Apples, Cats, and the Cutting Edge

                                                                                                                                                        At the NCGIA we are constantly trying to improve efficiency, whether it involves actual cat grooming or the running of the business. Technology is a great tool and one that is constantly changing. In an effort to make our business better, we utilize whatever technology we deem appropriate.

Recently, we changed our merchant service provider. The new system and provider we are using allows us the ultimate in mobile capabilities as well as efficient tracking of sales, customers, and inventory. It’s cutting edge stuff.

 

I, personally, am an Apple fan. The Mac kind of apples. So our new credit card processing service had to be compatible with our Mac devices. This required a trip to the local Apple store to buy a cable.

I told the guy at Apple what I needed. It was an odd item, as it turned out. It was also a very new item – as in, they weren’t even sure they carried it yet. This prompted the sales clerk to ask me why I needed this cable. I explained that it was for my iPhone so I could bypass the normal charge port while using my iMag swiper.

“Cool,” the clerk said, “That’s some real cutting edge stuff. What kind of business are you in?”

“Uh, well……..” I stalled. (How do I explain so people don’t think I’m nuts – some crazy cat lady?)

The guy interrupted, “You’re the first person I’ve met who is using that new technology. That stuff just came out. I just figured you must be in some line of work that is really cutting edge or something.”

“I teach cat grooming,” I said. “It’s pretty cutting edge.”

“Oh, cool,” was his response.

Ya, it’s pretty cool. I left the store a few minutes later with a cable in an Apple bag, headed back to the office. Cutting edge……… I liked the sound of that. Being ahead of the times is always a good thing. Changing the times is even better.