Memorial Day is here. A day of remembrance. A day to honor our heroes, our neighbors and our loved ones who have passed through this life before us; especially those who have given their lives fighting our country's wars.
Take a few moments to remember the sacrifices others have made to secure the freedoms, rights and “stuff” you have. Think about ways you can work to build a nation where truth, honesty and good conscience are held up as ideals. Pray for a country built and run not on power and greed, but on the idea that every single individual is worth as much as any group or organization. Work to bring about a nation where no one person; no one group is more favored, “more equal” than any other.
A moment of silence.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
BRING YOUR CONSCIENCE TO WORK. PLEASE!
Of course, once you manage to build a corporate conscience you're faced with the now more confusing than ever dilemma of how to get your employees on board with it.
Current political correctness rules say you should hire folks who have a “detachable conscience”. You know, a conscience that they take out and put in a jar each morning as they enter the workplace.
The idea, of course, is that every individual will put aside their own beliefs about right and wrong; replacing those ideals with whatever more morally flexible, more “sensitive-to-the fringe”, more politically correct whim of the moment that happens to be in vogue (or should I say “in vague”?).
But as anyone who's spent more than a few minutes living or working in such an overly sensitive; artificially concerned organization knows, the folks who find it easiest to ignore their own ideals are the ones most likely to ignore (or even sabotage) yours.
To build an organization that does the right thing in every situation, you need people who have a clear sense of right and wrong. You need people whose understanding of right and wrong coincide with yours. You want people who are willing to stand up and say “this is wrong” and who'll work to correct it.
So what do we do? How can we ensure that our hard earned corporate conscience is strengthened by regular use? How do we make sure our organization's conscience doesn't simply atrophy and disappear; becoming simply one more failed corporate manifesto hanging in a dusty frame on the wall of the employee lounge?
First, stop worrying about offending folks. Every idea of any value offends someone. You just need to make sure you're offending the right people...and in the right way.
Second, start focusing on doing the right thing first time, every time. Nothing helps create a culture focused on doing good faster than having executives and management who's first question in a crisis is “What's the right thing to do?”; not “What's the cheapest way out of this?”.
Third, Make “following the Corporate Conscience” a part of every employee's job...and part of their regular evaluation. Acknowledge your people when they live up to your ideals. Praise them when they point out the company's faults with a sincere desire for improvement. Reward them when they work to correct the faults they find. Promote them when they work quietly to help others do the right thing.
Fourth, hire people whose have a conscience; particularly if it's compatible with your corporate conscience. You can do this without running afoul of the employment laws. Just be up front with prospects about who you are, what you believe and what you will expect from them if they're hired. Give them examples of situations that might arise in the job they're pursuing where they might feel some moral conflict (there are any number of standardized employment tests that address these situations).
Fifth, review the corporate conscience and how it's implemented with the organization often. Encourage employees to identify conflicts, inconsistencies and errors. Change it if it needs to be changed.
If you do this right, you'll have an organization with a sincere desire to do the right thing first time, every time. You're people will be happier in their job and you'll have a whole lot of jars to add to your next recycling campaign.
___________________________________
Got questions about this posting? Post them here or e-mail me at: TomFawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
Current political correctness rules say you should hire folks who have a “detachable conscience”. You know, a conscience that they take out and put in a jar each morning as they enter the workplace.
The idea, of course, is that every individual will put aside their own beliefs about right and wrong; replacing those ideals with whatever more morally flexible, more “sensitive-to-the fringe”, more politically correct whim of the moment that happens to be in vogue (or should I say “in vague”?).
But as anyone who's spent more than a few minutes living or working in such an overly sensitive; artificially concerned organization knows, the folks who find it easiest to ignore their own ideals are the ones most likely to ignore (or even sabotage) yours.
To build an organization that does the right thing in every situation, you need people who have a clear sense of right and wrong. You need people whose understanding of right and wrong coincide with yours. You want people who are willing to stand up and say “this is wrong” and who'll work to correct it.
So what do we do? How can we ensure that our hard earned corporate conscience is strengthened by regular use? How do we make sure our organization's conscience doesn't simply atrophy and disappear; becoming simply one more failed corporate manifesto hanging in a dusty frame on the wall of the employee lounge?
First, stop worrying about offending folks. Every idea of any value offends someone. You just need to make sure you're offending the right people...and in the right way.
Second, start focusing on doing the right thing first time, every time. Nothing helps create a culture focused on doing good faster than having executives and management who's first question in a crisis is “What's the right thing to do?”; not “What's the cheapest way out of this?”.
Third, Make “following the Corporate Conscience” a part of every employee's job...and part of their regular evaluation. Acknowledge your people when they live up to your ideals. Praise them when they point out the company's faults with a sincere desire for improvement. Reward them when they work to correct the faults they find. Promote them when they work quietly to help others do the right thing.
Fourth, hire people whose have a conscience; particularly if it's compatible with your corporate conscience. You can do this without running afoul of the employment laws. Just be up front with prospects about who you are, what you believe and what you will expect from them if they're hired. Give them examples of situations that might arise in the job they're pursuing where they might feel some moral conflict (there are any number of standardized employment tests that address these situations).
Fifth, review the corporate conscience and how it's implemented with the organization often. Encourage employees to identify conflicts, inconsistencies and errors. Change it if it needs to be changed.
If you do this right, you'll have an organization with a sincere desire to do the right thing first time, every time. You're people will be happier in their job and you'll have a whole lot of jars to add to your next recycling campaign.
___________________________________
Got questions about this posting? Post them here or e-mail me at: TomFawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
EVERY COMPANY NEEDS A CONSCIENCE
Disney's Jiminy Cricket got it right: “Always let your conscience be your guide.”
Unfortunately, that's pretty hard to do if you haven't got one.
