Author: k

Taking Action On Customer Complaints

Folks in northern climates
love to complain
about the snow.

Now, that the snow
is going away,
due to climate change,
people from elsewhere
assume we’ll be happy about that.

We aren’t happy
about that.
At all.

Because the snow
benefits our crops.

Without the slow release
of moisture
from snow packs,
our farmers face drought.

The snow and the cold
is also necessary
for our local plants, insects,
animals, birds
and many, many industries.

Don’t assume
complaints
about an aspect of your products
mean those customers or prospects
want that aspect removed or changed.

Humans are illogical beings.
It might not mean
that at all.

Investigate
before you take action.

Barbie And Oscar Nominations

If you were questioning
if the patriarchy is still strong,
the Oscar nominations this year
are proof
that women continue
to be discriminated.
Openly.
And obviously.

Barbie was one of the top
grossing movies of the year.
I didn’t truly enjoy it
yet even I have to admit
it was creatively a masterpiece.
It was innovative
and different
and people responded to it.

Yet Margot Robbie who played Barbie
didn’t receive an Oscar nomination.
Greta Gerwig, the director
and the creative force behind the movie,
didn’t receive an Oscar nomination.

You know who DID receive
an Oscar nomination?
Ryan Gosling who played Ken.

Yep, the guy got the nomination.

F*ck the patriarchy.
It is still strong.

And yes, it is impacting
your female-run business.
Likely in more ways
than you believe.

Succeed despite them.

The Reason Why

Before partnering with someone,
I like to ask them
to tell me
what I should know about them.

They usually tell me
how they helped another person
they partnered with.

I then ask them
WHY they made the decisions
they made.

THAT, I find,
is more telling
than the fact that they made
the right decision
for that partner
at that time.

It is unlikely
I’ll be in the exact same situation.

I prefer to know
what their decision making process
is
ALL the time.

If the perspective partner
doesn’t have an answer
for that why question,
it is likely their decision
was merely a lucky guess.

Lucky guesses are rarely duplicated.

Ask why.

Be Approachable

The formatting on a buddy’s book
went terribly wrong.

One of the earliest readers
contacted her immediately.

My buddy corrected the problem
so quickly
most of her other readers
didn’t realize
there had been a problem.

Another writer told her
she was ‘lucky.’
That writer had the same problem
and she didn’t find out about it
until she had received a bunch
of 1 star reviews
and investigated.

Luck is always a factor
but it wasn’t purely luck.

My buddy is approachable.
Readers feel comfortable
coming to her
with issues.

The ‘unlucky’ writer
has a reputation
for yelling at readers.
Very few people
approach her
about anything.

Be approachable.
Or ensure SOMEONE high profile
is approachable
in your business.

That will help you
retain customers.

Is It Working For You?

A buddy was telling me
she has been constantly sick
for the past six months or so.

I asked her
if that was working well for her.

She looked at me
as though I’d lost my mind
and said
no, it wasn’t working well
for her
at all.

I then asked her
what she’s changing.

She said she wasn’t changing
anything.

I shrugged
and told her
she will continue
being ill
until something changes.
And the only something
she is in control of
is herself.

We might think
that’s obvious.

But I know
there’s at least one business situation
I’ve been tolerating
that I haven’t tried to change.
And I should try something,
anything to do that.

We all have one
of those.

If a situation isn’t working
for you,
change something.

The issue won’t fix itself.

Ill Employees Finding New Jobs

When I told my business building buddy
his employees
were likely truly ill
and not faking it,
he pointed out
how one of his employees
found another job
while she was supposedly ill.

I asked him
if that new job
was remote.
Was she working from home?

Yep,
it WAS a remote job.

Because, of course, it was.
The employee likely
HAD to get a new job.
She likely couldn’t return
to her old job
and the office
and the daily commute.

Happy healthy employees
don’t find new jobs
while they’re off work
and ill.

If your employees
are finding new jobs
while they’re off work,
they likely can’t do
their old jobs.

Either communicate
that you’re open
to changing existing jobs
to accommodate changes in circumstances
or wish ill employees the best
when they land new jobs elsewhere.

If People Say They’re Sick, They’re VERY Sick

A business building buddy
grumbled
that he thought
one of his employees
was faking illness,
trying to get out of working.

Confessing to being ill
at this point of the pandemic
is, for some,
a confession of weakness.

It also brings
social isolation
and social condemnation.

The sick person
is viewed as an unsafe person,
a risky person
to be near.

People are more likely
to fake being well
than fake being ill.

So when they tell you
they’re ill,
they’re likely VERY ill
as in
vomiting
and having the sh*ts
without any warning
level of illness.
(This is happening
with one of the dominant
COVID variants.)

No one wants
a person ill like that
at the office.

If someone says
they’re ill,
believe them.

Don’t Insist People Work Sick

Okay.
I get it.
Due to COVID,
people’s immune systems are sh*t
and
that means they’re sick
much more often.

You are trying
to run a business.
You need employees.

So you’re considering
insisting
employees come into work
while they’re sick.

Don’t insist on that.
That’s cruel
and it is a lawsuit
waiting to happen.

If that employee dies
or suffers extreme harm
while working ill,
their families will
sue your a$$.

No one has the time
or the money
for that.

A better solution
is having extra staff
on call.

Train and ‘hire’ more people
than you need.

The constant illness
is our new normal.
Plan for it.

The Power Of The Line

The CES in Vegas
had very low attendance
this year.

(Registration was healthy.
Participants
didn’t show up
for whatever
**cough, cough – illness**
reason.)

To create the illusion
of crowds,
companies
forced attendees to wait
in a line outside
their fairly empty display areas.

These artificial lines
did two major things.

1) It drove media coverage.

Reporters wanted to know
what innovation had interested people
enough to wait in the long lines.

And

2) The existence of the lines
made important guests
feel extra special.
They were able
to go straight to the front,
walking past all the poor suckers
waiting outside the area.

Did the lines attract
more people to the booth?

It did attract SOME people.

It is human nature
to want to be
where everyone else is.

But I suspect it also
drove some people away.
I wasn’t willing to wait
in those artificially created lines,
for example.

Lines attract media attention.
Skipping those lines is viewed
as a valued perk.

Consider creating lines
for events
you suspect the media might cover.

CES And Superspreader Events

I attended this year’s
CES
(Consumer Electronics Show)
in Vegas.

A lot of people attending
this mega conference
were ill.
It was definitely
a superspreader event.

The CES organizers
must have anticipated this possibility.

They had signs erected
everywhere,
telling participants to wear masks,
social distance, test,
and stay away if they were ill.

They gave away
black KN95 masks.

They gave away
test kits.

They had hand sanitizer stations
positioned everywhere.

Ventilation systems in the buildings
were blasting.

There were displays outside.

The CES covered their a$$es.
They did their part
to stop illnesses.

They can truthfully say to the media
and others
it wasn’t their fault
if
only 5% or fewer participants
wore masks.
(Which meant, of course,
the CES didn’t have to supply
many free masks.)

They took precautions.
Participants chose
to spread illness.

When organizing an event
or, f@ck,
when running a business,
cover your a$$ also.

Illness is circulating.
Lawsuits and bad media coverage
will happen
due to it.

Supply masks, tests
and hand sanitizer
and improve ventilation.

The cost of this is less
than you likely believe
and the benefits
will be enormous.