When Was The Last Time You Hugged A Glass Worker?

A note from Paul:  This is a blog that you leave around the house.  Cut off this top section at the dotted line and let your spouse or significant other just happen to see it.  Now, I am not a voyeur, but if you get a hug, drop me an email!
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WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HUGGED A GLASS WORKER?

Hey out there, you are among the luckiest people in the world.  You are near a glass worker, the best people around.  Glass workers are universally great people and they deserve hugs at every opportunity.  Glass workers work hard, lifting, moving heavy glass, driving trucks, and in a glass shop office, dealing with customers who bring in measurements based on the length of a string. 

Glass workers are more than industrial workers.  They have to be furniture movers after putting a mirror on the wall.  They are psychologists when after they have moved the furniture and put up the mirror, the customer says they don't look young in the new mirror.

They are negotiators, after moving the furniture, hanging the mirror, soothing the ego, and then the customer says, even though I might look good in the mirror, take 10% off and I will look better!

Glass workers are in large companies and small, and each one has its own stress, making each worker need a hug.  Glass workers have problems too.  If they do their work well, people just look through it, and don't realize how hard it was to install.  If a glass worker repairs a broken pane, the customer is just back where they started, and don't feel the glass worker has helped!  When glass workers put in low-e glass, which saves the customer money, the customer is glad the energy bill is down, but don't give the credit to the glass worker.

If you are in a trade related to our glass industry, like being a blogger, (that's a hint, Elaine), or you make insulating glass, or you write software to help glass companies send out their invoices, you deserve a hug too! 

So, you see, if you live with or care about a glass worker, give her or him a hug.  You are helping America, and of course, helping a glass worker.

This message is brought to you as a public service by The UnderHugged Glass Workers of America.

What's So Special About April First

There is always a lot of talk about April First being a special day.  I have done extensive research and found very little that makes this day special.  Here's the highlights:

• 1826--Samuel McRey patents the internal combustion engine.
• 1975--Apple is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak

How about people?

• Rusty Staub was born in 1944. (For those of you who are saying "Who?", he is a great New York Met)
• Rachel Maddow, a television news commentator was born in 1973.

And the really important point one:  Since 2000, April first is EDIBLE BOOK DAY in Great Britain, where pastry chefs compete to make great literature that is also tasty.

So, since there is just no news that is worth writing about, I went to my list of blogs to write and couldn't decide which one to work on.  So, dear readers, please help me.  Take a look at this list and drop me a note about which blog to write next week.

How to glue together broken tempered glass.
A list of the fabricators that won't change hands in 2012.
Plans for a do-it-yourself laminating line.
Prediction of glass usage in 2022.
Your list of contractors in your town who will file chapter 11.
Apple creates an APP to fix failed IG using an IPhone.
PPG invents flexible glass.
Repairing windshields using Wrigley's chewing gum.
Instant glass tinting using blue food coloring.
Little known ways to use silicone as cake decoration.
Five guaranteed plans to double your business in 90 days.
Oprah's plan to feature the glass installer of the year.
Onion juice is the perfect glass cleaner.
Laws passed in Arizona requiring glass installers to wear clean t-shirts.
Six glass company stocks to buy in 2014.
Di-Chromic glass for every day use.
A way to guarantee what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
You can count on me for the best news of April 1--Happy Birthday Elaine!

I look forward to your votes.

So, I Cleaned Out My Old Oak Desk

I have a small home office with a large oak, roll-top desk.  When I bought the desk about 35 years ago it was already old, with a date of 1890 stamped on the brass lock that holds the rolltop in place.  This desk looks like every desk you see in the old westerns on TV, plenty of pigeon holes and drawers.  It is a true classic antique.

So what does this have to do with the glass industry?  Plenty.  Read on.

In 1978, I was the regional sales rep for CR Laurence covering Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.  I had a customer in upstate New Hampshire, close to the Canadian border who owned this desk.  The first time I saw the desk, I fell in love.  During one visit I mentioned to the owner if he ever wanted to sell the desk to please call me.

Well, the phone did ring one day, and three days later he delivered the desk to our apartment in Boston.  Elaine, as she always does, supported me, even though she thought I was a little bit off my rocker.

