My iPhone Works Now

My iPhone died. Or so I thought it did. It was a Sunday morning, and I needed my phone, like immediately. Thinking it was a down battery, my first reaction? Panic. What the heck am I going to do? My family, friends, clients, voice students, etc...I cannot afford to be down for long, yet this was an unforeseen, unexpected expense that I was dreading.

Being that my meager budget didn't quite call for the glazed-over, commercialized, mall-walker Apple Store's exhorbitant prices on repair and such ($80? Steve Jobs is posthumously making some freakin', reekin' bucks), I did some digging online and found a place in Sacramento off of Greenback Lane and San Juan, behind Metro PC. http://www.iphonereplacementparts.com/About_Us.html. I hurried in as soon as I could (thank God they were open on a Sunday!) and told them of my situation. They got me in, took care of me...and the amazing part of this whole story? It was a simple software problem. They tested everything, pinpointed the problem, gave my phone back to me in perfect working condition and told me in 90 days, if anything happens, please let them know. They charged me nothing...repeat, again, NOTHING...for the time they spent finding out the real problem with my stupid phone. My waiting, wondering and worries were over; they took care of me without a blink of an eye, ZERO dollars charged. Believe me, I was ready to spend anything at that point to get me up and running, their already awesome half off price of $40, whatever. But no, they wouldn't hear of it. They had confidence in their services and what they were about. Honesty. Integrity. True service without a hitch or catch. I was impacted for a lifetime. This little store in Sac will have my respect and my business for years to come, and I will spread the news to my friends about it. Yes, their prices had a lot to do with it. But what they offered me that day restored my belief in good business and good people who care. That means a whole lot to someone who doesn't have a whole lot of budget room for those "unforeseeables".

How do we do business, Amador County? I've witnessed some very bad business practices and decisions going on through the years I've lived here, and I have to admit that I've had moments where I've had a very hard time feeling sorry for Amador's economic struggles when I see the "old school" mentalities of underhandedness, bait and switch, scams, pyramid schemes, aggressive monopolizing, "market uber alles", etc.- all signs (to me, at least) of desperation and panic, rather than confidence, integrity...learning how to network and market in a global economy. Shame on those who have tried such tactics. My undying loyalty to those businesses who don't need to resort to such.

 Do we focus so desperately on the dollar signs, and what we've been told about depressed markets, that we forget our own visions and dreams?  Have we given thought to our own strengths and abilities; those of us who contribute understanding and compassion to those who struggle to survive in an economy stuck in the old ways of doing business? Or do we slip back into our old patterns?

News flash: The way it's always been done doesn't work anymore. It's a new generation - hell, it's many new, younger generations who care more about today's technology, communications, networking and connections. As much as Facebook is loved and loathed, time marches ever forward. Can Amador County keep up? I can honestly say that it's trying. Succeeding? No. The advantage we do have is time and wisdom. But when the generation gaps are too far and wide, what is being done to bridge them? Or are we scrambling around, trying to figure out exactly what Facebook is, what blogging is, what Google, Amazon, eBay, ReverbNation, MySpace, Twitter, etc. are all about? Because if you don't speak to this generation, no one is going to care what you offer. And as a business...you lose.

The elements of an economy: Food, clothing, shelter, transportation, communication, entertainment...and with those, manufacturing/consumption/demand. I have to say, I've reached a turning point, and that based upon the positive experience of some tiny Sacramento business, they've reminded me: "Hey, we'll take care of you."

Wow, me? From little ol' Ione, California?

Yes. I only grieve that there wasn't a service in Sutter Creek, Ione, Jackson, "The County" that could do what was needed for my iPhone. I reluctantly shop at Ione's only grocery store when I absolutely need to. What I pay for paper towels and toilet paper there at my hometown market as to what I'd pay at Martell's Walmart doesn't even compute or compare, so I do shop at Walmart unless someone else will rise and compete. Yet, when that monetary transaction happens at the check out counter, still...no one cares about Amador County's tourism, about our rich gold country history, our awesome Zinfandel wines, our Americana-type hometowns, our own famous John Cougar Mellancamp's "Little Pink Houses".

Why? Because we don't...yet. Because we still blindly think about government and taxes, and how they define us. Not how we define our own selves.

What we need is not what we want. What we want is not what we need. What will it take for Amador County to rise, grow up and put our place on the global economic map? Why should anyone listen to what it is we have to so richly offer, if we don't even listen to each other? No advertising in local publications, no joining local groups/organizations, nor preaching to the choir (as a choir director, excuse the pun) is going to change anything until we understand what is at stake as sole proprietors of what it is we do and do best.

The National Hotel is open for business. Who knows about it? Who is booking rooms? Who wants to escape to Jackson, California versus Disneyland or Santa Cruz's Boardwalk, or even nearby Sacramento's Old Town Boardwalk on the river, or Half Moon Bay, Mendocino, or Anderson's Pea Soup marketed off of Highway 99's billboards? Are we thinking demographics? Are we thinking need and demand? Are we thinking at all? I hate to be a killjoy, but until we have everything in place as a destination, no "field of dreams" is going to suffice in today's markets and budgets...and if you didn't think about that before investing thousands upon thousands of dollars in renovations, well, let's hope there was a "Plan B".

I've recently been bombarded by some invites to potentially awesome gigs at the Pine Grove Schoolhouse by local musicians. Believe me, I want to see these musicians rock their little hearts out and do what it is they do best as much as the next. Yet, do we as musicians/bands think about the demographics? Locale: Pine Grove Schoolhouse...another great little, eclectic venue with historical significance, yet, a tight stage, awkward room, echoey acoustics. Business history of the venue (What are/were the legalities? Will it just shut down in a few months, like before?) Middle of Nowhere, CA? Do we expect fans to flock from all over to come up to Pine Grove, CA? Or are these simply jam sessions for a band or musician's own gratification? "We just want a place to play," is what I've heard countless times. That's great, but...what about the winding roads, conducive to potential DUIs by hungry law enforcement officers just waiting on the side of Highway 88 and/or Ranch Road to pull you over and brandish a breathalizer?

To quote Forrest Gump: "I am not a smart [person]...but I know what love is." Music was my first love. Both music and writing are my business and passion. I'm also a consumer of products and services. If I have words for you all, for your lives, your passions, your businesses, it would be: Think before you dream! It does not take a rocket scientist to make the choices and take the chances of a lifetime to figure out who we are in our communities. So yes, realize your place, your time, your destiny - whoever you are, wherever you are. Business is business, yes, but remember, people are people...and there are a lot of people who still look for that budget-conscious delivery of service.

When you've all finally understood the definition of insanity, let me know. My iPhone works now.

Carol Harper, Editor
www.NewsAmador.com