What's Your Excuse? I think I Know It!

Here are some excuses you may have heard, or perhaps you will soon.

•          I was stepping out of my trailer and I missed the step and landed on the ground injuring my back.
•         My waterbed busted and my room is flooded.
•         I spent my paycheck on lottery tickets, and I’m out of gas until payday.
•         My wife said she is going to conceive today, and I want to be there when it happens.
•         When I got up this morning I accidentally took two Ex-Lax in addition to my Prozac. I can’t get off the john, but I feel good about it.
•         My car ran out of gas on the way to work so I pushed it to a gas station, but I got a stomach hernia and I have to go to the doctor’s.

Thought you would like to see some of the excuses people use to get out of work. I think I know yours! For most all of us, that excuse is tomorrow. We use it all the time. I'll update the menu price book tomorrow. I'll get that quote out tomorrow. I'll talk with "Joe" about his poor performance tomorrow. I'll look at the company financials tomorrow. I'll return that extra material tomorrow. I'll check tech invoices tomorrow. I’ll do a budget tomorrow. I'll set company goals tomorrow. I'll get back to that unhappy customer tomorrow. I'll call that customer that owes us money tomorrow. Guess what.....tomorrow never comes. It is just our number one excuse to avoid doing the hard stuff.

We all have a mental list of the hard stuff we must do at some time or another. Start off slow and easy. Select one of those tough tasks and do it today. In fact do it as soon as you finish reading this blog! After you complete it, you'll be so glad that one of those tough things is now accomplished. Then while the joy of the moment is still there, ask your secretary, wife, girlfriend, or key employee to keep on you to accomplish at least one difficult task every day. You'll be surprised how quickly you get though the list. Yes, more things come up but our issue is often the mountain looks so very big. What you are doing is breaking it down to small hills or just bumps in the road. They are a lot easier to overcome than a big mountain of tough tasks.

Some people like to use a calendar and put those bumps on a certain day each week or month to accomplish. Example would be to check receivables every Tuesday morning and call customers in the afternoon that are behind. Often these tasks are best accomplished when you have fewer distractions so close you door and only be disturbed if the building is on fire.

Remember, a bump or even a hill is a lot easier to get over than a mountain!

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Did You Go or Grow in 2013

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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.

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Did I go or grow in 2013?

As the year 2013 comes to an end and the New Year, 2014, starts perhaps it’s a good time to reflect back on the year and ask myself a few questions. This could go on for quite a few paragraphs so I’m going to limit it to one question. That question is, “Did I go or did I grow?” I saw this dichotomy in a daily Bible reading I do each morning. It applies to our spiritual life but it can also apply to our daily business activities.

Each and every day our businesses have challenges we must face and problems we must solve. We have a tax audit, a key employee quits, an angry customer threatens to sue, the checking account is a little thin, a Technician has an a fender bender or some other issue. We sometimes think it’s only our business or our industry that has challenges but every business both big and small must deal with the circumstances they are dealt. The question I ask myself and I’m asking you is “How do we really deal with those challenges and circumstances?”

Do I just go through the motions, through the challenge, through the circumstance and move on to the next challenge, the next circumstance, the next crisis? If I just go through them I probably am not any better off when the next one appears before me. This does not mean I don’t solve the issue, correct the problem or meet the challenge. What I am asking is “have I become a better owner, a better boss, a better service provider for my customer? Has the problem taught me anything other than becoming more of an angry cynic? Has the circumstance made me bitter? Has the challenge created health issues? Has the crisis affected my mental state?” When we just go through the problems our health, our mental state, and our attitudes are definitely changed for the worse.

On the other hand, when we grow through a crisis, a problem, a challenge, or an issue we look at it with a different frame of mind and attitude. We can ask ourselves, “What can I learn from this? What can I do differently to avoid this from happening that makes real sense?” Look at the crisis or problem after the immediate rush necessary to handle the emergency and find a constructive way to avoid a repeat or very similar happening from causing the frustration and stress. The answer could be a new policy, training, passing some responsibility down the chain, replacing a problem employee or a myriad of other solutions. But you are not going to find solutions unless you take the time and effort to correct the situation so the issue won’t pop-up again. Time and again I hear owners whining about a problem, an employee, a situation but they do nothing to eliminate the issue and formulate a plan to keep the issue from reoccurring. Learn. grow, and change to make things work better within the business.

So make a New Year’s resolution to GROW not go and your life will be a lot less stressful and your business a place to feel good about!

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.

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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. 

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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?

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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.

Where am I Going with you?

