Michael Schneider, CEO of Fluidesign, Fluidata and Nesting

The 2010 Census is in full swing. Are you one in three Americans that’s sent back their census info?

To make sure you fill out your census, the government is making extra sure you know it’s going on, and the importance of it. I’m all for the government getting the data it needs to properly forecast the number of roads, schools, hospitals, etc. that are required for our current population. But I’m not for government inefficiency, which seems to be synonymous with government itself.

First, they mailed me a notice that they are going to mail me a census form.

So this is a piece of mail (postage + paper) to notify me that they are going to send me another piece of paper. I’m bored already.

Then the actual census comes. It’s fairly easy to fill out, and I did it the same day (granted, there will be some procrastinators in America).

Then, I got another notice. This is to remind me to fill the census out - three days after I received my actual census form. Reminding people before you’ve had a chance to receive their response isn’t just inefficient - it’s stupid.

Government isn’t exactly known for its efficiency. The extra time, postage, greenhouse gasses, and effort that went into pre-warning me, sending me a census (why isn’t this online?), and then reminding me after I sent it back is beyond inefficient - it’s stupidity. The US is in a lot of trouble with debt… I think they wasted $60MM alone on postage sending three things to all US households when they could have sent one.

Dear American Express,

I have been a card member since 1999. During this time, I have accumulated the following cards:

American Express Platinum Charge Card (no “pre set” limit)
American Express Starwood Credit Card ($35,000 limit)
American Express Business Platinum Credit Card ($60,000 limit)

I opened a second business between 2007 and 2009 and had a second American Express Platinum Charge Card during that time as well for that business.

Prior to the end of 2008, I sang American Express’ praises to everyone I could. I enjoyed feeling like a privileged card member at Airports, Hotels, and anytime I interacted with American Express.

In March of 2008, my spending on the charge cards was so high (some months were over $75,000) that you offered me the Centurion (“Black”) card. I nearly accepted, but somehow couldn’t justify spending $7,500 to get a credit card.

For the record, in ten years of being your customer, I have never had a single late payment or missed payment. I have paid all bills on time.

Everything changed in early 2009. You started shutting off my credit limits.

In March of 2009, my business started to pick back up (thankfully) and we started charging more on our Platinum card, which has been our main credit card for the last ten years for the business.

You shut off our credit line because it was “over our six -month average spending limit.” You asked me to produce burdensome documentation “proving” that I had the financial resources to pay the balance when it came due. I asked if a ten year perfect payment history was enough; you said no.

At the end of March 2009, after making several “deals” with you (that took hours of my time) to open up $5k here and $10k here in credit (on a card that has no “pre set” spending limit) we paid our balance in full, like we always do.

In April of 2009 we started with a zero balance and began charging again. You shut off our credit line after $35,000 in spending. Then, you did something that sent me over the top. You called me on my cell phone asking if I could pay the balance in full that day. The statement hadn’t even closed yet, and we you hadn’t even billed us yet!

Upon stating that to the representative, she said she understood but that American Express was “uncomfortable” with the balance and wanted an immediate payment. My response was that there was absolutely no way I was paying American Express a dime before my statement closes. I explained that if I have to pay for the charges as I go, I might as well put the card away and simply pay cash.

You’ve called weekly and harassed my accounting manager, asking for payments on charges that you haven’t even billed me for yet.

At this point, you’re denying $10 charges, causing my accounting manager to switch to our VISA to pay small monthly recurring charges, like our phone bill. You have wreaked havoc on my business’ day-to-day cash flow.

You have destroyed your reputation with me and many of my CEO and Entrepreneur friends. I have several friends that spend $100,000/mo on Black cards that are going to cancel.

You have harassed your best customers and turned what used to be a stellar reputation into one of the most hated companies in the business world. Personally, I cannot wait for the day when I pay off 100% of my balances with American Express and cancel my cards. I will never do business with you again after that point.

I understand times are tough and financial institutions have gotten burned. This tough time will pass, but the damage you’ve done to your reputation will stay with you. Customers like me – who spend a lot and pay their bills on time every month – are who you need to get you through this time. Instead, you’ve lost me for life.