My last posting talked about the need for setting decision parameters within your company. Building a “corporate conscience” is the first, most critical step in this process.
It can be an uncomfortable thing to talk about in today's way-too-over-sensitive, “never-offend-anyone-about-anything” world. To some, mentioning conscience, behavior standards or “right and wrong” is one of the worst sins you can commit.
Too bad. Every company needs a conscience.
And if you're too afraid of offending someone to develop one before you need it, you'll be way too scared of popular opinion to do the right thing when the time comes.
Every company needs a conscience. Every corporation needs to build “doing the right thing” into their day to day operating, acting and deciding habits. Every organization should be striving to make “following our conscience” second nature for all people at all levels of the orga0nization. This is especially true in a culture where diversity of thought, belief and behavior is the norm.
Someone needs to set a standard.
Someone needs to develop a corporate philosophy; build a corporate culture, and establish corporate “ways of working” that apply to and guide everyone in the organization to the “right” decision no matter what the problem, no matter what circumstances; and no matter whether it's today or two hundred years from now. You want an organization where people make the “right” choice in every decision, in every circumstance and in every time.
Sounds difficult, right?
Not really. Conceptually, it's not all that tough an idea to grasp. It's something most of our parents tried to instill in us when we were kids.
The secret is to ask the right questions...and to make sure you answer these questions fully, completely and, most importantly, honestly. Below are 10 questions that can put you on the road to building solidly “right” conscience.
1.“Who are we?”
2.“Why do we exist?”
3.“What do we believe?” (Or “What do we stand for?” or “How do we see the world?”)
4.“What do / will we do?” (and maybe just as more important, “What don't / won't we do?”)
5.“How (and why) do we do what we do?”
6.“How will we treat our customers and how do we want to be treated by them?”
7.“How will we treat our employees and how do we want to be treated by them?”
8.“How will we treat our contractors and vendors and how do we want to be treated by them?”
9.“How will we treat our competitors and how do we want to be treated by them?”
10.“How will we treat the environment?”
I know these seem a pretty esoteric, “touchy-feely” list of questions addressing some things that couldn't possibly be of any help in making business decisions. Surprisingly, though, it's these esoteric, philosophic questions that, if decided, established and ingrained into your organization before a crisis arises, will provide the surest guide to doing the “right” things and making the “right” decisions when the crisis hits.
Practically speaking, of course, building a company that lives up to its own best ideals is not a once in a while effort. It takes disciplined practice, patience, commitment and consistent application at every level to make “doing the right thing” the hallmark of the organization.
And don't be surprised if, while working through the questions above, you uncover issues you didn't know you had; start conflicts you didn't expect; and identify moral / ethical weaknesses that make you uncomfortable (and, hopefully, strengths that make you proud). That''s a good thing. It means you're doing it right. Every organization has issues; conflicts and weaknesses. It's only the good ones that acknowledge them early and honestly and work to resolve them before they become problems.
To build an organization where people are expected to ask “Is this right?”; “Is this consistent with who we are as a company?”; and “Is this decision consistent with who I am as a person?”, you'll need to raise and resolve issues. Your organization, your executives and your managers should be supporting and rewarding those who consistently step up and ask “is this right?” they should be praising the people who persist until the company “does the right thing”.
Executives, managers and supervisors should be setting this example themselves in their daily dealings with employees, customers, shareholders and the world in general. It's only when this type of behavior becomes the norm, the expected, that companies can look at themselves and know they've met the challenge.
Don't be afraid to start. This approach works for large multi-nationals and small, one-person consultancies. It works in manufacturing and service organizations; government and commercial organizations; and profit and charitable organizations. process will work for on-person companies. It's the first, and most critical step in developing a solid strategic plan, too.
Get started today....and let me know how it goes.
Tom
___________________________________________
If you need help getting your discussion going, post your questions here or send them to my e-mail: TomFawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
Unfortunately, that's pretty hard to do if you haven't got one.
My last posting talked about the need for setting decision parameters within your company. Building a “corporate conscience” is the first, most critical step in this process.
It can be an uncomfortable thing to talk about in today's way-too-over-sensitive, “never-offend-anyone-about-anything” world. To some, mentioning conscience, behavior standards or “right and wrong” is one of the worst sins you can commit.
Too bad. Every company needs a conscience.
And if you're too afraid of offending someone to develop one before you need it, you'll be way too scared of popular opinion to do the right thing when the time comes.
Every company needs a conscience. Every corporation needs to build “doing the right thing” into their day to day operating, acting and deciding habits. Every organization should be striving to make “following our conscience” second nature for all people at all levels of the orga0nization. This is especially true in a culture where diversity of thought, belief and behavior is the norm.
Someone needs to set a standard.
Someone needs to develop a corporate philosophy; build a corporate culture, and establish corporate “ways of working” that apply to and guide everyone in the organization to the “right” decision no matter what the problem, no matter what circumstances; and no matter whether it's today or two hundred years from now. You want an organization where people make the “right” choice in every decision, in every circumstance and in every time.
Sounds difficult, right?
Not really. Conceptually, it's not all that tough an idea to grasp. It's something most of our parents tried to instill in us when we were kids.
The secret is to ask the right questions...and to make sure you answer these questions fully, completely and, most importantly, honestly. Below are 10 questions that can put you on the road to building solidly “right” conscience.
1.“Who are we?”
2.“Why do we exist?”
3.“What do we believe?” (Or “What do we stand for?” or “How do we see the world?”)
4.“What do / will we do?” (and maybe just as more important, “What don't / won't we do?”)
5.“How (and why) do we do what we do?”
6.“How will we treat our customers and how do we want to be treated by them?”
7.“How will we treat our employees and how do we want to be treated by them?”
8.“How will we treat our contractors and vendors and how do we want to be treated by them?”
