Well, it's March, and that means spring is here and it's time to face all the challenges and opportunities that come with meeting customer needs during this stressful period.

Stress and relieving it are important concepts between now and the end of June. The tips below are not necessarily earth-shaking or things you haven't thought of before, but they are reminders that long days and long nights make for short tempers from your customers.

So, cut these out and put them on your desk. When you're about ready to blow a cork, take a deep breath and repeat these sage words of advice:

• Organizational skills are the highest priority. Realtors preach that the three keys to success in real estate are location, location, location. Your keys to success each spring are organization, organization, organization. Start there. The rest will fall into place.

• Don't take criticism from customers personally. Each is eager for you to get to his fields, and no matter how many acres he has, he believes he is your most important customer.

• Be prepared. You don't have to take the Boy Scout pledge, but try to anticipate workload problems and daily challenges from your employees and how these will affect their relationships with your customers.

• Keep your sense of humor. Making your customers laugh in the face of wet weather, delays in planting and equipment breakdowns can relieve stress faster than nearly any other method.

• Patience is a virtue. It's all not going to get done today! Make a list of weekly priorities and set aside a couple items for each day of the week. Then you won't get so overwhelmed when you tackle the list.

Have a great spring!

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