This desk is my work center for everything from household bills to writing blogs to managing the consulting gigs.  There are no holes in the desktop to snake computer cables, yet somehow this desk works in our current electronic environment.  I haven't really emptied this desk in fifteen years. When we moved to NH, the moving company had four men lift the desk into the truck, with all the drawers in place. The unloaded it the same way. Why did I start to clean it now? I don't know.

But I digress...back to the glass industry.  I found business cards from people that have passed away; and cards from living people whose company's have gone away.  I called a few people who I haven't talked to in years, and one of these calls may lead to a consulting project.  I looked at trade show booklets from five years ago and wondered what ever happend to so-and-so.

I found, of course, baseball cards and old pairs of glasses; an unused ticket for a free car wash, valid in 1995 or 1996; some great pictures of my kids and Elaine, and many little snipets of information that will form future blogs.

Now the big finish.  You can and should do the same.  Look at every business card in your desk; look at your invoice register from three years ago and read your quote file from 2009.  There were good customers there sprinkled between the complainers.  Call to say hello.  A couple of those folks might just ask ask if you are still in business and if so, can you quote on a job they have coming up.  You have absolutely nothing to lose, except clutter.  And everything to gain.

And it is not just your desk, but each desk in your company will have business treasures you can capitalize on.  Seeing the quote from two years ago, where the owner decided to hold off until the economy turned, might be just the opportunity that is about to knock on your door.

Good hunting.

How To Be A Safe Ostrich

It's so easy.  You don't need gloves, glasses, hardhats, safety vests or, anything.  You dig a hole, stick you head in, and you are safe.  For the ostrich it works 100% of the time.  You see, if they survive the attack by the predator, they are safe.  If the predator sees their feathered back-end up in the air and pounces, the ostrich is instantly killed and doesn't comprehend he is about to become dinner.  From the ostrich's point of view, life just doesn't get better.

So, that is the end of this blog. 

But wait, what if the title would become, "How To Be A Safe Glass Worker".  Can you stick your head in the cut-off rack, ignore all the safety hazards and still be 100% safe?  Sure you can.  Of course you can.  I think you can.  I hope you can. 

Well, here's my offer.  If you don't insist all of your employees wear all of their safety gear, all the time, I've got a deal for you.  Please drop me a note with your business address.  I have a plan to open up a competing glass shop across the street from every glass company in America where the workers don't wear their safety gear.  I know they won't survive in the business world.  And, then I will own the only glass shop around. 

The safest business is, when all things are equal, the most profitable.  I can quote you all sorts of case histories about this...trust me, it is true.  OK, study the history of Alcoa Aluminum, where in the last thirty years, they have been among the safest companies in the world, and directly because of that, one of the more profitable..  You'll see.  A safe business manager, foreman or supervisor knows everything in his/her responsibility and that means less waste, clutter and chances for injury.  When processes are smooth and accident-free, they are more efficient.  That means less cost, happier workers and more profit.

Work safe, prevent injuries, reduce their impact by wearing the proper protective equipment and your company will be better off.

And to think, you thought this article was about a big bird.  What, you want more about ostriches?  OK:

•  It's brain is smaller than it eyes, which are the size of billiard balls.
• An ostriches intestines are 46 feet long.
• Ostriches can run up to 40 mph.
• There are over 2,000,000 world wide.  They are not endangered.
• Ostriches are so powerful that a single kick at a predator, such as a lion, could be fatal.
• Ostriches don't really bury their head in sand.  They just lie with their head and neck on the ground, giving the appearance of being in a hole.

And with that last fact, you see that my initial premise is slightly off-base, but it sounded so much better, I just left it in.

Does Your Checkbook Leak Like A Bad Faucet?

You know which faucet I'm talking about.  A steady drip, about once a second; it has been that way for months and you keep saying you will get to it.  But you are in the glass business and running your shop or crew is more important than fixing this annoying leak.  According to the United States Geological Survey, one faucet, dripping only once per second, will waste 2082 gallons of water a year (even more in leap year!). 

