The Basics McDonalds Forgot………..

The Basics McDonalds Forgot………..

One of my hero’s is Pogo. I mentioned this to a fellow who runs our local cigar store and he gave me a quizzical look.

“How old are you?”, I asked.

“27”

“Got it. That explains it.”

For those of you under 50 an explanation is in order before I get to my point.

Pogo was a comic strip that appeared in the late 1940’s and remained one of the more popular comic strips until about 1975. It offered a philosophical commentary on human nature. “Pogo” was the leading character in this strip of many characters.

And Pogo is one of my hero’s simply because he said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Type that quote in Google and all sorts of Pogo stuff will come up.

Anyway, I have always considered that statement profound and one that speaks volumes about life. And perhaps McDonalds.

I’ve been a fan of McDonalds for a long time. Since their signs said “X Million Sold” which was probably about 50 years ago. I don’t make a steady diet of McDonald’s food, but I enjoy it a few times a month and feel pretty good about what I get. But lately I’ve been more disappointed than pleased.

I read in the Wall Street Journal about 7 months ago that McDonalds missed their earnings projection as well as the growth in customer traffic they had predicted. So the CEO was asked to leave by the board and a new CEO was appointed. Such are the ways of big business.

The new CEO comes in and starts shaking things up, revises menus, drops certain items, adds new stuff, issues an order for “more healthy” options, and so on. I don’t know how old the new guy is, but I suspect he never heard of Pogo. And probably his most famous quote  “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Let me tell you about my experiences at various McDonalds from Indiana to Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio, etc. over the last 6 months.

I have gotten a “drive through” ¼ pounder to go only to discover when I opened the box that ½ of the bun was missing and the “cheese side” of the burger was welded to the bottom of the cardboard box. I have ordered carry-out and often find no napkin. I’ve grabbed one of their $1 sodas and not been given a straw. Even more often there’s no “thank you” from the cashier. I have waited in drive through for 10 minutes without the line moving one inch. Where there are 2 drive through lines I have more than once seen the line I’m not in move through 2 or 3 cars while I sit there waiting to see if there is indeed a human being on the other side of that speaker.

Often McDonalds rest rooms are disgusting and need attention. The hand dryers are antiquated and frequently the soap is empty.

I’m not here to slam McDonalds. They’re just an example I’m using to make my point: They (we, you, me, I, etc.) have met the enemy and he is us.

Whether we’re talking about business or ourselves, how a business should be run or how we can succeed, our biggest enemy is ourselves. If you happen to own or run a business your greatest challenge in my mind is making sure you do the basics, the Business 101 stuff, correctly and consistently. Take your eye off that ball and bad things will eventually happen. You can’t expect to move up the food chain if you can’t consistently do the basics correctly.

And it’s kind of that way with fishing and hunting. You have to do the basics, the stuff most of us take for granted (and perhaps forget from time to time) if you expect to succeed in the end. Fail to put new line on a reel correctly or to sight in a scope and your handicapping yourself and decreased your chances of success.

It’s really the basics, the obvious stuff, that contributes to making sure you succeed in the end. And how easy it is to forget these “little things”. But if they weren’t important then they wouldn’t be called “basics”, right?

So take a few minutes to think about the most basic elements of fishing and / or hunting. List them in your mind and then check them off one-by-one. Pay attention to the basics. Do the little things and the big things (trophy fish, big buck, etc.) will come your way. Or, as Pogo has said, don’t be  the enemy.

Thanks to all of our great friends and customers who have supported us and passed our name on to their friends. We know we are only here by making sure your needs are our first and only priority. Please let me know if we ever fail to meet and exceed your expectations.

Tight Lines,

Tom Ashby