Friday afternoon, about 2:30 local time, I am at my desk working hard to beat my computer at solitaire, the phone rings...
Paul: Hello.
Voice: This is Manny calling. Is Paul Bieber, the noted glass columnist and consultant there?
Paul: I'm here...Manny--do I know you?
Manny: Of course you do; you follow baseball like a cat follows a mouse. This is Manny formerly of the Indians, the Red Sox, and temporarily on vacation from the Dodgers.
Paul: What can I do for you Manny? Do you have a glass question that I can help with?
Manny: Well, you see, I have been suspended for fifty games, costing me around eight million dollars in lost wages. I hear you might need another consultant to help you.
Paul: Well, I have great people now, but let's see, Manny, what do you know about glass? And can you teach it?
Manny: OK, Paul. Glass is very important. It can keep beer cold, coffee hot, and special medicines come in glass syringes.
Paul: Manny, we deal in architectural glass, like windows and buildings, not food or container glass.
Manny: Of Course, I knew that. I can hit a bill through a window at 400 feet.
Paul: Uh, Manny, have you ever worked with glass?
Manny: Well, not really, but I can help Bieber Consulting by being a motivational speaker about employee practices. You know every glass business should have an employee manual, detailing things like when you get to work, how you get paid, and, uh, substance abuse. I have lots of experience in showing up for work...and other things. I can motivate all those glaziers to follow the rules so they don't get suspended. Most glaziers can afford an eight million dollar fine, but, still, it does cut into the beer money.
Paul: Manny, that sounds very interesting, but do you think you are the right person to be a role model for all the people in the glass industry?
Manny: Why Paul, of course. I have worked around the country. I work day and night, and I never complain when we go to extra innings, considering I don't get overtime after nine innings.
Paul: Well, Manny, you do make an interesting case for me to think about.
Would you consider getting a haircut and wearing a suit?
Manny: Paul, here is my bottom line. I want you to get me an assignment helping a glass company in a small town somewhere, well, somewhere where there will be no reporters to follow me.
Paul: Manny, I have three of open job orders, but two are in Boston, and one in New York. Can you hack it?
Manny: Thanks anyway Paul. I heard of a construction company looking for someone to help them at the end of their jobs. Something about being their clean-up person. I am the best clean-up hitter there is. See you there.
You just can't make things like this up. Indeed, truth is stranger than fiction.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
I'm Baaaaack!!
So, I just spent 9 days in the hospital getting a new right knee. The surgery went fine, and now in rehab, I feel stronger than when I went into the hospital. About six more weeks of physical therapy, and I should be like new.
When I was in the hospital, there must have been hundreds of decisions made--some minor, some major--and there were no mistakes. Lying in the hospital bed I began to think..."Why can't a glass business run like a hospital?"
Everyone was helpful and friendly. Everyone double checked their work before doing it, and there were no problems that caused a callback or withholding of payments!
Sure you are saying, "Of course the surgeon double checked which leg would become the bionic one..big deal." But that isn't what made this stay in the hospital a good one. Each and every nurse or aid double checked my name and birth date, to make sure no wrong medications were given. The orderly who came in to clean the room said, "Hi Mr. Bieber, is it OK to clean your room now? I can come back later if you rather." Not that I had anything else to do, but his courtesy and sincerity was right there.
Everyone. Not just one or two extroverts. Everyone. I finally asked a nursing supervisor and here is what she told me.
Everyone in the hospital, over a couple of thousand employees, is required to take courses in serving the customer. Every employee walks with their heads up and smiles and greets any one walking down the hall. Before entering a room, the name is checked, and each patient is greeted by name. Before anything is done with a patient, it is completely explained and questions answered.
This is the only hospital for 30 miles around. They don't have competition, so why are they so nice to customers? I was told that it helps moral among the employees to have satisfied customers. Also, satisfied customers mean less complaints, which increases efficiency and prevents problems.
So let's look at a glass fabricator or glass shop. You don't have to spend eight hours with every new person on behavior, but you should instill in all employees that customers are the life of any business. Customers should be treated with every respect possible. If a customer asks a question while an install is going on, take a minute and answer it. Communicate with your customer constantly, before going to a job site--when you get there, what your plans are--what safety measures you are taking--and what your clean-up plan will be at the end of the install. Keep you customer part of the work equation, understanding what it is you do, and there will be fewer call backs for misunderstandings about what should have been or not been done.
If you could go on every job site, if you could take every phone call, if you could cut every piece of float, there would be no mistakes. It is up to you to motivate your workers to do their best, constantly; to explain that their job is not to install glass, but to satisfy customers. Train them to clean up perfectly after each job, to be polite at someone's home or office, and to represent the entire company every moment of the day.
Declare your glass company a 'no grouch zone'. And it starts with you. Each morning, put on your game face and smile, no matter what. If you have to be upset, do it privately. If you have to discipline someone, do it out of earshot of all others. Keep the attitude positive and strong, and like the hospital, you will get stronger moral and less mistakes.
When I was in the hospital, there must have been hundreds of decisions made--some minor, some major--and there were no mistakes. Lying in the hospital bed I began to think..."Why can't a glass business run like a hospital?"
Everyone was helpful and friendly. Everyone double checked their work before doing it, and there were no problems that caused a callback or withholding of payments!
Sure you are saying, "Of course the surgeon double checked which leg would become the bionic one..big deal." But that isn't what made this stay in the hospital a good one. Each and every nurse or aid double checked my name and birth date, to make sure no wrong medications were given. The orderly who came in to clean the room said, "Hi Mr. Bieber, is it OK to clean your room now? I can come back later if you rather." Not that I had anything else to do, but his courtesy and sincerity was right there.
Everyone. Not just one or two extroverts. Everyone. I finally asked a nursing supervisor and here is what she told me.
Everyone in the hospital, over a couple of thousand employees, is required to take courses in serving the customer. Every employee walks with their heads up and smiles and greets any one walking down the hall. Before entering a room, the name is checked, and each patient is greeted by name. Before anything is done with a patient, it is completely explained and questions answered.
This is the only hospital for 30 miles around. They don't have competition, so why are they so nice to customers? I was told that it helps moral among the employees to have satisfied customers. Also, satisfied customers mean less complaints, which increases efficiency and prevents problems.
So let's look at a glass fabricator or glass shop. You don't have to spend eight hours with every new person on behavior, but you should instill in all employees that customers are the life of any business. Customers should be treated with every respect possible. If a customer asks a question while an install is going on, take a minute and answer it. Communicate with your customer constantly, before going to a job site--when you get there, what your plans are--what safety measures you are taking--and what your clean-up plan will be at the end of the install. Keep you customer part of the work equation, understanding what it is you do, and there will be fewer call backs for misunderstandings about what should have been or not been done.
If you could go on every job site, if you could take every phone call, if you could cut every piece of float, there would be no mistakes. It is up to you to motivate your workers to do their best, constantly; to explain that their job is not to install glass, but to satisfy customers. Train them to clean up perfectly after each job, to be polite at someone's home or office, and to represent the entire company every moment of the day.
Declare your glass company a 'no grouch zone'. And it starts with you. Each morning, put on your game face and smile, no matter what. If you have to be upset, do it privately. If you have to discipline someone, do it out of earshot of all others. Keep the attitude positive and strong, and like the hospital, you will get stronger moral and less mistakes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