Michael Schneider
CEO, Fluidesign

Santa Monica, CA

Ps. I am not the only one that has written publically about problems with Amex. Here are a few others:

http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2009/05/im-feeling-the-costs-of-credit-card-fraud-and-defaults.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus29-2009apr29,0,5853535,full.column

It’s hard to avoid the bad news these days-the stock market falling towards zero, home prices declining, homelessness rising, our spending power being chipped away.

In your business, it’s more important than ever to paint an optimistic yet realistic future for your employees. Now is the time that you need good people by your side the most; now is the time you need them to be accept less and work more; now is the time for real leadership.

I wrote this post as a blogger for PC World - click here to finish the post on their site.

EO (Entrepreneurs Organization) just released an episode of EOtv featuring tips to survive and thrive in the recession. Fast forward to about the five minute mark to see mine - they involve a Nintendo Wii, Love Sac, Bar, and Ocean View.

My good friend Cameron Herold, former COO of 1800-GOT-JUNK, called me in December, upset. I had called Cameron the day before letting him know I was frustrated with the current economic climate - basically complaining. Cameron was upset that, after agreeing on an action plan together, I had tweet’d three times that morning, the latest being about a bartender for our upcoming holiday party. He told me to write down the top 5 things I had to accomplish that day, and then get out of email and do them.

It sounded too simple to be effective - WRITE DOWN THE TOP 5 THINGS I HAVE TO DO. Surely, in 2009, with technology at my fingertips, there was a better way. A program that could do this for me, comb my email and figure out what is important.

But I decided to give it a try. I wrote my top 5 and got 3 of them done. Cameron insisted I email him my progress, and told me not to worry about not getting them all done. I did it the next day and scored 4. The next day, 3. I did this for two weeks straight, and I honestly have never been more focused and productive in my life.

The Top 5 idea isn’t Cameron’s. It’s an idea from the 1920’s. But he was the one that kicked my ass enough to get me to focus.

Go write your top 5 for tomorrow. Get focused, and be awesome during this recession.

With no limit to the bad economic news lately, many companies are cutting back on their marketing budgets to conserve precious cash. The LinkedIn poll above says it all - 60% of companies are cutting back, and only 20% are increasing.

I understand the thinking: Consumers with less disposable income = less opportunity for my product/service = less return on investment of marketing dollars = cutting marketing budget. This thinking, while logical, is thinking on how not to lose - not thinking on how to win.

Now is the BEST time to increase your marketing budget.

1. All of your competitors are competitors are cutting back - so you can be even more potent with less money, sucking up remnant inventory online, radio, print, and TV.

2. Advertising and marketing firms are more flexible right now (including Fluidesign), so you can get a great deal on services that you couldn’t get in “normal” times.

3. You’ll stand out in consumer’s minds as a stable, strong company. If you can afford to market to them right now, you must be.

4. With the ROI of each dollar you spend much higher, you’ll position your company and its products/services to weather the storm and emerge in a much stronger position that your scared competitors.

Right now, most companies are playing to not lose. The best companies (and the ones that will survive) will increase their marketing budget, and play to win.

I’ve been listening is disbelief to the debate taking place on capital hill this week. GM, Ford, and Chrysler for the past 25 years have been making mediocre cars, and until relatively recently were actually getting away with it. Now, due to a global slump in demand, they are being harder hit than quality companies like BMW and Toyota, and are pandering to the government for a bailout.

The capitalist in me doesn’t want these companies to get one cent. In business, if you make products people want, you do well. If you make, well, shitty products, the opposite happens. These companies have wrapped themselves in mediocrity for decades and are now asking for a bailout. Part of me wants us to let them fail, and not reward companies for producing poor quality gas guzzling cars that no one wants.

Stepping back from this debate and looking at the very sobering numbers on the number of Americans out of work and the overall health of our economy, it makes me think twice. These companies SHOULD improve or fail. But, is now the time to prove this point? I believe that psychology is important, and I’m concerned that while it’s right to let them fail, that the American public (and the World for that matter) can’t take another big blow. Not right now. We need to recover a bit before we pull this plug (or a miracle happens and they actually produce cars that people want). And therefore, I think we should consider paying for mediocrity for a little while. It’s potentially far cheaper than the alternative.