9.“How will we treat our competitors and how do we want to be treated by them?”
10.“How will we treat the environment?”
I know these seem a pretty esoteric, “touchy-feely” list of questions addressing some things that couldn't possibly be of any help in making business decisions. Surprisingly, though, it's these esoteric, philosophic questions that, if decided, established and ingrained into your organization before a crisis arises, will provide the surest guide to doing the “right” things and making the “right” decisions when the crisis hits.
Practically speaking, of course, building a company that lives up to its own best ideals is not a once in a while effort. It takes disciplined practice, patience, commitment and consistent application at every level to make “doing the right thing” the hallmark of the organization.
And don't be surprised if, while working through the questions above, you uncover issues you didn't know you had; start conflicts you didn't expect; and identify moral / ethical weaknesses that make you uncomfortable (and, hopefully, strengths that make you proud). That''s a good thing. It means you're doing it right. Every organization has issues; conflicts and weaknesses. It's only the good ones that acknowledge them early and honestly and work to resolve them before they become problems.
To build an organization where people are expected to ask “Is this right?”; “Is this consistent with who we are as a company?”; and “Is this decision consistent with who I am as a person?”, you'll need to raise and resolve issues. Your organization, your executives and your managers should be supporting and rewarding those who consistently step up and ask “is this right?” they should be praising the people who persist until the company “does the right thing”.
Executives, managers and supervisors should be setting this example themselves in their daily dealings with employees, customers, shareholders and the world in general. It's only when this type of behavior becomes the norm, the expected, that companies can look at themselves and know they've met the challenge.
Don't be afraid to start. This approach works for large multi-nationals and small, one-person consultancies. It works in manufacturing and service organizations; government and commercial organizations; and profit and charitable organizations. process will work for on-person companies. It's the first, and most critical step in developing a solid strategic plan, too.
Get started today....and let me know how it goes.
Tom
___________________________________________
If you need help getting your discussion going, post your questions here or send them to my e-mail: TomFawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
Friday, May 21, 2010
RISK RULES!
About a week ago, our oldest son fractured his leg for the second time this year. The doctor explained she wasn't 100% sure it was fractured this time, but she put him in a cast anyway, rather than risk him doing more permanent damage to the leg.
He's understandably disappointed. He'll miss the Spring football season and much of the Summer practice session, where the boys compete for a limited number of varsity positions.
Also understandably, he's decided to focus on the “might not be broken” part of the doctor's diagnosis rather than the “risk of permanent damage” part. And he's started his own (premature, if it's broken) physical therapy sessions with the leg. My wife and I are pushing for caution and patience – something that's difficult when you're 17.
This whole thing got me thinking about how different people approach risk differently. Age, experience, and personal outlook and priorities all come into play when deciding on how to approach each risk (and problem) we encounter in our life.
Companies are no different. They often face similar choices: "do we take action that could have catastrophic results or do we wait and possibly miss out on the chance of a lifetime?"
Depending on the people involved in the decision, the organizations affected, and the personal ambitions of those making the decisions, it is amazing how diverse the range of possible courses of action can be. One group might decide to go “pedal to the medal” into the fray, consequences be damned, while another group will hesitate and equivocate until the universe makes the decision for them.
The company's competitive circumstances, the environment, or the company's economic health at that particular moment could make either decision the right one or the wrong one. The problem is figuring out which is right for your particular company at this particular time.
The best way to do this is to have help that's knowledgeable, dispassionate and interested in your long-term health. And who cares more about your long-term health than you?
That's why I recommend you take the time to develop a set of decision guidelines and risk management / problem resolution processes before you're actually facing a hard choice.
If you decide, rank and write down your priorities beforehand (People over money? Power over prestige? Making the team this season over walking for the rest of your life?), you're less likely to let the emotion of the moment make critical decisions for you. You're better able to establish calm, thoughtful ways of working, sensibly decide your risk tolerance, and establish workable decision parameters if you're doing it when things are calm and you've got time to think.
As parents, my wife and I have established guidelines (some formal, most informal) for making emotionally charged decisions like this. I think it's safe to say, most parents have.
If your company hasn't, I urge you to take some time over the next month or two to figure out what the “right” decision will look like for your organization's next crisis.
_____________________________________________________
If you need help getting your decision processes started, post your questions here, or send them to my e-mail: tomfawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
He's understandably disappointed. He'll miss the Spring football season and much of the Summer practice session, where the boys compete for a limited number of varsity positions.
Also understandably, he's decided to focus on the “might not be broken” part of the doctor's diagnosis rather than the “risk of permanent damage” part. And he's started his own (premature, if it's broken) physical therapy sessions with the leg. My wife and I are pushing for caution and patience – something that's difficult when you're 17.
This whole thing got me thinking about how different people approach risk differently. Age, experience, and personal outlook and priorities all come into play when deciding on how to approach each risk (and problem) we encounter in our life.
Companies are no different. They often face similar choices: "do we take action that could have catastrophic results or do we wait and possibly miss out on the chance of a lifetime?"
Depending on the people involved in the decision, the organizations affected, and the personal ambitions of those making the decisions, it is amazing how diverse the range of possible courses of action can be. One group might decide to go “pedal to the medal” into the fray, consequences be damned, while another group will hesitate and equivocate until the universe makes the decision for them.
The company's competitive circumstances, the environment, or the company's economic health at that particular moment could make either decision the right one or the wrong one. The problem is figuring out which is right for your particular company at this particular time.
The best way to do this is to have help that's knowledgeable, dispassionate and interested in your long-term health. And who cares more about your long-term health than you?
That's why I recommend you take the time to develop a set of decision guidelines and risk management / problem resolution processes before you're actually facing a hard choice.
