I have a new standard for personalized customer service. Orville, my trash collector, has set it! I was checking on a friend's house while he was out of town for several months. When I entered his garage, it became apparent he had forgotten to put the trash out before he left. About a week later I ran into Orville. He asked when my friend would be back, so he would know when to resume pickups. I explained that his return was still about two months away but that he would have a real "ripe" surprise awaiting him. Orville quickly asked if I could set it out for his next pickup, which I did. Later Orville came by to say that he had made the pickup. He then added that, due to the condition of the trash can, he had taken it with him to wash it out and would return it the following week.

Orville doesn't have a modern trash truck. He uses a pickup and a trailer to gather the trash. Orville is not automated. In fact, he doesn't even send invoices. He simply relies on people to proactively pay him on a timely basis. And Orville is not expensive; he charges $10 per month for his services. But Orville cares about his customers and has set an extremely high benchmark for service in my area.

Your competition in insurance is not the other independent agents, the direct writers or the captives. Your real competition today is Orville and other businesses like his.