Customers shared countless experiences, but over and over, they shared their passion toward the product and the people of Joe’s Umbrellas. They felt Joe’s was the best value, very clever, very fun to own—BUT they felt that Joe’s was not the cheapest nor should it be. They also expressed concern at Joe’s attempt at producing an upscale umbrella—they felt it wasn’t Joe’s strength. Numerous customers recounted how they had experienced problems with Joe’s umbrellas but loved the umbrellas and the great service so much, they remained loyal. The data actually showed that dissatis昀椀ed customers became more loyal than satis昀椀ed customers if they were treated with respect and taken care of. Joe was taken aback when he learned this. All along, I thought we had to be perfect and error-free to earn customers. I guess when there’s passion, you don’t need perfection. The industry experts echoed the sentiment that Joe’s was everyone’s umbrella—great value, great quality, a lot of fun. They felt Joe’s was at a crossroads—in danger of losing its identity— something the competition would love to see happen. The last thing Joe wanted to do was lose the goodwill he had built over the years. Sometimes, if you look at change as the answer, you just might change the good things you’re doing. The competition was studied and some were found to be cheaper—cheaper price, quality and service. Those brands had little customer loyalty and were interchangeable in the customer’s mind. If customers experienced problems, they’d immediately switch brands. Joe thought, hmmm, the opposite of us. They have no passion; they have to be perfect, error-free, to hope to retain a customer. Several competitive brands were extremely expensive; they had carved out their niche and were 昀椀rmly entrenched in the minds of their loyal customers. Those brands deservedly had earned their customer base; Joe’s would be hard-pressed to make an 13