I'll bet that most of us have the same problem with our checkbooks.  We don't take the time to fix the leaks.  We have been getting the same bills for years, and just pay it, letting the checkbook leak.

So, here comes Paul The Plumber with leak-fixing tools.  

• Sign every check yourself.  No exceptions.  Running our glass fabricator, the owner, Chuck, or I would hand sign every check for materials or services.  We did have the payroll company do the employee checks but audited the payroll journal.  Yes, it took time, about four hours every ten days.   We checked the price against the purchase order and the quantity billed against what our receiving ticket showed.
• We were not suspecting or looking for fraud.  We were looking for leaks.  About ten percent of our check run caused questions.  Why was that item purchased?  How is it used?  Didn't we just buy that from a different vendor?  Why are we using so much?  Can't we combine this with other items from other vendors to earn bigger discounts?
• We always paid the bills with the biggest cash discounts first.  In fact, one of the biggest sins in our company was sitting on an invoice from a vendor causing us to miss a discount date.
• In tough times we would reduce spending.  Travel was reduced.  We would ask why a certain truck was using more fuel than others?  Did it need a tune-up, or did the driver just have a heavy foot?  We kept maintenance to a high standard, which actually reduced emergency calls for high-priced weekend labor and kept machinery running smoothly.
• Drip...Drip...Drip...the renewal of an advertising bill in the yellow pages, which on asking our customer service people, never brought in a phone call they could remember.  A membership in a local chamber of commerce, although we never went to a meeting or gained any benefit.  Buying  desk calendars for each office worker each year, when we looked at desks and saw that only half of our people used them.
• Cut down the number of vendors you have.  Concentrate your purchasing power and you will get lower prices.  Even though you feel that buying everything at the lowest cost from ten different vendors saves money, your bookkeeping costs are bigger, there is more confusion in your receiving area, and ten times the possiblities for mistakes.
• Before you buy more of a supply type product, ask your team how they use it, and most importantly why?  Most purchases are force of habit and may not really be needed...it is always been done that way and no one has questioned it.

I know these may sound like pennies and nickels in a multi-million dollar organization, but the real impact came from the rest of the company.  They knew we were on top of expenses, and they ran their corner of the firm they same way.  We led by example and it worked.  Chuck would sign checks for a year, and then I would take a year.  You see the long term picture this way.  We found out that when we switched off weekly, we would miss lots of little things that were repetitive.
People would come to us requesting special funds for a project.  Just about every time we would say yes, because we knew that our leaders would have thoroughly researched the situation and would strongly feel we would benefit.

Look at every single expense that goes through your company.  Don't delegate this important job to anyone else.  You'll waste less water money.

A First Hand Report Of Great Customer Service

A couple of days before Valentine's Day I went on line to ProFlowers.com and ordered bouquets for my wife, our daughter and my mother-in-law.  I have used this service often and never had a problem.  But, there is always a first time. 

The roses were delivered, and they looked like leftovers from 1978.  They were dead-on-arrival.  My wife still loved them, after all it's the thought that counts, and my mother-in-law really couldn't tell the difference.

Last Wednesday I received a promotional email from ProFlowers reminding me of an upcoming birthday, and did I want to place the same order as last year?  I remembered the bad orders and called their customer service number.  I just wanted to say their grower let them down by shipping bad roses.  I know that most good companies like to hear about problems so they can be corrected.

The lady that answered the phone immediately thanked me for the information and promptly ordered two free replacement bouquets.  I explained that I wasn't calling to get something free.  She said she understood that, but insisted that the new, fresh flowers be sent.  She wanted to include a new vase as well.  I talked her out of the vase, as the vases that came with the original flower orders were just fine.  This lady didn't check with a supervisor or call me back.  She had the authority to resolve the problem and did so with such pleasantness that I will continue ordering flowers from them without ever thinking twice.

A very interesting story,  but what impact does this have on our glass industry?  If a customer calls with a complaint about a scratch on a shower door, we certainly are not going to order and install a new one with no questions asked.  Most of us are going to explain that small scratches are allowed under our specs and wish the customer good luck.

It comes down to how to prevent the situation in the first place, and then how you or your team handles the customer once the phone rings.

