How I saved Jimmy's Career As A Glass Truck Driver

Jimmy was a driver for our glass fabricating company. (Actually his name is not Jimmy, but I won't use his real name).  He was due in at 8:00 daily, and just couldn't make it.  8:10, 8:21, 8:07 were on his time card daily.  And then I made it worse.  Our hours were 8:00 to 4:30 for our day shift of manufacturing and delivering.  In my first couple of months as manager of the company, I asked our customers what they wanted, and the most common request was earlier deliveries.

So, I met with the managers, and then the Union, and we all agreed to start at 7:00 am. 

The Union Business Agent and I knew we were going to have one problem.  Jimmy.  If he couldn't make 8:00, how in the world was he ever going to make 7:00?  He made it the first day, and was 7:02 the second day, and went downhill from there.  We had a progressive discipline system in place, and in coordination with the Business Agent, we wrote him, then wrote him up more sternly, then suspended him for a day, and then for three days.

A little background on Jimmy would help.  He was one of the 'good guys'.  When he was here, he was one of the best workers, the customers loved him, and he always made all his stops, even on the longest days.  The best part about Jimmy was his attitude.  He didn't complain and he loved doing the work.

But, and there is always a but, Jimmy still continued to come in late.  Our next step on the discipline ladder was termination, and that is the step that no one wanted to take.  But if we didn't, we were a paper tiger on our discipline program, and that spelled long-term trouble.

Jimmy cost me sleep...I was the new manager and this was a crisis that had to be solved.  I asked Jimmy to stop at my desk the next afternoon to discuss options.  At 2:00 am that morning, the light bulb went on over my head.  I had it.

On my way to work I stopped at a local store, made a purchase and went to work with a smile.  I played back all the conversations in my head that we had with Jimmy.  He loved his job, he didn't want to loose his job, but he just had trouble waking up every morning, no matter what motivation we had given him.

At the meeting that afternoon, I gave Jimmy the "Super-Loud" alarm clock that I had bought that day.  It cost me about $8.  Jimmy was never late again!

We hadn't listened.  He kept saying he had a hard time waking up.  It wasn't that he went to sleep too late, or was drunk, or anything.  He needed to be really jolted out of his very deep sleep.  And my new friend, Mr. Super-Loud, did the trick.  I learned a great lesson.  Listen to the problem, and then the cause of the problem and try to make the solution work on both parts.

This wasn't a disciplinary situation, or a motivational situation, but simply a stupid logistical thing that saved Jimmy, who went on to be one of the best employees we ever had.

My Mother-In-Law Is Sending Me On A One Way Trip

And there are days I would like to take it. But, I am holding out for the full round trip.

Elaine's Mom moved into an assisted living facility about a year ago.  We handle her finances for her.  I negotiated a deal with the home to pay using a credit card at the same rate as sending a monthly check.  So by this time next year I will have enough travel points for Elaine and I to take a long Caribbean cruise, or travel to Europe.

Now, we would rather have her living on her own and healthy, but this is what life has brought to the table at this point.  So, we will accumulate the points and at some future date, we will be able to travel.

Many  of you are saying so what.  Anyone can do this.  You're right.  But very few of you do this within the glass industry!

When I was in business, we had about 2500 active accounts, and I could count on two hands the customers that regularly used their credit card.  In the years since I left, it is not much different

I've heard all the excuses--I don't have enough credit line, I'm afraid of incurring finance charges, I don't have a corporate or business credit card, and ten more.

Some need the extended credit terms afforded by many fabricators.  I understand that.  But many of you do pay your bills promptly, or pay on the 10th of each month.  So use your credit card to pay Molly's Glass Fabricator and then the next week pay your credit card bill.  If you don't have a high enough credit line, pay the credit card bill on the 8th of the month, and then tell Molly to put through your charge on the 10th, and you credit card will go through! 

Get a credit card where you can set the billing date.  Most cards will let you do this.  Set the date for the 5th of the month.  Pay all your vendors on the 10th of the month, and you get 25 free days of float.  And the points. 

You are not locked into giving your vendors a credit card payment.  If you are working a large job and don't have the cash flow until you are paid, then just pay what you can on the card and let the rest wait.  Get all the points you can now.

