Pasture Talk

NEW RIVER VALLEY M A G A Z I N E P. O. Box 11816 Blacksburg, VA 24062 o: 540-961-2015 nrvmagazine@msn.com www.nrvmagazine.com PUBLISHER Country Media, Inc. Phillip Vaught MANAGING EDITOR Joanne Anderson ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Sabrina Sexton ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Kim Walsh

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dennis Shelor WRITERS Joanne Anderson Karl Kazaks Emily Alberts Jo Clark Emma Beaver Becky Hepler Nancy Moseley Kameron Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristie Lea Photography Kevin Riley Tom Wallace

Billy Bowling Photography

Nathan Cooke Photography © 2021 Country Media, Inc. Country Media, Inc. will not knowingly publish any advertisement that is illegal or misleading to its readers. Neither the advertiser nor Country Media, Inc. will be responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. The publisher assumes no financial liability for copy omissions by Country Media, Inc. other than the cost of the space occupied by the error. Corrections or cancellations to be made by an advertiser shall be received no later than 5 p.m. the 20th of each publishing month. No claim shall be allowed for errors not affecting the value of the advertisement. Paid advertising does not represent an endorsement by this publication. Content cannot be reproduced without written consent from Country Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Real Estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.

WWhen you hear that recording: “This call may be recorded for training purposes” – believe it! I registered a complaint with the customer service center at Tractor Supply, and after a non-satisfactory experience, I wrote Hal Lawton, the big cheese aka CEO. One of his managers called me, not only to say they appreciated my bringing this to their attention, but also to relate that he LISTENED to my phone conversation twice! Yeah, it was one of the recorded ones, and I wondered how much of my frustration with the customer service rep came across in my tone or choice of words. Oops. He is “using it for training purposes” and then sent me a generous gift card. Those folks at Tractor Supply know what I learned a long time ago – the customer who complains may alert you to something you do not know. That person gives you the opportunity to make things right and restore patronage, then positive word-of-mouth ensues. Compare that with the customer who leaves upset, tells 10 people and never returns. The word “complaint” carries a negative connotation, but like a suggestion box and the proverbial grapevine, it can be an incredibly valuable tool in business. The corporate world made a button-down collar shirt person out of me with logo shirts plus plain ones. I iron them. Being sidelined with a back injury, I discovered Valley Cleaners closed and headed to A Cleaner World. What a nice crew of folks over there! And, here’s the best part. They send a lovely “Welcome” email, then an email when your stuff is ready. Get it? They do NOT send an email every two hours every day for the rest of your life! If you ever feel shorted on the email inbox, just buy something online, and you’ll get daily emails ‘til the cows come home and jump over the moon. Which is f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

When in Asheville, N.C., for a mid-July wedding, I met Craig Gorton, a 30-something guy with a fishing and scenic water tour by kayak guide business. He’s a certified Wilderness First Responder and knows his way around the waterways in western N.C. He’s got the industry’s best kayaks and

writes: “Found 'Em Fishing was born out of passion. We love the outdoors, plain and simple. For us, there is something meditative about smooth paddle strokes through water, come with us, you'll see.” Not like me promote outside the New River Valley, but Craig’s a special fella, no relation to me, never met him before that weekend. You’ll like him, too, along with the water, the serenity, the fish, the whole enchilada experience. [www.foundemfishing.com]

Happy Autumn! Go Hokies!

Joanne Anderson ManagingEditor jmawriter@aol.com