Inspect everything that comes in from your fabricator.  Most fabricators will give you 24 hours to call in a complaint.  After that, you own it.  I ran a fabricator for 20+ years, and that is a fair policy.  You can't imagine how many calls we would get two weeks later saying the glass had a chip.  My best guess is that 99% of these late calls were problems created by the glass shop.  Most fabricators today ship with a clear vinyl protecting layer over shower doors.  You have no excuse for not inspecting.  It is your responsibility to prevent your customer from being unhappy.  Inspecting all incoming work is the key.  Yes, it takes a little time and effort.  Do it.  And do it under bright lights, or in daylight if you can.  If you can't see the scratch now, but once you install the door you can, then kick your inspection team in the tail.

Look at IG before you put it in the frame.  It is harder to inspect IG or bulk tempered.  But you can look at each piece before you seal it in the opening.  If your installer thinks a piece won't meet standards, have him call you and get advice.  It's better to discuss this with the owner before setting than after, when they are in a complaining mood.

When a customer calls with a problem, jump on it right away.  Don't let it sit on your desk.  It will just fester with the customer.  Go there within a day, show your concern, and your knowledge.  Carefully explain what acceptable standards are and why this piece is OK.  It helps to explain this up front, when you take the order.  Sure, it sounds like a negative when you are trying to close a sale, but it is better than not getting paid because of a small rub that is so hard to see you need a magnifying glass.

The best problem solver is to prevent it.  Yes, you can, with proper expectations from the customer and care and inspection by your team.

If you have an upset customer deal quickly with the situation.  Do it with a smile.  Do it like you want to retain the customer's business forever, and then, you probably will!

Too Big To Fail Is Not In My Dictionary

Trainor sure did surprise me, but then again, I live in New Hampshire and have my head buried in a snowbank most of the year.  Some of their vendors knew, their gut feel alarms were ringing, but some will fall into the category of "Sure I'll sell them...they are one of the biggest, so I am sure they are good."

The last four years have shown all business people that anyone can go bankrupt.  What do you, as a glass shop or a supplier to glass shops do?

Investigate each new customer, even if you have heard about them for years.  Ask for credit and bank information.  The credit references must be from trade sources.  If a building owner, who wants a new storefront, gives you a hardware store and the phone company, look out.  You should get references from other service vendors, similar to yourself.  If the owner also runs the business, get his/her main merchandise vendors.

Call the bank, asking what their average balance is, and if they have a line of credit, how much is available, and if they have any NSF checks.  You may need an authorization from the customer to give to the bank.  A simple note from the customer to you, will suffice if you don't have this built in to your credit application.

When a company goes bankrupt, the creditor's committee may 'claw back' payments made to you in the previous 90 days.  Complain all you want, you are wasting your time.  If you feel someone is on the verge of bankruptcy don't accept new work.  Yes, they may survive and remember you as someone who didn't work with them.  Or they may sink, and take you with them.  Do you want to lose one customer or your business?  Easy enough choice.

Listen to the rumors in the trade.  Listen to your competitors.  Ask delivery drivers where they are now collecting COD.  (This is one of the best sources of info!)

I am the guy who is an eternal optimist.  I feel the economy is now turning around and everything will come up roses.  But, (yes, there is always a 'but'), we are not out of the woods yet.  Trainor has proved this.  I am not knocking them.  They ran a great business for many years and were very well respected members of our glass community.  But things happen.  Be careful in giving credit; follow up when money is due; stop work and delivery of new materials when promises are not kept and, most of all, don't ignore the little warning bells you keep hearing.

Hallelujah--Spring Training Is Here!

Anyone who know me knows that this week's blog would be about Spring Training and Glass.  In Spring Training all teams are still in first place; all teams will be in the World Series; all players are in contention for the MVP.

Yet, deep down, I know that some teams have a slightly better chance.  After all if one team spends more on salaries, shouldn't they be a stronger candidate for winning?  Let's look at last year as an example.

The Yankees spent $201.7 million, an average of $6.72 million per man, won 97 games, made the playoffs, but didn't win the big one.  Kansas City spent $36.1 million, an average of $1.33 million per man, won 71 games, and didn't make the playoffs.