Credit card companies are looking for new customers every day.  Get a card in your business name now.  Even if it has a low credit line, by using it monthly up to the line, your credit line will grow.  Some accountants will be upset with your using your personal card to pay business expenses.  This does create one more level of accounting transactions, but it is not complicated.  Your accountant should gladly show you how to create this.

I hope there are a couple of glass shop families on the cruise with me.

14%--Are You Kidding Me?

Yep, 14% on clear glass and 8% on just about everything else.  Now, raise your hand if you think that this price increase will stick.  My special 'blogovision' computer let's me see how many have raised their hands, and it looks like most of my readers. 

For the last generation we have all complained that prices in the industry are so low that no one is making real money.  Whose fault is that?  To paraphrase Pogo, "I have met the enemy and it is us."  We are all guilty; we buy on price more than quality and service.  So, what's a boy to do?  I think this price increase will help, not hurt our industry.  Most glass fabricators and shops raise their prices only when the floaters do.  But the electricity goes up, wages are slightly up, and insurance is through the roof.  I am not condoning or encouraging price collusion, but I sure do hope that most people do raise their prices as well.  With better operating margins, you can offer the best service, you can stand behind your promise of top-notch quality.

During this pricing transition you can adopt a few of the following strategies to help you through this increase. 

• Call all of the customers with pending quotes and advise them of a price increase coming in a couple of weeks.  Tell them that if they give you a letter of intent now, with a firm schedule, you will honor their old numbers.  This will get some people to commit an order to you now.
• Contact your fabricators and distributors and find our their policy about jobs in progress.  A progressive fabricator should honor jobs for three months at the current prices provided you give them a letter of intent.  If the job is large enough, the floaters will generally give the fabricators this lock-in and your fabricator should pass it on to you.
• If you have storage space and funds, fill your racks as full as you can.  And, then sell at the new pricing.  That is a 14% return on your money.  I would do that every day.
• Don't sell your current stock at the old prices unless you have a firm purchase order.  Many glass shop owners feel that the price increase should be passed through after they receive new stock.  Don't wait.  Raise your prices now.
• When you raise your prices, take the time to make them logical and profitable to you.  It is easy to just change every price across the board.  But if you find yourself selling something for $11.02, it sounds better to your customer at $10.99.  Now, you think this only works at Wal-Mart, but believe me, it works everywhere, in any financial transaction.
• Most vendors will give you a buy-in for a limited amount of time, usually between thirty and ninety days.  But, you have to ask for and earn this kind of treatment.  Do you pay your bills on time?  Do you create tons of charge backs?  Do you treat your vendor like a partner?  If you do, a good vendor will return that in spades, and during pricing upticks, it is your time to insist on special treatment
• If you are in the middle of an ongoing job, you may have to purchase the balance of your needed stock to hold to your contracted price.  Discuss this with your fabricator, and ask for 90 or 120 day terms on these purchases.  If you have a good credit history, your fabricator should work this out for you.

What do you do with the one-year contract you just signed to do ongoing work at the local apartment complex?  If you wrote the contract without an escalator clause, you can only beg for an increase in pricing.

I recommend that you include an escalator in year-long maintenance type contracts, based on a market basket of three vendors that you use.  You agree to show your customer the price increase letters you receive and agree to raise your prices by the average of the three.  The customer has the right to cancel the contract, but you do not.  If you can put this clause in your contracts, it is worth it to give a point or two as a discount for the clause.  Make that extra point a larger discount if they pay within your terms!

This price increase should stick.  We need it to improve the general health of our industry.  I hope it works.

The Year Is 1977 and The Place Is Boston

I joined the CR Laurence team in 1976, hired by one of the great men of our industry, Phil Saitta.  I covered Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and boy, could I sell razor blades.  I began to learn quite a bit about the glass industry spending time in about sixteen glass shops daily, talking with the owners.  Each one taught me something.

There was one special shop in Brighton, Mass., a section of Boston with a lot of college kids and old-time residents who had lived there for decades.

I saw Leo, the owner, about every six weeks, and I always looked forward to his shop.  Leo was probably 75 years old.  He repaired picture frames and windows.  He didn't understand what this new-fangled "tempered" glass was all about.  He was comfortable selling single and double thick, and repairing screens.  Leo was a class act; always neat and presentable to his customers, who were mainly the 'senior citizens' of the area.  College kids didn't have any use for glass shops.  Leo wasn't the busiest guy in the world, so he always had a minute to talk to me, and never let me leave without an order, even if it was only for $10.

