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As I laid in bed last night, eyes glued to the TV, watching a young man drive across America in a rattling car that would have been better served as a hobo’s fire pit, it struck me that what he was doing was something truly special.
Driving coast to coast, West to East, Dave Gorman set out to find the little guy without giving to the big guy.
Be-your-own-boss, do-your-own-thing, get-up-and-go
In Dave’s words:
“One night in LA, while out taking photos of beautiful old googie motels my thoughts crystallised. The faded glory of the motels I was photographing seemed to represent an America I really liked. It was the be-your-own-boss, do-your-own-thing, get-up-and-go America I’d grown up admiring and not the safe, faceless, corporate America I was staying in.
I decided to go back and see if the America I liked still existed. The plan was simple: go to America. Buy a second hand car. Travel from coast to coast. Try not to give any money to The Man.“
Essentially, Dave was trying to drive the width of America using independent everything. Independent gas stations. Independent accommodation. Independent food. No Shell or BP. No Quality Inn’s or Hiltons. No McDonalds or Hard Rock. Just Jimmy’s Independent Garage, Mary’s Motel and Darcy’s Diner.
He may or may not have realised it at the time, but Dave’s idea involved getting back to the root of customer service, the heart of a business and the soul of the self employed.
As I watched the programme, and watched how Dave met countless problems with his car, his accommodation and his food, complete strangers came to help. Gas station owners opened their station on Thanksgiving so Dave could continue his journey. A motel owner invited him in to his home to eat Thanksgiving dinner. And on more occasions than I can recall, business owners called each other in a bid to rally enough troops and tools to fix his ever breaking car.
“You Wouldn’t Get This Kind of Service With a Corporation”
At the end of the programme, Dave said:
“This journey has been about the people, and not about what they sold.“
Sell the worlds most absurd product with the worlds best customer service, prepare for riches. Sell the worlds most magnificent product with the worlds worst customer service, prepare for debt.
Business is not about business, but about customer service.
Find out more about Dave’s journey, America Unchained.
Do you ever make a point of trying to support the little guy? Do you feel we’re losing traditional customer service to big stores with robot-like employees? Let us know in the comments!
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