If you decide, rank and write down your priorities beforehand (People over money? Power over prestige? Making the team this season over walking for the rest of your life?), you're less likely to let the emotion of the moment make critical decisions for you. You're better able to establish calm, thoughtful ways of working, sensibly decide your risk tolerance, and establish workable decision parameters if you're doing it when things are calm and you've got time to think.
As parents, my wife and I have established guidelines (some formal, most informal) for making emotionally charged decisions like this. I think it's safe to say, most parents have.
If your company hasn't, I urge you to take some time over the next month or two to figure out what the “right” decision will look like for your organization's next crisis.
_____________________________________________________
If you need help getting your decision processes started, post your questions here, or send them to my e-mail: tomfawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Customer Disservice - Processes From Hell
For the past few months, I have had the excruciatingly painful experience of having to deal with “Customer Service” at three different banks (OK, 1 bank, 1 credit union, and 1 “financial services” company that lends money to companies and consumers for various things) trying to get them to resolve some rather serious “errors” in our accounts.
The three institutions' customer problem resolution processes have a number of eerily similar features that seem purposely designed to delay, confuse and frustrate customers to the point that they just quit trying to resolve the issues and give in to whatever the bank says is the truth. In my case, this would have meant paying thousands in interest, fees, and “penalties” on unpaid debts that I simply did not owe.
Below are problem areas these processes have in common. So let's look at the problem areas:
Have Only One Publicly Available Contact Phone Number. Too many numbers might confuse your idiot customers. All three companies have just one single contact phone number listed on their web sites (and with directory assistance). Google searches for alternate phone numbers were unsuccessful (their internal security seems to work, though!). This single number is listed as a “customer service” number and it routes all customers to the same call center. This is great for cutting costs and for making it easy to put customers into an endless "do loop". Of course, it can , but horrible for helping customers resolve problems.
Make Sure Your On-line “Contact Us” Form Provides No Feedback. Remember, “ignorance is bliss” and they're just ignorant customers anyway. Feedback might confuse them, or worse, be able to be used against you in a court of law (see items 7 and 8 below). None of the three lists a contact e-mail address on their website, instead they offer an on-line form with no information as to where the form will be sent, nor any feedback other than a “message sent” notice.
Make Sure Your Customer Service Reps Have No Authority. Giving authority to anyone but senior executives will cost you money! You can make them responsible for keeping customers happy, though. This way, you can save money on call center personnel, by making sure you always have new hires working to resolve customer issues. Customer service personnel staffing the call centers have little to no information and virtually no authority are to correct any real problems / errors.
Make Sure Your Customer Service Reps Have No Access To Operational Departments Who Might Actually Be Able to Resolve The Customer's Problems. Customer Service Personnel are not allowed to forward the call to anyone within the company, nor to give out any contact other than that available on the company's web site (refer to #1 and #2 above). All contact with other departments (if any) is done out of sight of customer. It is only through the individual initiative of individual customer service reps willing to “skirt the system” (and, in some cases, risk their jobs) that customers get any satisfaction.
The three institutions' customer problem resolution processes have a number of eerily similar features that seem purposely designed to delay, confuse and frustrate customers to the point that they just quit trying to resolve the issues and give in to whatever the bank says is the truth. In my case, this would have meant paying thousands in interest, fees, and “penalties” on unpaid debts that I simply did not owe.
Below are problem areas these processes have in common. So let's look at the problem areas:
Have Only One Publicly Available Contact Phone Number. Too many numbers might confuse your idiot customers. All three companies have just one single contact phone number listed on their web sites (and with directory assistance). Google searches for alternate phone numbers were unsuccessful (their internal security seems to work, though!). This single number is listed as a “customer service” number and it routes all customers to the same call center. This is great for cutting costs and for making it easy to put customers into an endless "do loop". Of course, it can , but horrible for helping customers resolve problems.
Make Sure Your On-line “Contact Us” Form Provides No Feedback. Remember, “ignorance is bliss” and they're just ignorant customers anyway. Feedback might confuse them, or worse, be able to be used against you in a court of law (see items 7 and 8 below). None of the three lists a contact e-mail address on their website, instead they offer an on-line form with no information as to where the form will be sent, nor any feedback other than a “message sent” notice.
Make Sure Your Customer Service Reps Have No Authority. Giving authority to anyone but senior executives will cost you money! You can make them responsible for keeping customers happy, though. This way, you can save money on call center personnel, by making sure you always have new hires working to resolve customer issues. Customer service personnel staffing the call centers have little to no information and virtually no authority are to correct any real problems / errors.
Make Sure Your Customer Service Reps Have No Access To Operational Departments Who Might Actually Be Able to Resolve The Customer's Problems. Customer Service Personnel are not allowed to forward the call to anyone within the company, nor to give out any contact other than that available on the company's web site (refer to #1 and #2 above). All contact with other departments (if any) is done out of sight of customer. It is only through the individual initiative of individual customer service reps willing to “skirt the system” (and, in some cases, risk their jobs) that customers get any satisfaction.
Don't Allow Problems to Be Escalated More Than One Level Above The Customer Service Rep. The customer might actually get his or her problem resolved! In all three organizations, customer service personnel informed me they are only allowed to escalate problems to the call center shift supervisor. The call center shift supervisors for all three informed me that (a) they are not allowed to escalate any problems to a higher authority; and (b) they are not allowed to give any contact information to the customer except the phone number to the Customer Service Desk (which I had called to reach them) and the web form with no feedback (see items 1 and 2 above).
Do Not Keep Any Promises to Follow-Up With The Customer. Most will just give up and quit trying. Call Center Shift Supervisors for all these companies seemed to have been provided with a first name (and sometimes, an initial to a last name) to give me once it became obvious that I was not going to go away. I can only assume these names are all fictitious, since not a single one of these individuals ever called me back, even though In some cases, I was provided a date and time for the call-back.
