Have you ever heard of David Phillips? No? What about the "Pudding Guy"? If you have, you already know this guy was an ROI genius. If you haven't, you're about to find out what David did to earn over 1 million airline miles and Platinum status on his AAdvantage account. And you're about to get a bonus lesson in what his story tells us about ROI and your technology.
Meet David, the Pudding Guy
In 1999, Healthy Choice ran a mail-in promotion for frequent flyer miles. Mail in product bar codes and receive 500 miles for every 10 mailed in. Most people thought of Healthy Choice frozen meals, which sold for around $2 each at the time. David looked closer and found Healthy Choice soup for $0.90, a better return. Then he found Healthy Choice pudding for 25 cents a cup. That was the move.
David bought 12,150 individual servings of pudding for around $3,000. When he ran out of time to cut off that many barcodes himself, he recruited volunteers from a local Salvation Army branch, donating the pudding in exchange for their help. That donation alone earned him roughly $815 in tax write offs.
When David submitted his proof of purchase, the company awarded him over 1 million frequent flyer miles. Most went to his AAdvantage account, earning him lifetime Gold status. He's kept taking advantage of other promotions ever since, and years of continued mileage earning eventually got him to lifetime Platinum.
According to Wikipedia, neither ConAgra nor the airlines felt shortchanged. They got publicity out of the deal and never had to pay full price for the promotion. We'll trust Wikipedia on that one.
The Proof Is in the Pudding
Brian, our owner, told some of our team this story a while back. As soon as he did, we saw a great example for how business owners think about IT spending. IT ROI comes down to three things: reduced downtime, stronger security and predictable costs. The difference is I'm not telling you to find the cheapest option and buy a lot of it. That would be a waste when it comes to technology. You get what you pay for. At Goodwin PC, we're not pudding makers, we're proactive security providers.
Real ROI comes from investing in something that protects your business and saves you money down the road. Here's how that plays out.
1. Downtime costs more than you think.
Every hour your team can't work because of a server issue, a failed update or a network outage has a real dollar value. Multiply lost productivity across even a handful of employees and the cost adds up fast. Proactive IT management catches those problems before they become outages, which means your team keeps working and you never have to calculate what that hour cost you.
2. One security incident can wipe out years of savings.
The median financial impact of a cyberattack on a small business is $38,000, and in severe cases it can eat up as much as 7 percent of annual revenue, according to Verizon's 2026 Breach Impact Study. That's before you factor in downtime, recovery time and reputational damage. A monthly retainer that includes cybersecurity monitoring, patching and employee awareness isn't an expense. It's insurance you actually use.
3. Predictable costs beat surprise bills every time.
Break-fix IT feels cheaper until something breaks. Then you're looking at emergency labor rates, rushed hardware replacements and days of disruption. A flat monthly fee means you know exactly what IT costs and you're not gambling on nothing going wrong. That predictability alone makes budgeting easier and takes a category of financial stress off your plate.
Be Like the Pudding Guy
David didn't get lucky. He did the math, weighed his options and made a calculated move. That's the same approach worth taking with your IT. Do the math before your next contract renewal. Are you fine paying less for support that could cost you productivity, money and security down the line? Or is it worth investing more up front for a partner who keeps you safe, protected and ready?
Common Questions
What does Managed IT support cover? Everything from 24/7 monitoring and help desk support to cybersecurity, network management, software updates and strategic planning, all for a flat monthly fee. Unlike break/fix, we prevent problems before they happen.
How much does it cost? Pricing is based on the number of devices and support level you need. The best way to get your number is a quick discovery call where we assess your needs and recommend the right package.
What is your response time? We answer calls live and respond to emergencies within 15 minutes during business hours. We also have an on-call engineer available 24/7/365, including nights, weekends and holidays.
If you're not sure whether your current setup is giving you a good return, grab our IT Buyer's Guide. It walks through the questions to ask your current IT provider to find out if you're actually getting a good return.