One day I am talking with Leo and this little old lady comes in.  (I know this sounds trite, but it is true).  She had a picture frame and a small piece of glass, wrapped in newspaper with her.  Leo greeted her like an old friend.  She said, (as roughly as my memory remembers), "Leo, you sold me this glass for my grandson's picture, but I told you the wrong size.  I asked you for a three inch by five inch, and look, my picture frame is four inches by six." 

She went on, "How much would it cost to put this in your glass stretcher machine?  I don't know if I can afford to buy a whole new piece."  Back in the day, twenty-four inches of single might have cost Leo two cents and he would have sold it for a quarter.

Leo looked at her, and with a big smile, told her that he was having a special on glass stretching and it wouldn't cost her a penny.  Her smile could have lit up a dark night.  Leo took the small piece and he and I went into the back of his shop.  He turned on his belt grinder, turned on a bench grinder and a drill press.  He banged some tools together and rattled around his steel garbage cans.  He took out a cutoff of single, and quickly cut the new piece.  Leo turned off all the machines and we went back to the lady.  Leo quickly apologized for all of the noise, saying his glass stretcher was old and needed some repair work.

The lady was so happy.  She showed Leo the picture of her grandchildren and Leo helped her put the glass in the frame. That day, Leo taught me that getting a smile and a thank you was more valuable than a quarter.

I continued to call on Leo, even thought he would never be a large customer.  No sales training I ever received was more potent than that day with Leo.  

Last week I received a letter from Mr. Ken Gamble of North Alabama Glass Company in Huntsville, Alabama, commenting on my blog.  He reminded me of the times when tempered glass was just being phased in to our industry, which prompted my memory of Leo.  Thanks, Ken.

If you have a memory of something special in the glass industry, drop me a note.  We'll work it into a future blog.

The $25 Baggage Fee And The Glass Energy Surcharge

Quick, tell me what is the worst thing you can do to a loyal customer? If you said create new fees and charges that confuse the customer, breed mistrust and cynicism, and make you feel stupid trying to figure them out, then you are right-on.

Last year, US airlines grossed $7.8 BILLION in extra fees. That is Billion, with a 'B'. Do you think they are going to give that up when fuel costs go down? Do you believe in the tooth fairy? Now there are fees for sitting in aisle seats, window seats, exit row seats and front row seats. Pretty soon there will be surcharges if the flight lands on time. I understand the security fees and agree with them, but still, this trend is out of hand.

On my home phone bill, taxes and fees added 24.5% to my basic cost. Since when do we pay fees? It is just a price increase. We all pay fees to the government. You pay a fee to register your trucks. Can you add a fee to every bill you send your customers for truck registration?

Shipping and handling are another sore point. Yes, we are all used to paying shipping charges on something we buy. But what is a handling fee but another revenue stream that kicks up the cost of an item. Handling is part of overhead, we all have it. All it does it lets the seller advertise at a lower price and then hit you in the end with a higher price. But in our industry we can't charge a handling fee.

Just about the only fee a glass shops can get away with is a minimum for a service call. Fabricators and wholesalers pass through the energy surcharge and usually a delivery fee. Glass retailers have a hard time with trying to pass this through, and it just becomes another overhead item.

Our industry isn't the only one that has an energy surcharge. The steel industry has a whopper of a charge. Even delivery companies, like Fedex, have charged an energy surcharge. But, in our industry, it was never handled well. It has seemed like the entire profit structure of floaters and fabricators was based on the surcharge.

There is no easy way for a glass shop to pass the energy surcharge through. It means making a conditional statement with every quote, and that is a tough way to sell a job to the average customer.

All I know is that I think the $25 baggage charge is a rip-off, and yet, I pay it, knowing that I have no other choice.

What do you do, as a glazing contractor or a glass shop? Are there any good ways for you to handle this? Please drop me a note at paulbaseball@msn.com to let me know how you handle the energy surcharge in your shop. I'll pass along all the ideas in a future blog.

Next week some tips to handle the recent price increase started by Pittsburgh.