you have established confidence in the relationship, pay close attention as shortfalls will impact you and potentially your business reputation.
Our Good Luck - Bad Luck Experience Day 2
The second day was an experience in problem-solving and the power of groupthink. We discussed approaches, explored options, and decided on first steps. After many phone calls, we secured an appointment for Doris later that afternoon, so we began hobbling to Sudbury to get Doris the care she needed.
As we arrived in Sudbury, I noticed an auto shop that I couldn’t recall having already called. I quickly gave them a call, but they couldn’t service an RV and referred us to another place that could see us immediately (instead of the 5-hour wait with the other appointment that day). This is where our luck started to shift. We ended up at Sudbury Truck & Trailer – this is a blatant promotion of a business that has customer service that is second to none. They quickly identified the problem as a lopsided tire (another journal on the benefit of quality tires/products for another date) and started making calls until they found tires for us. They sent us on our way with a business name, contact name, and NO charge for their help. Don’t worry - we made sure that the helpful staff could treat their families to dinner on us as thanks. When someone goes out of their way for you it deserves a treat for them. I also did a Google Business review for them. Another way of showing my gratitude.
Lesson: Stellar customer/client service is worth the investment! It is tough to describe our relief. We were far from home and three days away from travelling to the East Coast to finally be reunited with Mackenzie. The thought of this trip not happening due to Doris needing repairs was so disheartening. I know that the staff were just doing their job, but to us making sure that we got repairs quickly meant we were still on track for a family reunion two years in the making. That isn’t just doing their job - that is making my dreams come true!
Continuing the Journey with a Focus on Good Luck
These two days of travel took our tandem travel group from Marathon, Ontario to Huntsville, Ontario. The terrain through this area is steep, almost mountainous terrain, with cliffs to the rocky shores of Lake Superior and many areas where there is no cellular service. Here in these details lies our good luck – bad luck.
It is bad luck to have tire trouble when you are travelling, but this was our first experience EVER with roadside vehicle trouble (sounds like a lot of prior good luck to me). And to have all of this unfold when we had travel buddies to provide support and cellular service to make the necessary connections throughout the whole experience – another bunch of good luck. With the cliffs and rock cuts, we are extremely grateful for the good luck that neither of these tire troubles resulted in anything more significant than a few hours’ delay. There was a whole bunch of good luck involved.
Lessons from the road have given us perspective on approaches to business and strengthened our emotional resiliency. With the help of a friend and a children’s book, we were able to see that even when life brings unexpected challenges our way there is a whole lot to be grateful for.
PS. As I write this journal – from Doris – it is late afternoon. We had decided to put the awning back up as the wind was gusting just a tiny bit. Literally one side of the awning fell off the RV – a bit of bad luck. We usually just roll the awning up at night… so it was really good luck that it was still daylight when this happened. With another set of hands from the neighbouring campers, and a couple of new screws, all is fixed.