Another way to look at this is the Yanks spent $2.08 million per win, while KC spent $508 thousand per win; the Yanks spent 4 times what KC did for each win.  Yet neither won the big one.

Enough baseball, let's relate this to the glass business.  It is not how much you spend, it is how you spend it.  How you motivate your people, how you control your expenses and how you manage your business that makes you a winner.  Your goal is not to win the World Series of Glass, but to finish with a positive profit and loss statement for the year.

You do this by taking on the jobs you can make money on.  Is it better to sit quiet than to take work where you lose money, but stay busy?  I say it is better to be quiet than to lose money.  You do this by juggling your lineup; using the players on your team that perform when needed.  You do this by managing your payroll effectively.  You need a star or two who have special skills, but for your everyday players, dependability, reliability and professionalism top the list of characteristics that I look for.

We have another year of uncertainty for the glass business.  Since we are at the back end of the building cycle, it may even be a couple of years.  Nonetheless, you can manage your business to be a winner.  Treat your employees fairly, service your customers to the highest level possible, spend wisely investing in your business where needed and manage your day-to-day expenses wisely.  If you don't absolutely need to buy something, don't.  And then buy the smallest quantity you can.

Back to baseball...since 2000, twelve World Series have been decided, and nine different teams have won.  Even though the big spenders have been the big spenders all along.  In fact, the biggest spenders, the Yanks, have only won twice. Before anyone writes me...yes, I know my Mets didn't win any, and they were up there in spending, too.  This just proves the point that spending alone isn't the key.  It is managing the talent you have for the best results.

No different in glass. 

Solving An Important Employee Problem

Customers always complain...mainly with the intention of getting you to lower your pricing.  That's not what this column is about.  There are complaints even more important than customer's...these are complaints from your employees.  If you don't resolve them, they will spread like a cancer and sicken your whole company.  Here's the problem:

There are different rules for different people. 

This is so simple to avoid. Don't do it.  Wasn't that easy?  But since you already have done it, how do you react when the disparities come out, and they will.  Don't deny them.  Explain that at different points in the history of the company you had different policies, and some of the more senior employees have different work or benefits rules. 

That actually is OK, as long as you were fair and equal at the time that each employee was hired.  You can land in a five foot pool of trouble if your employees see a pattern of discrimination or unfairness based on

• Age
• Religion
• Race
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• National Origin
• Disability Status

All foremen can take home company trucks, not just one class of foremen.  Leave out one or two people who belong to a minority, and you will take a dive into the five foot pool. 

Balance your workload evenly among all workers.  Assigning overtime to one or two people will breed unhappiness.  You can give your best employees more opportunities to earn, but make sure that you have a valid employee review system detailing why one employee deserves greater opportunity than another. 

Wait a minute, you say.  You have some employees that deserve more because they do more for the business.  Actually, I hope you do.  But the fair way to reward them is with higher pay, not by creating a convoluted benefits program. 

In today's litigious society, if you do something that appears to be unfair, even though it may not be, then you will, at some point, be asked to justify the unfairness.  Win or lose, your time and aggravation will make you a loser.  Keep all of your employees on the same benefits program and you will have less grief.  By the way, that doesn't apply to you as an owner.  You can have a different program, giving stronger benefits to yourself and any family if they work for you.  If you have one key manager, it's OK to include him/her in the key program, but don't extend it too far down the chain.

If you have side deals with employees, ask yourself what happens when the rest of the employees learn about it.  Don't ever believe that it will remain private.  If you can't answer the question easily, then work to remove the program.  Maybe you have to give a larger raise to someone and eliminate the special program.  It will move an expense to the fixed column and raise o/t costs, but this is still better than a potential disuption in the work force.

Keep your employees happy, and you will have happy customers.  If you have unhappy employees, for any reason, this will hurt your business more than any recession or competitor.

Hot Air In Fitzwilliam, NH

Quit the snickering.  Yes, I live in Fitzwilliam, NH and if you ask certain people, there is enough hot air in our house to cook a roast beef.  But, those people couldn't possibly be correct.  You see, our boiler rolled over and died last week and we were without heat for seven days. 