Losing key people in your business is always difficult. It could be a senior Technician, a Service Manager, or an important Office Staff Member. They may leave your business for any number of reasons. Many of those reasons you believe you do not have any control over and so you just to “buck it up”. Here is a partial list of reasons employees leave our type of businesses:

·        Moving out of the area  

·        Family issue such as divorce, new baby, or family illness

·        Pursuing another career

·        Health issues

·        Distance from the office

·        9 to 5 Hours

·        Not really suited for the service business

·        Pressure for change from the spouse

·        Benefits

·        Pay

·        On call

·        Going into business

·        Being a stay at home parent

·        Conflict with other Team Member or Members

I know there are others that I did not include but these are the ones I hear about the most. From owners I hear that it is often a total surprise that the employee is leaving. They had no idea it was coming. I don’t accept that in many cases. To me it is a fundamental issue the owner has failed to address in their business. That issue is communication with each and every employee on a regularly scheduled basis to discuss that employee’s performance and future with the company. Every employee should know how well they are performing and what the future for them with the company looks like. These are not the sit downs to discuss a pay increase, although those do need to occur. These are quarterly sit downs to discuss the progress the employee has made in the previous three months and what is expected in the next three months, one year and even five years. At these the owner should get a sense of where the employee is in their position at the company. Employees want to know how they are doing, what they can do to be better, and what the future holds for them.

Here is a method you could use. Get out your calendar and write in a ½ hour block of time for each employee sit down each quarter for the next twelve months. On your calendar mark ten days prior to each sit down with a note to give that employee an evaluation form for them to fill out and return to you at least two days prior to your sit down. Your will review the form and add your comments (constructive comments) and a plan of action for the next quarter, year and perhaps five years to the form. When you have the sit down with the employee you will review that form together, come to a consensus of the review and plan and have the employee sign the form and provide them a copy. Regular communication about their future will provide a way for the employee to be more open about what’s up in their head. Each time you meet you will use the previous meetings form and the new form to conduct the review and plan. This process goes hand and hand with a specific blueprint for each employee’s progression within your company in career development and pay. I call it “Blueprint for Success”. Between the reviews and the blueprint the owner will have reduced much of the “Where am I going” uneasiness of the employee. There are no magic bullets but regular communication and a plan will provide a more stable environment for the employee thus reducing the chances they will seek other opportunities and be lost to your company.

If you would like a copy of a form you could use in these sit downs and a sample of a “Blueprint for Success”, email me at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.comDan@SayYesToSuccess.com and I’ll send you a copy.  

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.comDan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

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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.

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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 An Addict?

Just a few days ago we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the cellphone. It has revolutionized communications in just 4 decades. The Internet, texting, email and other new modes of communication own their birth and explosive growth to the cellphone. Dr. Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cellphone conceived the idea after seeing a military walkie-talkie. You probably remember "the brick".

The cellphone is so common that there are nearly 6 billion worldwide and by next year there will be more cellphone subscribers than the population of the world! Little by little landlines are disappearing as people no longer view them as needed. Have you seen a pay phone lately? But there are also several downsides to cellphones.

Bills for cellphones can easily exceed $100 a month and for many $200 a month for an individual or a family. A business may spend $1,000 or more per month. At one time we complained about a home telephone bill of $25.00 a month or a commercial telephone bill of a couple of hundred dollars. It's an expense of the instant communication society that did not exist in the past. There is also the cost of the cellphone itself partial paid upfront and in the monthly charge. There are charges for internet access, insurance, text messaging, and other add–on services.

Dr Martin Cooper with first cellphone

Instant communication devices have caused your Technicians to have created a dependence on you! They don’t need to think for themselves of solve problems on their own. Why should they take any responsibility if they can call you and let you make the decision or solve their problem? You have become an enabler for them.

We have all heard about the dangers in using the phone while driving. Then there is texting while driving. And for some surfing the internet on the cellphone while driving is happening. Recently a helicopter pilot crashed and died along with the others on the helicopter because the pilot was preoccupied with texting while flying.

Yesterday I was shopping at Lowe’s for some brackets to hang in our utility room and passed four different employees all talking on their cellphones as they were being paid by Lowes. Perhaps, some were on calls from customers or associates but I doubt that. How many lost hours does your company have from your employees spending countless hours on their cellphones talking, texting, or surfing the internet? Must of the touted efficiency gains of cellphones have been lost to misuse by employees.

Now on to my major point of the article, have you become a slave to that handful of plastic, chips, and buttons? A year or so ago, I had a business owner in my NATE review classes and then take the NATE test. All through the review classes he was a wreck because he couldn’t be constantly watching the screen of his phone. He barely made it through the test without his phone. He was an addict to the instant communication age. He actually had the shakes after the test as I checked his paperwork for submission to NATE. I see people constantly checking for texts, calls or the internet in restaurants, stores, malls, walking, and every other activity. I’m not talking an occasional check but every 2 or 3 minutes. Some of my family members can’t sit and eat a meal without checking their phones. It has become an addiction for many. This new addiction will cause us to hear about CA (Cellphone Anonymous). "My name is Dan and I'm a cellphone addict. It's been 1 hour since I last used my cellphone." There are very few calls or texts that are so critical that they must be responded to within seconds.

Cellphone Anonymous?

So what to do? Review you cellphone bills for ways to save costs. When your Techs call you to solve their problems, ask them how they would solve it. When they answer, hang up. Have a company cellphone use policy in place and active. You can be an example to your employees by not being connected 24/7 for every call. If there is an emergency, I guarantee you that you will hear about it quickly. Decide to turn your phone off after hours. Get a life! The world will not end! You won’t miss the blah-blah of most calls and texts!

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 13 years has helped small companies in the service business to
grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.