We all had our first day in the flooring business. Do you remember yours? For some of us it was more recently than for others, but I would wager that it was a day that we likely haven’t forgotten. Are your memories of that day largely positive, or could things have gone better? With this…
When traveling domestically by air, unless you are traveling first class, “free” meals onboard have gone the way of the dodo bird in recent years. If food service is offered at all, many airlines now offer to sell you a glorified boxed snack for roughly $8-15. As a flight attendant was working her way down…
Recently while having lunch, I observed an example that everyone in management should have witnessed. At an adjoining table, a service technician for a local automobile dealership was seated with the firm’s general manager. The manager proudly told the server that his companion had won a contest for having received the highest ratings during the…
Readers of a certain age will remember the television show WKRP in Cincinnati. One of the recurring gags in this sitcom was the imaginary door and walls around news director Les Nessman’s office. Upon approaching his desk, he would pause and turn the knob to his pretend door before entering his fantasy of a private…
BE PREDICTABLE While awaiting a Southwest flight in Phoenix not long ago, I struck up a conversation with an obviously veteran flyer. He mentioned that he was on three or four airplanes each week. I inquired of him the many ways that travel has changed in his years at his craft. Let’s just say…
A sale is lost to a competitor. It happens every day. Have you ever noticed how often the average salesperson, or estimator, seems to assign the blame to the customer? We’ve all heard the standard excuses: “we’re priced too high,” “they found a color they prefer somewhere else,” or “the competition must not know what…
Fans of the iconic band Chicago will recognize this as the title of one of their most famous songs. However, for most service based companies that I encounter, the answer is apparently not! I am certain that I am not the only customer who has grown weary of being delayed when trying to spend money…
I have just finished a second reading of the book 212 The Extra Degree by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson. In their book, the authors share the story of Jan Carlzon, who in 1981 was named the CEO of Scandinavian Airlines System. His company was in trouble. They had just been ranked by a consumer poll as the…
I was visiting with a flooring dealer recently who stated “I just hate customers who complain!” Imagine his reaction when I responded “They’re my favorite type of customer.” Obviously both of these statements did not reflect what we truly felt. He no more hated a customer than I preferred a disappointed one to a happy…
When most supervisors, managers, officers or owners are asked why their business is successful, they will tell you that the strength of their organization is the quality of people that work for them. A great challenge, as well as great opportunity, is for a manager to show they value all members of their team. To…
I have always felt that the very best marketing lessons are learned by observing others’ reactions to firms not in my field. As an example, recently I was having a conversation with my twenty eight year old daughter regarding her having some service work done on her vehicle. She was relating to me how nice…
While casually watching a car race recently, I heard three-time NASCAR champion Daryl Waltrip make the statement that “sometimes you have to slow down in order to go faster”. He was referencing the fact that if you carry too much speed into a turn, you risk losing momentum going into the next straightaway. This results…