What's Your Excuse?

Employee Absenteeism

Employee absenteeism is one of those things that owners and mangers often sweep under the rug. They just

Frustrated Owner

don't want to deal with it or spend the time to solve the root causes. Absenteeism can cost thousands in revenue and angry customers. It is an issue that should be attacked and the root causes eliminated. Excuses can range from the believable to the what. Here are a few of the excuses recently posted by CareerBuilder.

·        Employee's false teeth flew out the window while driving down the highway

·        Employee's favorite football team lost on Sunday so needed Monday to recover

·        Employee was quitting smoking and was grouchy

·        Employee said that someone glued her doors and windows shut so she couldn't leave the house to come to work

·        Employee bit her tongue and couldn't talk

·        Employee claimed a swarm of bees surrounded his vehicle and he couldn't make it in

·        Employee said the chemical in turkey made him fall asleep and he missed his shift

·        Employee felt like he was so angry he was going to hurt someone if he came in

·        Employee received a threatening phone call from the electric company and needed to report it to the FBI

·        Employee needed to finish Christmas shopping

·        Employee's fake eye was falling out of its socket

·        Employee got lost and ended up in another state

·        Employee couldn't decide what to wear

If you liked those you might look at egroware’s list of 101 excuses for missing work. It is hilarious to read the excuses people give for missing work. At the same time it is a real problem for contractors who are trying to run lean and not be over staffed.

Combating Absenteeism

There are many legitimate reasons an employee needs to miss work. They could include illness, an accident, a family situation. These need the understanding and compassion of a business owner. It is the unexpected absences without a reasonable excuse that I’m discussing here. Let’s look at some thoughts that might help reduce absenteeism in your business.

1.      When hiring, check with previous employers about a job candidates attendance record and if the previous employee considered them a reliable employee. Would they hire the prospective employee again?

2.      Have a firm but fair policy in your employee handbook. Follow the handbook in all cases or you may be subject to legal issues.

3.      Eliminate sick days with pay. Change them along with vacation days to “personal days” which the employee can use as needed. Be sure to use them for each absence.

4.      Have a policy of no holiday pay if an employee misses the day before or day after a holiday without previous approval.

5.      Track absences and make it part of the employee’s evaluation when it comes time for increases.

6.      Have an annual award or incentive for perfect attendance.

7.      Require written approval (7 days or more in advance) for vacation or days off when it is a none emergency. Also the approval must be done by a manager or the owner.

Don't just sweep absenteeism under the rug. Put some controls into place and plug a hole of lost revenue and customers. 

Also Checkout:

Cruise Thoughts

Is This Customer Service?

Checkout our new website

Often owners and managers need assistance in using their time wisely to grow the business or improve the business. We can help. Contact us.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

You Don't Care!

Employees wear these pink bands

I have been in the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning service business for more than 50 years. My Dad was a plumbing service contractor who worked out of his home. I helped him as a high school student on weekends and during the summer months. I grew to love the business and the ability to help customers by solving problems they could not solve themselves. Why do I tell you this? It is to let you know I have been around the block a few times in this industry. I have seen and heard a lot. I have been with thousands of customers from little old grandmas to auto industry leaders. All have a concern for the integrity and character of the company they use for service and the Technician who arrives at their home or business. So let’s focus in on a way to improve the perception of your business in the eyes of your customers. Remember, Perception is the customer’s reality.

As I search the web for contractors’ websites, receive their email newsletters, or review their customer newsletters, I find a need to improve on the message that the company I’m looking at has integrity and character. If you Google the word plumber what do you see? Many of the images are of someone’s butt crack. If you watch television and there is an investigative sting operation, it’s an HVAC company. We lack professionalism, trust, character, and integrity in the eyes of many customers.

As a customer searches for a service contractor, they have a lot of anxiety about the choices before them. They look for a local contractor, one who’s name they recognize, one some friend or neighbor recommended. Often they are confused and have that helpless feeling. They are pretty sure they are not going to be happy with the outcome of the service, the Technician, or the price. There are many ways to help change that perception including clean well maintained trucks, neat uniformed Technicians, well done website with pictures of babies and moms, friendly Customer Service Reps, booties, and a host of others. But let me give you one more.