We have steam radiators; the house was built in 1940.  The boiler is the heart of the system.  A week ago Friday afternoon, it gave up the ghost.  We couldn't order a new one until Monday, it was delivered on Wednesday, and took two and half days to install.  So, we were a little short on hot air.  Fortunately, we have four fireplaces, and three of them have gas burners.  We kept warm throughout, holding the house around sixty degrees.

But it made me think about the people without heat, folks who can't afford heating oil at almost $4 a gallon, or have the electricity or gas shut off.  The stories on the news are not in some distant land, they are here in the United States.  There are so many definitions, but the smallest number places ten million Americans living in poverty, skipping meals, living without heat, and forty million Americans without medical insurance.

Politics be damned.  There is no excuse for this in our country.  No plan hatched in Washington can feel the chill in the bedroom of a child in the Great Lakes area.

As we go through an election cycle, whatever your point-of-view, think of the children in our country.  Think of the children in the world.

And The Agenda For Today's Meeting Is....

Bud and Lou are two partners in a nice sized glass shop.  Let's use our hidden microphone and listen in to an argument they are having.

Lou:  Hey Bud, I just got your email saying there was going to be a foreman's meeting at 2:00pm.  What's going on?

Bud:  Lou, these guys need to learn about the newest low-e glass.  Also, there have been some problems with the Laurel job and the Hardy house is a day behind schedule.  We've got a lot to cover.

Lou:  That certainly is a lot for a thirty minute meeting.

Bud:  Oh, it may run longer, but that is OK with me.

Lou:  Bud, don't you think we should tell the crew this agenda so they are ready with answers and can do research on the topics?

Bud: Nah, I want to catch them off-guard on the two slow job-sites.  It is the best way to get to the bottom of the problems.

Lou:  All you are going to hear are excuses and guess work.  Let's send out a formal agenda so the guys are prepared.

Bud:  You know I don't like to do agendas.  Then I am stuck following the script.  What if another idea comes up that needs discussing? 

Lou: Hey, Bud, lighten up.  You want the guys to cooperate with you.  Let them know it will probably run long.  Let them be comfortable giving you the info.  Don't make them antsy about coming to a meeting with you.

Bud:  Lou, we have had this discussion before.  Get off my back.  This is my style.  When you run a meeting, you send an agenda, everyone is prepared to answer questions, but you don't get the real dialogue of people contradicting each other.  My way works better!

Lou:  Bud, you are my best friend and this business reflects both of our styles.  Do your thing.

So, friends in the glass industry.  Are you Bud or Lou.  Do you want to stir up the pot and maintain pressure like Bud.  Or do you respect people's time and send out a good agenda before all meetings.  Since I get to write the script, I vote for Lou's style.  How about you?

Why It Is So Important To Follow My Predictions

It's Tuesday, you are reading my blog, courtesy of USGlass.  When this blog started it was intended as a vehicle giving practical advice to our big family in the glass industry.  Today I offer you proof of how to take my advice.

Do the opposite.

Here's the story.  In September our heating oil technician visited and did the annual tune-up on our boiler.  We have steam radiators powered by a large boiler in the basement.  He told me that everything was alright, but the boiler was beginning to look a little tired.  I asked him how he knew, and he couldn't tell me.  But he had been doing this for twenty years and it was just instinct.

I called the heating company main office and a young engineer came out, inspected the boiler, and prepared a quote to replace it...almost $6000.  The engineer said we had a couple of years left, and not to rush in to it.  He left it up to me to make the decision.

OK, you have guessed what happened.  I said 'no' to replacing it when it would be easy and no rush in September.  Yesterday, the boiler cracked.  It's done for.  Last night was 4 degrees and it got cold in the house.  Today it is going up to 20.  A heat wave.  We have gas fireplaces and a few electric heaters, so we have made the house liveable, with three layers of sweatshirts on.

When an old-timer gives you a suggestion, it pays to listen.  Now, some people think I am an old-timer, (just ask my son) but I think I am young. 

So, back to the headline, whenever I give a prediction, do the opposite.You are guaranteed to come out ahead.

What Do You Do About An Employee That Has Given Notice?