Force Your Customers To Hire An Attorney If They Want To Talk With Anyone Beyond The Help Desk. Nothing makes a customer cave in and pay than being forced to choose between paying a few hundred / thousand dollars and getting involved in a long, drawn out legal battle. Customer Service Personnel at all three banks informed me that the companies only released contact information for other departments (including Legal) to attorneys. This means that in order to resolve any problem that Customer Service personnel are not able/allowed to resolve (see items 1 through 6 above). The customer is forced to hire an attorney. I can think of only one reason for this policy: to push customers who have the temerity to press their claims to cave in and just “pay the damned money”.
Ignore the Law and As Many Government Rules, Regulations and Regulators As You think You Can Get Away With Avoiding. All three banks ignored certain aspects of the Fair Debt Collection and credit reporting laws; as well as various federal rules and court processes, and ignored a court orders. For me it was a great lesson in the benefits of three bank bailouts over three decades; we've taught these organizations that the laws and the rules don't apply to them.
I'm a cynical guy, but I'm not one who sees conspiracies behind every little coincidence I encounter. Unfortunately, sometimes “coincidence” just doesn't seem to cover the realities we encounter in day-to-day life. The amazing similarities between these three banks' problem resolution processes; their myopic focus on getting money out of me; and the almost identical excuses offered by their customer service reps each step of the way makes it hard for me to believe these processes weren't specifically designed to reduce their customers' “will to fight” and allow the banks to collect unwarranted fees pretty much “at will”.
Having said that, however, whether you share my cynical view of these institutions' processes or not, companies looking to build solid, useful, customer-friendly problem resolution processes can learn a lot from these banks' bad example. Avoiding the these eight elements will go a long way to ensuring your company remains a reasonable, rational, responsive organization.
Scott Adams might just have it right: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-05-15/ .
_______________________________________________
If you have questions about designing and implementing effective customer service processes, post your questions here, or send them to my e-mail: tomfawls@council4smallbiz.com .
Do Not Keep Any Promises to Follow-Up With The Customer. Most will just give up and quit trying. Call Center Shift Supervisors for all these companies seemed to have been provided with a first name (and sometimes, an initial to a last name) to give me once it became obvious that I was not going to go away. I can only assume these names are all fictitious, since not a single one of these individuals ever called me back, even though In some cases, I was provided a date and time for the call-back.
Force Your Customers To Hire An Attorney If They Want To Talk With Anyone Beyond The Help Desk. Nothing makes a customer cave in and pay than being forced to choose between paying a few hundred / thousand dollars and getting involved in a long, drawn out legal battle. Customer Service Personnel at all three banks informed me that the companies only released contact information for other departments (including Legal) to attorneys. This means that in order to resolve any problem that Customer Service personnel are not able/allowed to resolve (see items 1 through 6 above). The customer is forced to hire an attorney. I can think of only one reason for this policy: to push customers who have the temerity to press their claims to cave in and just “pay the damned money”.
Ignore the Law and As Many Government Rules, Regulations and Regulators As You think You Can Get Away With Avoiding. All three banks ignored certain aspects of the Fair Debt Collection and credit reporting laws; as well as various federal rules and court processes, and ignored a court orders. For me it was a great lesson in the benefits of three bank bailouts over three decades; we've taught these organizations that the laws and the rules don't apply to them.
I'm a cynical guy, but I'm not one who sees conspiracies behind every little coincidence I encounter. Unfortunately, sometimes “coincidence” just doesn't seem to cover the realities we encounter in day-to-day life. The amazing similarities between these three banks' problem resolution processes; their myopic focus on getting money out of me; and the almost identical excuses offered by their customer service reps each step of the way makes it hard for me to believe these processes weren't specifically designed to reduce their customers' “will to fight” and allow the banks to collect unwarranted fees pretty much “at will”.
Having said that, however, whether you share my cynical view of these institutions' processes or not, companies looking to build solid, useful, customer-friendly problem resolution processes can learn a lot from these banks' bad example. Avoiding the these eight elements will go a long way to ensuring your company remains a reasonable, rational, responsive organization.
Scott Adams might just have it right: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2010-05-15/ .
_______________________________________________
If you have questions about designing and implementing effective customer service processes, post your questions here, or send them to my e-mail: tomfawls@council4smallbiz.com .
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Don't Leave The Lawyer In Charge!
Too many attorneys have an over-inflated view of their own innate superiority. They believe that being an “expert” at the law automatically makes them an expert at pretty much everything else; particularly at running a business. Unfortunately, these lawyers aren't above broadcasting advertisements and making statements that browbeat already scared clients into accepting this fantasy as fact.
Hence the jokes:
A: Skeet.
Q: What do you call a lawyer gone bad?
A: Senator.
Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and an onion?
A: You cry when you cut up an onion.
Unfortunately, despite the jokes, too many managers fall for these advertising tactics; letting fear of the Law (and their attorneys) rule their world. For many, this fear drives them to give their attorneys full authority and final say on every business decision they make, whether or not that decision has any legal implication at all.
I once worked with a client who decided not to pursue a solid multi-million dollar business opportunity because his “lawyer didn't think it would work”. The lawyer objected not because it was illegal, unethical or had any legal risk, but because he just couldn't “...see how the company is going to make any money by adding another product and opening a new market." The client chose to follow his attorney's advice despite the fact that, by his own admission, the attorney had no knowledge of the client's industry, had only the barest understanding of the client's business, and hadn't even bothered to read the client's business plan that actually addressed the attorney's concerns.
Based solely on this inexperienced attorney's concern about an area in which he admitted he had no expertise, the client let a lucrative business opportunity pass him by.
Of course eighteen months later, after watching his chief competitor build a solid second business off the same opportunity; the client called to tell me how disappointed he was that I had let this huge opportunity slip by unnoticed. He then – with prompting from his idiot attorney, I'm sure – let me know that he was considering suing me for malpractice because I hadn't alerted him to such an obviously profitable opportunity.
