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.