Susie, your bookkeeper of eleven years, walks into your office and tells you that she will be leaving at the end of the following month.  She has decided to move closer to her aging parents.  You loved having Susie work with you and she has always done a great job.  But, what do you do now?  You are grateful she has given you a long notice allowing for a replacement search, but you are worried about her being a lame duck.

If you knew Susie, like I knew Susie, you wouldn't be worried.  I know she will be a great employee up to the last minute.

But what about the employee who gives a proper notice, leaving to join a competitor?  Or doesn't tell you why they are leaving or where they are going?  If you have covered this in your employee manual, then follow the procedures you have created.  My recommendation is that your manual state:

• Employees are expected to give two weeks notice of their intent to leave.  Failure to give this notice will impact future references and may result in forfeiture of accrued vacation.  In rare instances, the company may not accept the two week notice and ask employees to leave immediately.  These instances include, but are not limited to, leaving to work for a competitor, leaving after an event that leads to the employee's arrest, or other events as management may decide.

I mentioned withholding accrued vacation.  In many states this is OK.  Check with your local attorney.  Vacation is a benefit, unlike retirement account payments or social security benefits, which are regulated.  You can never withhold salary or wages, under any circumstance.  When giving a reference, one of the more damning things is to say that an employee failed to give proper notice. 

What if you have no policy or handbook?  Then you should act based on prior occurrences when circumstances are similar.  The next thought is:  How will this play out in your current workforce?  If you make it hard on a departing employee, will your current employees be happy that you protected the company, or will they be upset that a co-worker was mistreated.  Will the same thing happen to them?  If they think so, you will not receive notice from anyone. 

If an employee gives their two week notice because of going to a competitor, do you have to pay them the two weeks, or can you just show them the door?  There are no regulations concerning this.  It is up to your personal feelings.  Here's what I have done.  If the employee has been a good employee and is honestly trying to improve their life by going to another glass company, I would pay them the two weeks, but have them leave the company now.  If the employee was a rabble rouser, always in trouble, always arrived late, then I would just show them the door.

If you pay an employee the two weeks, even though they are going to a competitor, that employee will tell his new co-workers that you are an OK guy.  Maybe that will help you recruit others.  And maybe, the grass won't be greener at the new job and the employee wants to come back to you.  If you would rehire him, then pay the two weeks now as an insurance that the employee might come back home.

Your goal is to protect your company and your current work force.  If your loyal employees see you booting out a 'good person' you will lose their respect.  They will know who the rotten apples are and will applaud you for taking a tough stance in that case.

In another blog, we will discuss the situation of an employee giving a long notice, for instance a retirement, and keeping them motivated for the last couple of months.

For those of us in the North, stay warm.  For those of you in the South, I am jealous.

Problems, Problems, So You've Got A Problem?

Who doesn't have a problem?  Maybe your team didn't make the playoffs, or you didn't get that concert ticket you wanted.  These are easy problems.  A broken leg or a car accident are bad problems but are personal issues.  What happens when problems hit your business?

Business problems fall into two classes:

1. Good problems---like you are too busy
2. Bad problems---like you are too quiet

Doesn't it seem like you are constantly in one of these situations.  Has anyone ever said they have just the right amount of business?  I doubt it. 

1. Good problems---like you are cash positive but only getting 1/10th of a percent on your money market
2. Bad problems---like you are negative in cash, and can't find a bank willing to make a loan, at any rate.

So, what can you do with your business problems?  Turn them into opportunities for the whole company to solve and make progress. (Speaking of 'progress', what is the opposite of progress?  The answer will be at the bottom of this blog!)

Study your problem and find the root cause.  It is not that business is slow, but why is your business slow?   Ask your employees what they would do to increase customers calling or walking through the door.  What would they do to reduce waste in the back?  How would they set up the shop to be more efficient?

Your employees know more than you do on these types of basic questions.  In fact, they want to solve them even more than you!  If times are bad, their jobs are in trouble, as they know they will go before you do.  Their self-preservation will kick-in to the benefit of the whole company.  No need to pay for ideas, or have a contest.  Just lay it out that there are issues that are hurting the company.  Most employees will step and help.  And the ones that don't, well, just keep that in mind when times get better and you can again give raises.