He quieted down after I sent him copies of the memos I'd sent him almost two years earlier alerting him to the opportunity; detailing the pros, cons and possible risks of the opportunity; recommending he pursue the opportunity; and warning him that relying on the advice of anyone as inexperienced as his attorney when making critical business decisions was not the wisest course of action for the business.
While this is an extreme case I guess the point I'm trying to make here is this: Managers have a responsibility to run the business. While seeking (and heeding) the good advice of experts and skilled professionals is part of running the business, the final decision is always ours.
That means that we need to understand the capabilities and short comings of every individual advising us (including our attorneys) and weigh their advice accordingly. We need to stop letting fear of being wrong drive us into giving our unqualified attorneys rights and authority over areas where they have little training and even less real world experience. We should be as hesitant to put an attorney in charge of product design or deciding what new markets the company enters as we would be putting letting our Lead Engineer represent us in court. We need to learn to trust our own knowledge, experience and, yes, our own common sense when it comes to deciding what is best for our business.
Don't get me wrong, I encourage every client to have their attorney review the legality, enforceability and legal risk of every contract before they sign it and every major business decision before they implement it. However, I also tell clients to remember that lawyers are experts in a relatively narrow field of endeavor - the Law. Outside that narrow field, their advice should carry no more (and probably much less) weight than any other unqualified third party with an interest in the business. In this sense, attorneys are no different than experts in Engineering; Design, Marketing, or Business Management.
Every good attorney (and yes, despite the opening jokes, there truly are good attorneys) understands this and works to make sure their clients understand it as well.
So stop being afraid of your lawyer.
(All jokes quoted from http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Lawyer.htm on 13 May 2010 )
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
How Far Will We Go?
It's amazing how rapidly standards change in today's world.
What was the greatest evil yesterday is the greatest good today; while the good that is eternal is now politically incorrect.
How did it start? Where does it end?
Unfortunately, the changes that brought us to this current point in history have been moving us forward, working to make ours a more understanding, a more patient, a more loving society seem to be disappearing. For the last few decades, it seems like we've been moving backward toward chaos and carnage, not forward toward order and honorable peace.
Our society, our economy, our nation exhibits all the destructive character traits that are the hallmarks of every great society in its decline:
I recognize that the seeds of these sins lie within the breast of each and every man, woman and child who ever did, does now, or ever will live on this plane of existence.
I also believe, however, that each man, woman and child can choose to set aside this nature and work to be better than his "natural destiny"; to move above and beyond his or her own petty pleasures and desires. We can aspire and strive to know God and love our fellow man. Humans, with God's help, can put others ahead of themselves. They can choose to do the right thing over the easy thing. We can choose sacrifice for the good of others over satisfying their own desires.
Fifty years ago, this was type of character that society held up as the ideal. Then, our ideals were people of substance; selfless men and women who sacrificed for the good of the world, the good of the nation, the good of their neighbors and family. The future they looked for, the future they strived for, was a future that would last well beyond their own lifetime. They felt a responsibility to care for future generations. To set, to strive to meet, to teach their children standards that were sometimes difficult to achieve, but that, by the mere striving toward, brought “Good” into the world.
Today, our ideal men and women (dare we call the “idols”?) are arrogant, the self-centered, greedy, violent and outrageous. for too many, short term gain rules over long-term good; Cash truly is king; and an individual is only as valuable as what they can take from them right now. “Getting mine” seems to be the greatest good.
We kill the defenseless and defend the contemptible. "Personal Choice" and “Quality of life” have become just another way of saying: “You're only valuable if I say you're valuable!”
And before my confessor writes a scathing indictment of my behavior; please understand that I'm not pointing the “I'm better than you” finger, here, either. I'm as guilty as anyone here. Maybe more so. I was raised better. I was taught Right from Wrong. I know better and yet I continue to choose “Wrong”. I've contributed my share to the decline of family values, the lowering of standards; the general malaise that is our society today.
So this call to remember the good we strived for; this call to change; this call to action is directed, first and foremost, at me. And I guess that's the point of my posting this here. I'm going start by changing the way I think, act and live. And maybe, just maybe, that will help repair the damage I've done to the fabric of our world.
By now, those of you who've waded through the rest of this post are probably wondering what this all has to do with business. Well, I'm a firm believer that without a solid moral / ethical foundation no human enterprise will last for long...especially a business.
We'll talk more later.
What was the greatest evil yesterday is the greatest good today; while the good that is eternal is now politically incorrect.
How did it start? Where does it end?
Unfortunately, the changes that brought us to this current point in history have been moving us forward, working to make ours a more understanding, a more patient, a more loving society seem to be disappearing. For the last few decades, it seems like we've been moving backward toward chaos and carnage, not forward toward order and honorable peace.
Our society, our economy, our nation exhibits all the destructive character traits that are the hallmarks of every great society in its decline:
- Arrogance
- Pride
- Fear
- Greed
- Self indulgence
- Anger
I recognize that the seeds of these sins lie within the breast of each and every man, woman and child who ever did, does now, or ever will live on this plane of existence.
I also believe, however, that each man, woman and child can choose to set aside this nature and work to be better than his "natural destiny"; to move above and beyond his or her own petty pleasures and desires. We can aspire and strive to know God and love our fellow man. Humans, with God's help, can put others ahead of themselves. They can choose to do the right thing over the easy thing. We can choose sacrifice for the good of others over satisfying their own desires.
Fifty years ago, this was type of character that society held up as the ideal. Then, our ideals were people of substance; selfless men and women who sacrificed for the good of the world, the good of the nation, the good of their neighbors and family. The future they looked for, the future they strived for, was a future that would last well beyond their own lifetime. They felt a responsibility to care for future generations. To set, to strive to meet, to teach their children standards that were sometimes difficult to achieve, but that, by the mere striving toward, brought “Good” into the world.
