Okay this entry is more for your general information and illumination than necessarily news you can use, mull over and apply. Just fair warning for those seeking gems of wisdom. There may be some here, but they will be unintentional.

So 60ish years ago, where I am sitting was just recovering from being battered by a Japanese air attack. Nowadays, the Japanese are still launching airborne attacks and staging landings. This time they are bringing lots and lots of money to pump into the local economy. It is high vacation season in Japan and they are coming to visit.

Of course, there are plenty of Japanese in residence already. So many in fact, they have to celebrate a summer holiday that falls in July all summer long.

The O-ban is observed as part of Buddhist practice around the middle of July. Usually the celebratory aspect is observed at the same time. However, there are so many temples in Hawaii, they take turns holding celebrations every weekend from June through the start of September.

Some how I have managed to attend a festival four out of the last five years. I got started in an unlikely place–rural South Jersey. This is an unlikely place because there isn’t much of anything at all so the existence of a Buddhist temple in the middle of nowhere is rather unexpected. Once you understand the story of how the owner of a large tract of farmland requested the relocation Japanese internees during WW II to his frozen/dried food operation, you can see how the temple ended up down this backcountry road.

The food at these festivals is usually great, but hardly makes it a destination event. The dancing is pretty sedate–people walk slowly around in a circle performing simple steps and hand movements. It is actually a good community building activity because anyone from the audience can and does join in.

I go for the taiko drums though. It is really great to watch a good taiko ensemble practicing their craft. There is so much energy and the sensation of the drums vibrating your entire body is pretty cool. (samples from the group http://www.kodo.or.jp/frame.html here)

No matter where I have attended a Bon Festival though, there is wide community involvement. People of all races, cultures and religions attend, participate in the dancing and even perform. (Though I have to admit, there is an evident poise and discipline expressed by long time taiko practitoners that novices don’t have no matter how serious they try to look.)

It may be too late in many place, but if you haven’t attended one of these festivals, do a quick Google search of your locale and see if you still have time to check the festival out.

A week or so ago I wondered if a radio ad rep was sabotaging his career at his corporate owned station by spending so much time working with me. I actually emailed him to that effect expressing my appreciation as well as my concern that he not lose his job. He wrote back telling me not to worry.

Today he came to meet with me for a 3rd time in 3 weeks. He has spent close to 6 hours just talking with me now. I feel a little better about his job security for two reasons- 1- He talked money today so he was no longer enshrouded by the aura of unconcerned benevolence and 2- He brought in a sheet from a Post-It self stick easel pad filled with ideas from a brainstorm session.

From the brain storm session I can assume that his company as a stronger customer-service focus than I thought. Ultimately, I think it worked for him. He suggested that I invest twice as much with them this year as last which means I will have to do less print advertising. I was going to anyway, but now it is a necessity since it will eat a big chunk of my marketing budget.

I felt uneasy about this but because of the relationship I have developed with him, I didn’t mind telling him that. However, because I was comfortable telling him that I was uneasy, I felt even more confident that this would be money wisely invested. As the objective part of my brain analyzed this reaction from the subjective part, I realized I was learning a lesson in just how powerful good customer service can be.

Later I got an email from one of my partners saying a group we are presenting in March wanted to know if their CDs could be printed in Hawaii rather than paying the cost to ship them. I called my guy at the radio station, (he is also a local musician so he knows a bit about the publishing side too), and within a fifteen minutes had an answer for me plus an to pass on to the group from a distributor to be their Pacific Rim distributor.

Yeah, I know it is called networking and good customer service, it is probably run of the mill everywhere in the business world. But having worked for non-profits that don’t have a lot of cash to toss around, I have rarely been on the receiving end so I will cherish it while I am getting it.