A client, Thornton and Grooms, is active in the community. They do most all the activities other

Notice the Pink Shirt

contractors are involved in such as home shows. But they also give back to the community through their “Hearts and Heroes Award” donations to charities, service and installations for the needy, and major campaigns. One such current campaign is focused breast cancer awareness and assistance with “The Pink Fund”. Each of these are company-wide efforts which give the employees a sense of belonging to a caring firm and it helps to show that it’s not about butt cracks and rip-

Another Pink Shirt

offs. The concept is always to provide the best service but to also include the “We care” in everyday business. It helps to give the customer a secure feeling about the business. Click on the Hearts and Heroes Award or The Pink Fund above to see how they use this concept. Then look at the banners that run across their Home page.

Are your future customers confident that You Care when they see you marketing or does your image lack a solution to that customer concern?

Also Checkout:

Cruise Thoughts

Is This Customer Service?

Checkout our new website

Often owners and managers need assistance in using their time wisely to grow the business or improve the business. We can help. Contact us.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is one of the most popular programs on television. This fall the fourth season will begin. It is on Facebook, there are apps, there are games and I expect there will be a series of movies in 3-D. The idea came from the comic books which began back in 2003. After an apocalyptic event, humans fight “walkers” similar to zombies.

My question for you is “Are you one of the humans or one of the ‘Walking Dead’”? Now you’re asking what I mean by this question.  I’m asking how engaged you are in your business. Let’s do a little self-analysis.

First pull up a 5 day hour by hour calendar on your computer. One with at least hour slots on it. It might be best to print it unless you are on your computer all day long. Start by tagging each of the calendar’s days with a number from 1 to 5. I have put one together for you that you can access on our website (Go to www.SayYesToSuccess.com, click on the Free Stuff button and Download the pdf form). You are going to write in the calendar hour by hour what you are doing. I know this isn’t easy but you can do it. If you get an hour or two behind you can think back and put into the calendar. You must have some disciple to do this and be of the right mindset. You must be ready to change your business and your life.

As the days progress you start to gather a picture of what you do all day long. As a business owner or manager, there are an endless variety of tasks you must perform. You’re the coach, the CEO, the CFO, the CSR, the Buyer, the Technician, the Service Manager, the HR department, the delivery driver, the estimator, the collections department, the referee, the trainer, the tool crib man, the vehicle maintenance department, and on and on. There are a never ending list of tasks you can handle and a myriad of problems and issues for you to solve. After the 5 days you will have a reasonable idea of where your time has gone.

Now comes the interesting and difficult part. I want you to take an hour alone with your office door closed, computer screen off, cellphone turned off and a mindset that you want to improve your business. If the office doesn’t work, try a quiet coffee shop in your area such as a Panera to analyze your input to the business. Perhaps you need to do this early in the morning or on a weekend so you won’t be distracted by your people needing you during this hour. I can assure you that your business will not fail because you have been out of touch for an hour.

Look at the various tasks and honestly ask yourself, “Could someone else in our company do this instead of me? Could I hire someone for a lot less payroll expense to do these tasks? Could I sub these out to someone else?” Then ask you, “Have I put in a real effort during this week or have I just slacked off?” And finally ask yourself, ”What did I do to make changes within the business that will make the business more profitable this week?” These last two questions are the real telling ones.

If you haven’t put the time into your business or the true effort, you are one of the “Walking Dead” as far as your business is concerned.

If you have done little or nothing to make changes to improve your business then you have not been the spark to make things happen. You are one of the “Walking Dead”. These could be checking you invoices, flat rate books, and financials for price changes. It could be developing or editing the employee manual. It could be building a budget. It could be looking at new income producing options for your business. It could be training your Technicians to have better customer service skills. It could be improving your marketing. The list is endless and different for every owner and business. But, you must do it to survive in today marketplace.

Check out these posts:

Are you Committed?

Are You a Half-Hearted Kamikaze?