Today, our ideal men and women (dare we call the “idols”?) are arrogant, the self-centered, greedy, violent and outrageous. for too many, short term gain rules over long-term good; Cash truly is king; and an individual is only as valuable as what they can take from them right now. “Getting mine” seems to be the greatest good.
We kill the defenseless and defend the contemptible. "Personal Choice" and “Quality of life” have become just another way of saying: “You're only valuable if I say you're valuable!”
And before my confessor writes a scathing indictment of my behavior; please understand that I'm not pointing the “I'm better than you” finger, here, either. I'm as guilty as anyone here. Maybe more so. I was raised better. I was taught Right from Wrong. I know better and yet I continue to choose “Wrong”. I've contributed my share to the decline of family values, the lowering of standards; the general malaise that is our society today.
So this call to remember the good we strived for; this call to change; this call to action is directed, first and foremost, at me. And I guess that's the point of my posting this here. I'm going start by changing the way I think, act and live. And maybe, just maybe, that will help repair the damage I've done to the fabric of our world.
By now, those of you who've waded through the rest of this post are probably wondering what this all has to do with business. Well, I'm a firm believer that without a solid moral / ethical foundation no human enterprise will last for long...especially a business.
We'll talk more later.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
How Not To Care For Contract Employees
The way some companies treat their contractors amazes me.
A friend of mine was recently terminated from a company with whom she'd been working as a contract employee for almost ten years.
No warning. No text message. No e-mail. No “thank you very much for your services”. They simply locked her out of the system.
She only discovered that she'd been terminated when she tried to log in to her on-line account and received a message that her account was unavailable. When she called the help desk to report the problem, she was informed that she had been terminated for “falsifying company records”.
Seems the issue had "...been reviewed by QA and their decision is final." As the help desk employee put it, she "...can protest, but once QA approves it, no on is ever reinstated."
There are two problems with this scenario: first, she didn't do anything. She's never falsified a document in her life.
Second, she's been given no information about the documents she is accused of falsifying and she has been given no opportunity to defend herself. The help desk has refused to forward her to anyone in the company who could tell her about the charges...and the company's website has virtually no other contact information except the help desk number.
So now she's out. No notice; no warning; and no way to defend her reputation.
She doesn't know if she's going to be paid for the work she's done in the last few weeks. She's lost a ten-year business reference. She doesn't know how she's going to replace the income this work was bringing in. And as for the customers with whom she's built solid working relationships...who knows what they'll be told?
And understand that she was not a "trouble employee"; she has been an exemplary contractor. During the nearly 10 years she's been working for the company, she's had an exemplary performance record. She's been commended by a number of customers she's worked with and the company has regularly called on her to fix problems other contractors have caused – the last time being as recent as last month.
She has, in fact, done so well for them that she's often paid a premium to do quick turn-around jobs and other customer critical jobs.
Of course I'm sure her higher pay rate doesn't anything to do with this!
This practice has grown more and more common as the pool of available labor has increased...and, I suspect, it will only become more commonplace as the economy worsens.
Makes you wonder what the hell is wrong with some companies.
A friend of mine was recently terminated from a company with whom she'd been working as a contract employee for almost ten years.
No warning. No text message. No e-mail. No “thank you very much for your services”. They simply locked her out of the system.
She only discovered that she'd been terminated when she tried to log in to her on-line account and received a message that her account was unavailable. When she called the help desk to report the problem, she was informed that she had been terminated for “falsifying company records”.
Seems the issue had "...been reviewed by QA and their decision is final." As the help desk employee put it, she "...can protest, but once QA approves it, no on is ever reinstated."
There are two problems with this scenario: first, she didn't do anything. She's never falsified a document in her life.
Second, she's been given no information about the documents she is accused of falsifying and she has been given no opportunity to defend herself. The help desk has refused to forward her to anyone in the company who could tell her about the charges...and the company's website has virtually no other contact information except the help desk number.
So now she's out. No notice; no warning; and no way to defend her reputation.
She doesn't know if she's going to be paid for the work she's done in the last few weeks. She's lost a ten-year business reference. She doesn't know how she's going to replace the income this work was bringing in. And as for the customers with whom she's built solid working relationships...who knows what they'll be told?
She has, in fact, done so well for them that she's often paid a premium to do quick turn-around jobs and other customer critical jobs.
Of course I'm sure her higher pay rate doesn't anything to do with this!
Needless to say, my friend is quite upset. And also, needless to say, I'm helping her draft a letter asking for review and demanding the libelous statements be removed from their files. I suspect we'll be making veiled references to lawyers, contacting customers and taking other appropriate action to restore her good name.
This practice has grown more and more common as the pool of available labor has increased...and, I suspect, it will only become more commonplace as the economy worsens.
Makes you wonder what the hell is wrong with some companies.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Importance Of Being Honest
Our water system quit working again today.
My wife and I live in a rural area and get our water from a well. For the last few weeks, an electrical problem of some sort has been tripping the breaker or keeping the pressure switch that kicks the well pump on and off from working.
I have reached the limit of my knowledge of how to fix this problem...which means I have to call someone to troubleshoot and repair the system.
That used to be an easy thing. We simply called the company we bought the system from and they came out to fix it. When we bought the system in 1997, we paid almost 33% more for a lifetime parts warranty that was supposed to cover full repair or replacement of any and all parts on the system. All we paid was the labor.
The company recently changed ownership and the new owner has decided to stop honoring the warranty we purchased. According to the company's receptionist, (I have been unable to get the owner to speak with me), the owner believes that the warranty my wife and I (and other customers) paid for is simply a “company policy” that he can change it any time it suits his needs. She explained that the company is not “contractually obligated” to live up to any of its warranties.
