Are you this Committed?

Here is a question you need to ask yourself as a business owner. Are you really committed to the success of your company? In other words, what are you willing to do to have success in your business? Now don't take my words the wrong way. I am only talking about legally, ethically, and morally. My experience is most owners are too busy with the day to day stuff, too tired, too uncommitted to challenge themselves and their team. Perhaps this will inspire you to challenge yourself and your team.

 The owners of Thornton & Grooms are committed to rapidly grow their maintenance agreement base to keep the Technicians busy and provide opportunities for future business. A maintenance agreement customer is much more likely to have work done by that company and have replacement work done by that company. They may not get further quotes or at least will get fewer competitive quotes. Thornton & Grooms long term goal is 20,000 agreements by 2021. That is a “big audacious goal” that will change the structure of Thornton & Grooms. It will reduce their marketing to non-customers. It will allow them to have at least a dozen Preventative Maintenance Technicians who can grow into full NATE certified Service Technicians. Since these agreements also include a plumbing maintenance inspection, they will also grow on the plumbing side of the business.

 


Matt, Mike, and Dave getting shaved!

So how did they go about being fully engaged and committed towards this goal? They challenged their Technicians on the HVAC and plumbing side of the business. If the Technicians could sell 240 maintenance agreements in 5 weeks, they would shave the heads of the owners, Matt, Mike, and Dave. With a full commitment by all employees, they sold 262 maintenance agreements in the five week period. So guess what happened last Friday morning. Yes the heads were shaved!

 It’s that time of year to plan ahead for 2013, to set “big audacious goals” that you are totally committed to and engaged in achieving. If you go to our website, www.SayYesToSuccess.com,

and click on “Free Stuff” there are forms there to help you put together your goals for 2013. Be fully committed and engaged in 2013! In fact start today and set goals for the remainder of 2012.

Change or be left behind, you have to decide.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

Is this Customer Care and Service?

This week my wife, Lynn, was in the hospital for elective surgery to have a hip joint replaced. Although there is a lot of talk about customer service over the air waves from many of the hospitals, our experience did not show the level of customer service that is expected by the public today. The average HVAC/plumbing contractor has much better customer service than we found in our experience. I will not name the hospital but it is a major player in the Metro Detroit area.

Let me give you a few examples of our experience:              

1.      Lynn would hit the call button to ask for additional pain medications and she would often wait more than 40 minutes for someone to respond. It would often be the nurse assistance who would then need to find the nurse to administer the medication. This was not a life threating situation but very disappointing.

2.      After surgery and being transferred to her room, she had three separate people check her oxygen level within 15 minutes and none of these people were aware that she had just had it done. The right not knowing what the left was doing.

3.      I went down to the pharmacy to fill a take home prescription for Lynn. They took it and told me they would call be on my cell in about a half hour when it was ready since we were waiting for it to be discharged. Over an hour later and no call, I went down to the pharmacy to check on the prescription. It was ready but they never called as promised.

4.      A nurse assistant was walking the halls on the floor of Lynn’s room, looking confused. They had changed his room assignments but did not provide him with sufficient information to effectively do his job.

5.      Lynn often heard the staff speaking to each other saying they didn’t know the answer because they were just getting on shift or it was someone else’s responsibility.

6.      We finished all the discharge paperwork but getting a wheelchair and staff member to handle it so Lynn could be wheeled to our waiting car took over 90 minutes with several calls.

7.      During this wait, an orderly came to Lynn’s room to take her to physical therapy. That department was not aware that she was discharged and just awaiting a wheelchair to take her to the waiting car.

The preoperative situation and the surgical waiting area were run effectively. None of the staff were rude or a problem throughout the hospital stay. The level of treatment for the patient and the condition of the facilities were not the issues. The problem seemed to be at the patient floor level. Here the staff tried to meet the patient needs but management had not provided the tools to do it with true customer care and service. The entire floor where Lynn was recovering was orthopedic patients. The care needed for the patients would be similar day in and day out. Some patients would require more care, have special needs, or require additional time from the staff. Not a whole lot different that our businesses. With effective training, proper staffing, correct tools, and regular oversight this floor could provide much better customer service. Records here are all computerized and information should be available to every department and every care giver. Tasks are repeated day in and day out. A routine and detailed operating formula could be established, taught and monitored.

So let me ask you, “Is your customer saying the same thing about your customer service?” There are only a dozen or so hospitals for us to choose from in the Metro Detroit area, but there are literally hundreds of service contractor options for a customer to choose from. If you are not providing excellent customer service, your customer is going to find an alternative contractor who will do that. “Are you asking your customer their thoughts on the service you have provided to them? Are you changing what you do to provide better service to you customer?”

Change or be left behind, you have to decide.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to
grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

Are You a Half-Hearted Kamikaze?