Check out our new website

Often owners and managers need assistance in using their time wisely to grow the business or improve the business. We can help. Contact us.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

Are you this Committed?

Here is a question you need to ask yourself as a business owner. Are you really committed to the success of your company? In other words, what are you willing to do to have success in your business? Now don't take my words the wrong way. I am only talking about legally, ethically, and morally. My experience is most owners are too busy with the day to day stuff, too tired, too uncommitted to challenge themselves and their team. Perhaps this will inspire you to challenge yourself and your team.

 The owners of Thornton & Grooms are committed to rapidly grow their maintenance agreement base to keep the Technicians busy and provide opportunities for future business. A maintenance agreement customer is much more likely to have work done by that company and have replacement work done by that company. They may not get further quotes or at least will get fewer competitive quotes. Thornton & Grooms long term goal is 20,000 agreements by 2021. That is a “big audacious goal” that will change the structure of Thornton & Grooms. It will reduce their marketing to non-customers. It will allow them to have at least a dozen Preventative Maintenance Technicians who can grow into full NATE certified Service Technicians. Since these agreements also include a plumbing maintenance inspection, they will also grow on the plumbing side of the business.

 


Matt, Mike, and Dave getting shaved!

So how did they go about being fully engaged and committed towards this goal? They challenged their Technicians on the HVAC and plumbing side of the business. If the Technicians could sell 240 maintenance agreements in 5 weeks, they would shave the heads of the owners, Matt, Mike, and Dave. With a full commitment by all employees, they sold 262 maintenance agreements in the five week period. So guess what happened last Friday morning. Yes the heads were shaved!

 It’s that time of year to plan ahead for 2013, to set “big audacious goals” that you are totally committed to and engaged in achieving. If you go to our website, www.SayYesToSuccess.com,

and click on “Free Stuff” there are forms there to help you put together your goals for 2013. Be fully committed and engaged in 2013! In fact start today and set goals for the remainder of 2012.

Change or be left behind, you have to decide.

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

Lazy Hazy Days of………

Perhaps you remember the song lyrics,
“Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer..” by Nat King Cole. I heard the song the other day and it brought some thoughts to mind.

Well, “the lazy hazy days of summer” are not what I was thinking about! I’m referring to the typical days of a contractor. Day in and day out they are too lazy to do what needs to be done to fix their business. Or it’s as if they have a haze around them and can’t see the issues that need addressing. In either case they let the days slip by without maximizing the income and profit they deserve for the efforts they put into their business. It becomes frustrating to a consultant when you pass along information that will make a substantial difference in the top line or the bottom line of a business and the owner or manager is too lazy or hazy to implement the change. I see it very often with contractors and as a very strong advocate for business owners and managers, it is so disappointing. The changes would make their life easier, or more fun, or more profitable, or protect their business, yet they remain in their lazy hazy mode. It appears to be an epidemic in the contracting business.

Recently, an old friend in the contracting business closed up shop. I had always admired him for the niche market he had carved out in the plumbing business. But he refused to move with the times, prospect for new customers, or add services to attract new customers and have additional sales to existing accounts. There was nothing to sell at the end except a small building and then bankrupt the business. There was nothing to pass to the next generations, nothing for retirement, and nothing to give to his favorite charity. He is not a pauper but his decisions left hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars lost. I have several other friends in the contracting business moving towards the same situation. What a shame after decades of struggling, sacrificing, and under-compensating themselves, they will not be able to enjoy a successful retirement in a few years.

I have been a member of associations, groups, been to hundreds of seminars and saw and still see the same thing happening to so many contractors. The epidemic has shown up everywhere.

Now some do have issues beyond their control that affect the profitability of their business. These can include health issues, accidents, unscrupulous owners or general contractors, theft, and family problems. Some of the results cannot be overcome but once again I have seen the lazy hazy contractor letting the situation control them.

Are you caught up in the lazy hazy days of business? You probably know exactly what you need to do to make your business a success. DO IT! If you don’t know what to do to make your business a success, then find a consultant to help you. Only do this if you truly are willing to change.