Unfortunately, I didn't find this out until October 2009 when I received a bill for some maintenance work that included the cost of parts. The parts were more than 66% of the total bill.
When I called the company to remind them that our system was covered by a lifetime parts warranty, I was informed of the new owner's position on warranty commitments. It was further explained to me that the company had a new, more aggressive policy for “dealing with customers in my situation” - they now send disputed bills to a collection agency and let them “...deal with customers like...” me.
I paid the bill because it was only a few hundred dollars and was simply not worth the time, money and aggravation that would have been involved in taking the company to court to enforcing the warranty.
I suspect that's what the company was counting on; that most customers in my situation would simply pay their bill and go away. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that this is what has happened. My wife learned from the local handyman's wife (isn't the “wife network” wonderful?) that over the last year or so her husband has picked up a number of this company's former customers who were angered over the company's new warranty policies.
This small company has lost a number of customers because of their unilateral decision to renege on their contract. Even worse, by failing to be up-front and proactive in notifying customers affected by the change, they have angered some of their customers to the point where those customers now actively work to keep people from purchasing from the company.
What does this mean for your small business? I think there a few lessons here.
1.If you must change policies that affect your customers; be honest about it. Don't hide the changes. Give your customers some advance warning and give them the courtesy of explaining the rational behind the decision. Give your customers a chance to be magnanimous about things...offer them something of value in exchange for their agreeing to let you off the hook. Most customers will understand a company's need to change an obligation that is creating an undue financial or performance burden on them.
2.When doing a cost/benefit analysis, consider non-monetary impacts of the decision. Look at the possible negative publicity and negative impacts to the company's good name and reputation. This company not only lost a number of customers who'd been with them for years (we'd been working with them for 12+ years); they actually angered at least one of these long term customers enough so that I now actively warn others not to buy from the company.
3.Check with a lawyer to make sure you understand all the legal implications of your decision. Even though my wife and I chose not to go to court to enforce our rights, the company does, in fact, have a legal responsibility to live up to their lifetime parts warranty...and having to fight a customer in court can impact both
Oh yeah....when I paid our bill, I added a note to tell the company that we would never call them again and that I would make an effort to tell others about their new policies. So, because I try to be a man of my word, let me just say that if you ever live in the Central Florida area and need a water purification system installed (or need any plumbing done, for that matter) don't bother calling Frey Water Systems, Inc...they don't live up to their commitments.
(*Apologies to Oscar Wilde for stealing the title!)
My wife and I live in a rural area and get our water from a well. For the last few weeks, an electrical problem of some sort has been tripping the breaker or keeping the pressure switch that kicks the well pump on and off from working.
I have reached the limit of my knowledge of how to fix this problem...which means I have to call someone to troubleshoot and repair the system.
That used to be an easy thing. We simply called the company we bought the system from and they came out to fix it. When we bought the system in 1997, we paid almost 33% more for a lifetime parts warranty that was supposed to cover full repair or replacement of any and all parts on the system. All we paid was the labor.
The company recently changed ownership and the new owner has decided to stop honoring the warranty we purchased. According to the company's receptionist, (I have been unable to get the owner to speak with me), the owner believes that the warranty my wife and I (and other customers) paid for is simply a “company policy” that he can change it any time it suits his needs. She explained that the company is not “contractually obligated” to live up to any of its warranties.
Unfortunately, I didn't find this out until October 2009 when I received a bill for some maintenance work that included the cost of parts. The parts were more than 66% of the total bill.
When I called the company to remind them that our system was covered by a lifetime parts warranty, I was informed of the new owner's position on warranty commitments. It was further explained to me that the company had a new, more aggressive policy for “dealing with customers in my situation” - they now send disputed bills to a collection agency and let them “...deal with customers like...” me.
I paid the bill because it was only a few hundred dollars and was simply not worth the time, money and aggravation that would have been involved in taking the company to court to enforcing the warranty.
I suspect that's what the company was counting on; that most customers in my situation would simply pay their bill and go away. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that this is what has happened. My wife learned from the local handyman's wife (isn't the “wife network” wonderful?) that over the last year or so her husband has picked up a number of this company's former customers who were angered over the company's new warranty policies.
This small company has lost a number of customers because of their unilateral decision to renege on their contract. Even worse, by failing to be up-front and proactive in notifying customers affected by the change, they have angered some of their customers to the point where those customers now actively work to keep people from purchasing from the company.
What does this mean for your small business? I think there a few lessons here.
1.If you must change policies that affect your customers; be honest about it. Don't hide the changes. Give your customers some advance warning and give them the courtesy of explaining the rational behind the decision. Give your customers a chance to be magnanimous about things...offer them something of value in exchange for their agreeing to let you off the hook. Most customers will understand a company's need to change an obligation that is creating an undue financial or performance burden on them.
2.When doing a cost/benefit analysis, consider non-monetary impacts of the decision. Look at the possible negative publicity and negative impacts to the company's good name and reputation. This company not only lost a number of customers who'd been with them for years (we'd been working with them for 12+ years); they actually angered at least one of these long term customers enough so that I now actively warn others not to buy from the company.
3.Check with a lawyer to make sure you understand all the legal implications of your decision. Even though my wife and I chose not to go to court to enforce our rights, the company does, in fact, have a legal responsibility to live up to their lifetime parts warranty...and having to fight a customer in court can impact both
Oh yeah....when I paid our bill, I added a note to tell the company that we would never call them again and that I would make an effort to tell others about their new policies. So, because I try to be a man of my word, let me just say that if you ever live in the Central Florida area and need a water purification system installed (or need any plumbing done, for that matter) don't bother calling Frey Water Systems, Inc...they don't live up to their commitments.
(*Apologies to Oscar Wilde for stealing the title!)
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