Monday, November 28, 2011

Thoughts on Holiday Gifts

Tis the holiday season.  I figured this out watching TV last night.  In a one-hour show, there were 19 different ads for holiday gifts.  Subtle, oh-so subtle.  I imagine it is even greater on kids' shows on Saturday morning.

The question is what to do in your business environment with vendors and customers.  (We'll talk about 'with employees' next week.)  Of course, you want to say thanks to your key customers, and a nice gift is always appreciated.  But can you do better than the cookie tray or bottle of cheer?  I'll bet a nickel that none of your customers buy from you because of holiday gifts...it is because you offer quality service at a price that fits their budget.  An extra $25 or $50 gift in December will not keep them as a customer. 

I want to share two special companies' programs with you.  First is a company here in NH, a financial advisor that I work with.  They send a letter to all of their customers asking them to make a donation to any recognized charity, anywhere in the country.  The customers mail the check to the advisor, and then they match it and forward to the charity.  There is a maximum amount of $120 per family.  So, my donation is doubled, the charities come out ahead and everyone feels great about it.  I don't want another bottle of booze and my particular charity benefits.  I really like this program and while it is not the main reason to work with the company, it does let me know they care about people and charity as much as they do about earning fees.

The other company is Galaxy Glass in New Jersey.  It is owned by Eugene Negrin, who is a fellow blogger here on the USGNN.  While I worked at Floral Glass, Eugene would always send me a cookie tin filled with delicious rugalech, a traditional eastern European cookie.  I always thanked him for thinking of me and when I left work, Eugene tracked me down here and started sending the tins to my home.  I always looked forward to them, because you don't get this kind of cookie in New Hampshire.  This year, I received a note telling me that Eugene was discontinuing the cookie program as he felt that it was more important to donate to charity this year than to give out the cookies.  The charities win, Eugene feels good, I don't get the calories, and the world takes one small step towards being a better place.  This is truly a better example of holiday spirit than a box of cookies.

You do have to give a guy on the loading dock his bottle.  When you think of something for the owners and managers of your vendors and customers, let them know you are honoring them with a donation to a local food bank or a national charity.  I know that will be more appreciated than the calories.

You should have a firm policy in your company about accepting gifts.  We allowed employees to receive gifts from  vendors or customers, up to specified value; $25 was the level when I left.  They had to let managment know they received a gift, and we would write a corporate thank you note.  Did everyone tell us?  Of course not, but most did.  We encouraged vendors to notify the office when they gave gifts to our employees.  We also encouraged employees to share their gifts with others in their departments.   We discouraged vendors from sending gifts to employees' homes.  Although, I do remember a very beautiful cut glass bowl that was sent to my home by LOF.  I told Chuck Kaplanek, the owner, about the gift, and he received one at home also.  My wife still uses the bowl, and I remember LOF when I see it.  This is a rare occurance.  Most gifts get forgotton about ten minutes after the sales rep leaves them in the office!

Thanks for reading today...there will be more on gifts for the holiday season next week.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Is Leadership In The Glass Industry Different Than In Government?

In a word, NO.

This is not a political blog, after all, our reason for being together is the glass industry.  To me, leadership is making the right decisions, even if they are unpopular, and then teaching why it was the right decision to the people you are responsible for.  Not everyone will agree with you, but they will respect you for your honesty and reasoning.  You can't keep changing your position on subject A or B.  But if variables change, like the economy, you may have to thoughtfully change.

Let's say your glass shop has never had a layoff.  Now, this year, you have to go there to save the entire company.  You do have to make this unpopular decision, and that is when you become a leader.

You have to decide what benefits will be paid for, and how much the company will contribute.  Your obligation is to the whole company; if you balance the needs here, you will be a leader.  There is a current phrase, 'stake holders', that defines who you are responsible to.  You run a glass shop; your stake holders are:
  • The ownership of the company, whether one or two partners, or thousands of shareholders
  • Your employees, every single one of them
  • Your customers
  • Your community, defined anywhere from local to regional to national
  • Yourself, so that you can sleep at night with the decisions you've made
If you balance all these groups' needs, you are a great leader.  You will make decisions that ownership may not agree with, but you can convince them that long-term stability is better than short-term profits.  Research all of the facts about a decision that is needed.  Test drive it by asking key people what their opinions are.  Look at similar companies and what they have done and use that as a template, maybe copying or doing the opposite!  

Don't flip-flop, going different directions every year.  Don't put off a decision and hope the need for it goes away.  Don't knowingly make the wrong decision, just to be popular.  So you say, why not, I own this place, I can make any decision I want!  Because you will begin to see turnover in your employees as soon as the market begins to grow.  Your best people will go where they will be respected for the work they do and the honesty of the leadership. 

Your customers will look around for a different vendor if your service policies change or your prices are not predictable.  You can raise prices, but do it above-board...not with silly hidden fees or changes in how your bill for travel. 

And for how you serve your community, just do the right thing, even if it may temporarily hurt you.  Just look at Penn State to understand what sweeping bad news under the rug will do to your reputation.

If you can place your head on the pillow and sleep well, and have served your stakeholders, you, Sir or Ma'am, are a leader.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum...and I Hate Mr. Fee The Most

Fie, Foe and Fum are not bad.  But it is their brother Fee that has me the most upset.  Why can't businesses quote a price that actually relates to what we are paying.  Just this morning my wife bought two things on line, some tickets to a play and she sent a fruit basket to a family as the father of a friend passed away.

On each purchase, brother Fee tacked on over 20% to the purchase price.  Paying shipping is OK, but Internet handling fees, and rush service charges are slowly pushing us back to local bricks and mortar stores.  I buy a lot of books, and my wife pointed out to me, just a few minutes ago, a local book shop is having a great sale.  I will visit this store in person.  And when I visit in person, I always end up spending more than I would have on the Internet.  Browsing among many items is always more fun in person.

Back to the wicked brother, Mr. Fee.  Airline fares, train tickets and every other form of travel, other than walking or riding your bicycle has a fee attached.  My cell phone bill is 21% fees!  There is now a cell company advertising a flat rate, including all fees.  When my current contract expires, that's where I will be heading.  We all have fees in our businesses, but we call this overhead.  I don't know any glass shops that add fees for the taxes they have to pay, or because they go into rural areas.  Your service call may be higher, the farther away from your office, but you don't charge that to everyone as a fee.  Would you get any business if you did?

Does this effect us in the glass business?  You Betcha!  Energy surcharges, delivery surcharges, waiting time, recycling fees and so on.  When you quote your customers a price, make it all inclusive.  If your competitors add on after-sale charges, then be sure to advertise that you don't.  Keep it simple and your customers will be happier, which means you will be happier, too.

Blog follow-up---I recently wrote about my applying for a job at the Boston Red Sox, and I figured that it was a done deal.  As a show of support, I now understand quite a few of my regular readers wrote to the Red Sox, asking them to hire me.  There was a common thread, too.  They all wanted me to get away from the glass industry.  It was sweet of them to try to help me.