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Hatorade

Customer Service?  I’d like that supersized please!!

Whether you like the term or not, one of the first things you have to come to grips with in business is that genuinely the customer 100% of the time is always right.  Why?  They pay the bills.  Without a consumer there is no “business”.  So with that in mind I want to share this.  Keep this in your mind when you have an upset customer.

“An upset customer is created not born.”  By this I mean if a customer is upset it is your job to make them not.  What you need to know though is just because a customer acts upset that doesn’t necessarily mean they are with you.  Honestly some people wake up every morning and drink that HaterAde.  They just hate life.

  Ill give you an example:

My top salesman has an older gentleman that buys a car from us every year.  The whole time he’s mean, spiteful, and rude.  Guess what though? We treat him like gold, put up with his antics, and cater to all his ways and every time he’s 100% completely satisfied with our service.  Every time on the manufacturers’ survey he brags about our dealership. 

So next time you have an upset customer, have fun with it.  These people are used to people getting upset with them because of their way and they feed off of it.  Don’t veer from your professionalism, treat them like a winning lotto ticket, and thank the powers that be they came in today to do business.  Were in recession!!  You better learn to adapt or say goodbye to your business….

Value

Value?  What has value? How is value perceived?  Is it the Green printable paper in your wallet?  Is it the shiny stuff you glam yourself up with to perceive to the public you have much value?  Is it time?  I think it’s actually up to the person and the situation they’re in.  I personally value a lot of things.  Family, friends, my pets, time, and yes of course those printable green sheets of paper in my wallet.  I think it’s important in life to prioritize your values in order to have a map toward success.  You can’t be pitching a sale with the thought of your vacation you’re starting the next day.  In that case your vacation is more valuable to you at the moment than the actual action that’s going to pay for that trip to Venice.  All your values have to have a time and a place.  Learn how to prioritize your values and success will come easy. 

 

DRIVEN

 

“Success is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration”

--Thomas Edison

 

Those seven simple words have been engrained into my head ever since I set foot on my college campus. I realized at a young age that I had been blessed with academic intelligence; however, it wasn't until entering college that I realized intelligence will only get you so far...after that, effort and dedication take over. All throughout high school, I was able to breeze by simply on my laurels. Upon receiving my first “F” in my freshman year of college, I was faced with a tough choice: continue on trying to squeak by with minimal effort, or put my nose to the grindstone and get to work...I wisely chose the latter.

If you take a look into the background of the most successful businessmen and women in America, their drive and desire to succeed is what allowed them to get to where they are today. Don't get me wrong, higher education is a very worthwhile goal to strive after. But having a degree does not guarantee success or riches; what it does, however, is show a potential employer that you have the dedication and desire to succeed. When I am interviewing someone that wants to come work for me, I spend 4 to 5 minutes looking at their resume, and then lay it aside. Anyone can make themselves look good on paper; what you say to me and how you interact says more than any mindless statistic. The age old adage of “actions speak louder than words” holds true to this day.

In the sports world, they call it the “it” factor. NFL coaches look for those intangible characteristics, the leadership factors necessary to lead an NFL team into battle and bring home the title. In the business world, the same “it” factor is strongly desired and sought after. I credit the United States military for giving me that “it” factor. After college, I spent a number of years leading troops into combat, a place where the smallest mistake can get you or your best friend killed. Through months of backbreaking training, even the most stubborn of troops is transformed. Integrity, excellence and commitment are words used very often in our society, but to a U.S. Military member, they are not just words; they are a code to live by, an ethos sworn into the very core of each and every proud soldier, airman, marine and sailor. The ability to carry those same character traits over into your daily tasks will allow you to rise above and succeed in every task you take on.

My grandfather gave me some of the best advice I've ever been given when I left for college: “Whether you are a C.E.O or a trash collector, you do everything you can to be the best at what you do.” When I joined my company, I joined with absolutely zero experience in this business; I was as new as new could be. What I lacked in experience, however, I made up with a strong desire to be the best at what I do. And that is something I find more necessary than any degree or certification...I can teach you how to do this job; I cannot teach you how to have the heart, the drive, and the desire to be the best.

Not everyone is cut out for corporate America, and there's nothing wrong with that. Others believe that spending 4 years in undergraduate and 2 years in graduate school make you a guaranteed successful manager; that, too, is a fallacy. The one tried and true factor in being successful is an innate desire, a drive, to be the absolute best at what you do. I may not be the smartest, most talented individual in my career field, and I'm fine with that. But when I wake up in the morning and come to the office, one thing I know without a doubt is that I'm going to do everything in my power to be better than anyone else there.

 

-Matt Lopez-

 

Efficiency Not Time

Who says you don't have to work hard in order to make your business successful.  Key words "WORK HARD".  There are a lot of ways to define working hard.  Unfortunately this day and age there is a misunderstanding that working hard is only defined by the amount of time you contribute to your success.  I find this to be true and false.  Example: Does it really matter if you get the same amount of production/results out working 2 hours or 12.  I try to measure my employees on a production/number base.  Not the amount of hours you take to tackle the task @ hand.  Now the true side of this is, in any facet of business, if your doors aren't open people can't come in.  The more hours people have access to your business the more chances you have of gaining a customer.  When it comes to the access to your business structure it in the sense of being accessible during the time of day for the most hours that pertains to your service or product.  Example:  If you serve dinner your probably not going to have your hours of operation from 6am to 11am in the morning.  If your patrons are coming in starting at 6pm until 11pm.  Pretty simple! Be open during this time period.  My point is you're not going to keep your dinner serving business open from 8am until midnight just in case you might grab one or two more customers.  The man hours alone would wipe out your profits.  It's all a numbers game.  Look into where you can be more efficient and I guarantee this is a huge way to cut expenses and retain profits.