Shoe Covers

As I was driving away from a customer’s home recently, a neighbor waved to me from his front porch. I pulled into his driveway and was invited into the house. He said that he had been planning on calling us for new service when he noticed me next door.

As we were talking in his entrance way, he stopped and pointed to the floor. I had mud on my shoes and had made a mark on the white throw rug. I was sick. I would not have done that in my own home. What was I thinking? He said that he would clean it (before his wife came home) and that it was “OK”, but his tone was as sincere as a mother-in-law’s kiss.

What a rookie mistake to make. He did become a customer and still is to this day, but I decided that I would never let that happen again. We purchased shoe covers from http://www.shubee.com/ and asked our service techs to start wearing them. Easier said than done. They pushed back on the idea and said that they usually removed their shoes (exposing worn socks with holes) when they entered homes anyway, implying that the shoe covers were unnecessary. I then started to require that they record that shoe covers were used on all their service work orders to be able to receive their monthly sales commission. They have been using them ever since.

What does it say to a customer when you enter their home with shoe covers? It shows that you respect their property and it implies that you will work on their equipment with the same level of professionalism. It’s the little things that differentiate you from your competition.

Calling Customers

This winter has been long and cold for our heating customers. (In the northeast, we get ten months of winter and two months of bad skiing.) This has put people on edge and a little grumpy.

Some of the customers that joined us last summer and fall, had recently started calling the office questioning price and usage. Most of them had left their previous suppliers because they felt neglected and taken for granted. It sounded to us as though they were beginning to show symptoms of buyer’s remorse. Many of them had been with their previous suppliers for many years before making the change.

These calls prompted us to go on the offensive and start calling them. We started the call by acknowledging that it had been a long winter and we wanted to know if they had any feedback, comments or suggestions on our service during their first year with us. If they had a complaint, we were ready to deal with it immediately. If they had a positive response, we asked them if they knew anyone who could benefit from our service as well. When propane marketers are asked what makes them differ from their competition, they respond, “We give good service.” What we need to be saying is, “We serve our customers.” There is a difference!

Grumbling Employees

Do small groups of employees talking in low tones make you nervous? Do I sound paranoid? Maybe, but when I saw a couple of the guys out in the yard talking on a regular basis, I decided to investigate.

When I spoke with them, they said that they had been observing my behavior and thought that I was getting ready to sell the business and that they might lose their jobs. This was not the case at all, so we started having 5-minute meetings every morning at 8:05am before everyone dispersed for the day. We needed everyone on the same page by communicating with each other. (I guess I was the one who needed to communicate.)

These meetings do occasionally go over 5 minutes, but we try to stick to it. We discuss what each person is doing that day, which implies that they should already have a plan ready the night before. If a call comes in or the plan changes, the strategy is discussed on the spot and everyone knows what is going on. If a customer has voiced a complaint, we will discuss the details and how it was handled. This has often worked to our advantage. When a bulk driver delivered to one such customer recently, the upset customer exaggerated the details of the situation. (That never happens, right?) The bulk driver was able to explain our position as well as the solution and why it was implemented, in detail, because we had discussed it that morning. It puts a lot of responsibility on the driver, I know. But, consider this.  He has been entrusted with a vehicle worth over $100,000 and sees our valuable customers face to face on a daily basis. Without these meetings, the guys would be tempted to say, “I don’t know. You’ll have to call the office.” Or, “They never tell me what’s going on.”

If your people are a part of what is going on, your customers will sense it and respond by doing business with you instead of the other guys.

Why a Blog?

Peter, a local business man encouraged me to join a (certificate) course at the local university for business owners. Feeling sure that I wouldn’t qualify, I didn’t pursue it. He took it upon himself to contact the director of the program and asked her to call me. If he hadn’t, I would not have gone.

As I walked on to the large campus for the interview, I looked up at the tall buildings and the crowd of young faces and thought, “What am I doing here?” The woman who interviewed me looked at our business performance over the previous three years (which was poor) and asked why. I shuttered because I didn’t know. ‘I’m done,’ I thought. 'Now I’ll have to tell Peter that they didn’t accept me and embarrass him as well.' But, I was accepted and it opened a whole, new world for me. To my surprise, there were other business owners in the class with similar problems and some were worse off than I was.

One night, a business coach came as our guest speaker to present the 9 lies that are holding your business back. Across the table from me was a very wealthy and successful classmate who owned a large construction company. I noticed that he was taking several pages of notes from the presentation so I concluded that I had better do the same because the information was apparently very valuable.

I believed that the business coach had the answers that I was looking for in our business. It was my desperation that forced me to approach him and ask if he would work with me. In order to do so, I had to overcome my fear that he might judge me and my ability as a businessman. I was running our business by trial and error. Mostly error. I thought he would be like most of the people I knew; either they didn’t know what propane was or they knew what it was and considered it dangerous. Not the best way to meet friends and influence people.

The lesson I learned from all of this is, that my fears were in my mind. The more I thought about how I would be judged or if I would be good at being coached, the more the fear grew. Once I took action, the fear melted away. I learned that seeking outside help was demonstrating strength not weakness. As for the fears, they were unfounded. No one judged me and I learned that we all get better at whatever we are committed to doing if we have a coach to teach, push and be accountable to. I’m the player out on the field,  the coach just brings out the best and keeps me focused.

It was these trial-by-fire-experiences that have led to the creation of this blog. I want to share what I have learned (mostly) the hard way. With our coaches’ help, we have implemented various programs into our business which have been successful and more importantly, enjoyable to create. We have prospered in spite of several large oil companies entering our market, natural gas incursions and an economy in recession. Please join me as I share the actions we have taken that have worked for us in the real world.