Break your problems down to bite-size pieces and ask different people in your company to work on each piece.  When you pull them all together again, you will often find a new and successful solution. 

Let's say you are the manager of a four man crew doing installations, and no matter what you say, they come back every day a half-hour late, except on the days you get a chance to go with them.  How about appointing a foreman who is responsible for time management, letting him make suggestions on how to cut that overtime, and together you pick two or three ideas.  The foreman is personally invested in the success of the idea and will try a lot harder for success.

The moral of the story?  Ask those around you for help with problems, be they good or bad.  The best resources are right next you most of the day.

(And the answer to the question, what is the opposite of Progress?
It is, of course, Congress.)

I Love, I Love, I Love My Calendar Girl

This is a famous oldie, written by Neil Sedaka.  Do you have a calendar for your glass business?  You know, the one you look at each day with a silly joke?  Or is it the one with the daily baseball trivia?

No, it is the calendar you prepare to create special sales in your glass business.  You are in the business of selling glass, metal, labor, energy savings, design and more.  This is the calendar to let your current and potential customers know more about your business in 2012.

Every event on the calendar can jump start another part of your business.  Start the planning 4-6 weeks ahead of the schedule date.  If you do regular newspaper or Internet advertising, coordinate your ads.  Lay out a flyer or newsletter to mail to your customers along with statements or invoices.  Plan if you are going to decorate your store, order T-shirts, bring in extra inventory, get brochures from vendors, coordinate with other retailers in a community wide event, and schedule your employee's hours.

Start the sale three or four days ahead of the actual holiday day, and run through the next weekend.  You can offer 10% of table tops one week, 20% off mirrors on another.  In the Spring, push screen repairs, and in the fall, low-e replacement windows as temperatures go down.  One sale can be 10% off on customer shower doors, and another would be a free bathroom mirror with a new all-glass shower.  You are not limited in your ideas...be as crazy as you want.  The goal is to bring traffic into your showroom and on your phones.  These both will result in new sales.  Remember, a customer that calls in response to an ad is not as price conscious as the customer who is calling ten shops for fixing a broken door glass.

Here are the holidays sales events you can plan in 2012:

• Jan 12   Martin Luther King Day
• Feb 12   Lincoln's Birthday (20% Discount if your birthday too!)
• Feb 14   Valentine's Day  (Free roses with each purchase)
• Feb 20   President's Day
• Mar 11   Daylight Savings Begins (Key on 'savings' at your shop)
• Mar 17   St Patrick's Day
• Mar 20   Spring Begins  (Commercial doors get 15% off)
• Apr   8   Easter
• Apr 25   Administrative Professionals Day (Sell glass for desks)
• May 13  Mother's Day  (Free purse mirror with all purchases)
• May 19  Armed Forces Day (Discounts for all active and retired)
• May 28  Memorial Day
• Jun 17   Father's Day
• Jun 20   Summer Starts (All screening with a discount)
• Jul 4      Independence Day
• Sep 3     Labor Day 
• Sep 17   Autumn Begins  (Start pushing energy savings products)
• Oct 31   Halloween (15% discount to anyone buying in a costume)
• Nov 11   Veteran's Day
• Nov 20   Thanksgiving Day
• Dec 21   Winter Begins
• Dec 25   Christmas

Now, you are not going to run something special for all these days.  Pick between 8 and 10 dates for your specials.  Work with your fabricators to give you special programs based on your schedule.  Maybe you want to have an open house on the first day of Spring where you highlight new windows; or how about a July 4th party, with hot dogs and popcorn for everyone who comes to your showroom.

If you think your ad will be lost in the clutter of all the other Memorial Day ads, then run your specials around Mother's and Father's Day.  The idea is to stand out from the crowd, not be part of it.

Set up a local radio station to do a remote broadcast on one day.  Sponsor a mobile blood bank in your parking lot for Memorial Day.  On St. Patrick's Day, give a discount for all store fronts made with green aluminum.  Be different!

These sales have two goals...sell more products and create buzz about your shop so that more people will come to your showroom.

Mark the dates you want on your office calendar and get started now.