This term “Half-Hearted Kamikaze” comes from Tim Elmore a Christian Pastor and Speaker. I think it is relevant in today’s service business. First let’s look a definition of Kamikaze. As Tim Elmore puts it,” A Kamikaze is someone who (whether for good or evil) puts everything into one purpose.” Wikipedia defines the Kamikaze, literally: "God wind"; common translation: "Divine wind", were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. Numbers quoted vary, but at least 47 Allied vessels, from PT boats to escort carriers, were sunk by kamikaze attacks, and about 300 damaged. About 14% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.

So what is a Half-Hearted Kamikaze? My definition as relating to business is a service business owner who talks the story of improvement, change, and full commitment but does not consistently strive to achieve the goal of an extremely successful business with time for the owner to enjoy life.

So why are so many service business owners half-hearted? My observations of dozens and dozens of service businesses demonstrate several reasons.

1.   I often see is the owner has little or no experience to run a business. They are great technicians but have little skills to operate a business. They fail to hire the skills needed to operate profitably or to get the skills themselves. It could be as simple as working with an expert consultant to help him.
2.  Another reason is the owner just does not have the drive to take the business to success but is satisfied with a paycheck equal or less than they could make as a technician for a successful company. Perhaps their spouse works and provides the additional income and even benefits for the family.
3. Often an owner becomes distracted by the technical side of the business and shies away from the hard decisions, the “books”, margins, waste, and the changes needed to more the business to the next level. Not necessarily larger but more profitable.
4. Sometimes the distraction is something too big and too close to overcome easily. This could be a sick spouse, parent, child, or his own health. This is understandable and the owner needs to find an individual to operate the business while he gives his attention to the health need.
5. One last one I’m going to mention here is burnout. The business owner is just worn-out from the grind of business. If the business is barely making it, the stress and pressure is great. He needs time away and a regular plan to get some rest and relaxation. If he does not, the business withers away, or he relieves the stress with alcohol, gambling or other diversions to forget the stress and pressure.

The owner probably has little or no retirement fund when he retires. He may take cash under the table thus compromising his integrity. His business may be supported by his vendors who provide credit too easily. He owes more than the business is worth. He may have stress related illnesses such as heart trouble, high blood pressure, diabetes or another health issue. He retires to a life much less than a business owner deserves, if he is able to retire. Perhaps he works at a big box store like Walmart or Home Depot instead of enjoying retirement, hobbies, and the grandkids.

So what’s the answer? Either become fully engaged or work for someone who is and avoid the downside of being half-hearted. Don't be a Half-Hearted Kamikaze, make the decision today!

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. 
Contact him @ Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

10 Tips for Health and Happiness for Your Employees

We are all trying to have our employees be loyal and caring with the clients we serve, other employees and the company. One of the tangibles that help employees feel loyalty and care about the two groups of people and the company is a feeling that the company does truly care about them and has a loyalty to them for their health, safety and wellbeing. So often in the hustle of handling the daily issues, we become oblivious of the need for the company to show these to our employees. The telephone is ringing, there is a delivery at the back door, a vendor salesman comes in, or a myriad of other distractions and time consumers.

Having worked with various companies over the past 12 years, I have found health and safety are one of the areas that employees appreciate and add a sense that the company is interested in their wellbeing. It is just one of many issues that contribute to the satisfaction of an employee. Certainly you can do all the right , recommended, best practices listed items for employees and you will still lose some for situations beyond your control and some beyond logic. But that does not equate to not doing them.

You may be thinking “I don’t even know where to start with a health and safety program for my employees.” Here are a couple of easy and inexpensive suggestions you could use:

1.      Order copies of “Clearing the Air”, a pamphlet put out by the National Cancer Institute on ways an employee can quit smoking.

2.      Check to be sure your employees have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to do their jobs regularly. Simple things like safety glasses, ear protection, coveralls, gloves, and so on.

3.      Check to be sure the fire extinguishers and first aid kits are up to date and stocked in each truck.

4.      Train your employees of how to find the MSDS information on their smart phones so they can understand what they are working with and protect themselves.

5.      In warm weather such as we have been having, provide them with a small inexpensive cooler filled with ice and cold bottled water. Remind them to drink lots of water during the warm weather, to seek shade, and to take rest breaks.

6.      Download a relevant safety topic from the internet and have 10-15 minutes of your weekly meeting devoted to safety.

7.      If someone is hurt or there is an accident, discuss it at your weekly meeting to increase awareness of safety.

8.      Have a safety bulletin board with relevant articles, tips, and information.

9.      Provide breakfast at your weekly meeting if the previous month was accident and injury free.

10.   Here is a real winner. You can have them download an app for their IPhone or Android phone from the Red Cross. It’s free! It has short lessons on first aid, quizzes, how to prepare for emergencies, and what they should do in a first aid emergency.

Bergstrom-Elder Consulting can implement a comprehensive safety program at your business to protect your employees, add job satisfaction, and help reduce your insurance costs. Contact us for information.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years.
He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company
and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to
grow and prosper. Contact him @ Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.