Don’t Fall For It…

This is going to be short and to the point.

(Disclaimer:  I’m not a stock broker, nor am I a professional or Certified Financial Planner.  This post is based on my personal opinion and not intended to be considered by anyone sane or not, as financial advice; or characterization of anyone in the financial industry.  If you think this is about you, it’s all in your head.)

My wife is interested in her retirement account because of the stock market “correction” of the past week.  Not wanting to be the Mr. Know-It-All guy that I usually think I am, I called the Retirement Planning guy at the bank and left a message with the bank teller asking for him to contact my wife to tell her how he is going to keep her from losing a lot of money in her account.  He calls her but didn’t get her.  He left a voicemail stating that “he’s” not worried about the current downturn and that she shouldn’t worry because her account is not exposed to the Asian stocks…and, besides, she’s only lost about 4%.

Her account is not exposed to Asian stocks but according to my calculator with today’s end-of-day losses, she has lost 8% in the past several days.  Has nothing to do with Asian stocks — it is a panic sell off disguised as a correction.

When the time is right, we will re-evaluate her IRA, and I think, the Retirement Planning guy, too.

Folks, let us not panic during these sell offs, it happens.  In the same consideration, don’t fall for a broker who says, “don’t worry, it will come back.”  Yeah?  You think maybe before we retire?

Be concerned…it’s not his money, yet.

I’m just sayin’

Jay 😮

1 Peter 5:7  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

 

Do You Know Someone Who Suffers Spatial Disorientation?

  Some common questions in the storage world: “How much is the smallest space?” 5’x5’ … “Can I fit stuff from a 3 bedroom apartment in the smallest one?” Not unless your apartment is a doll house. What? Nevermind.

Yes, the storage world has its moments.

I am quite fascinated with the idea that so many people do not understand space and how much of it is needed to store their “stuff.” I do understand that everyone is not able to figure out space needed, that’s not my point — it really comes down to the bottom line and equating the price of storage to the space required. Just going for the least expensive and understanding that the least expensive is usually the smallest, people ask for the smallest; and are really taken back when they realize that the smallest is usually about the size of a closet or a small walk-in closet. Most people I have found don’t have a relative clue about what a 5’x5’, 5’x15’ or even a 10’x20’ space will hold.

I, in turn, have a pretty good idea about space and what it will hold. I often can fit 5lbs of “stuff” into a 2lb sock, if you know what I mean. Maybe I was born with it or maybe I just learned from experience over the years — I do my best to not make someone feel bad when they do not understand. More is in my head than comes out through my lips.

If someone is in my office, I can use my office as a reference. “Do you need this much room or something larger, or something smaller?” I will ask.  Most people understand. Some still don’t know. Why? Because they do not know exactly what they will be storing. Hmmmm…Often, people do not want to tell me what they have so that I can properly assist them with spatial requirements. Also, people “forget” what they have that needs to be stored. “Oh yeah, I forgot about the dining table, the washer and dryer or the 22 boxes of stuff in the garage.”

If someone is on the phone, I ask them to look at their master bedroom and imagine they will be stacking things from floor to ceiling and everywhere in between…now, do you need a room that large, larger or smaller? Most people understand.

When people visit me, I like to take them out to look at the space they think they will need. Again, most people understand or at least are able to choose between different sizes once they view them.

Occasionally, I have someone who thinks they can fit 10lbs of “stuff” in a 2lb sock all because they are going for prince over need. Two results: 1) I later transfer them to the right size space; 2) the dumpster get full quickly.

Words of advice when searching for a place to store your stuff:  If you suffer from SD (Spatial Disorientation) please, seek the assistance of someone who knows how to stuff a sock, pack a box, a truck or even a room. The person could be a family member, a friend or even a professional. Do yourself a favor, learn and practice specific cognitive strategies such as forming a mental representation of the environment and how stuff will fit into that area.  Do not allow your life to be disrupted because of SD.

If you know someone who suffers from SD, please for our sake, help them, guide them, teach them.

“So, a 5’x5’, can I fit a 3 bedroom house in that?” Not unless it folds up like George Jetson’s car… What? Nevermind.

Jay 🙂

 

How Not To Get a Job…in my world

Wow! I feel like I’ve been away for eons yet, it has only been a week. I have been busy my friends.

As many of you know, my former assistant, Brittany, moved on to a new position with the company. I’ve heard some great things about her performance from her current manager. 😀

To the busy part. I’ve been working six days a week during the busiest part of the month while in search of a new assistant. This evolution has been the most frustrating.

I have read through over seventy resumes–that’s 70+ in 4 days. After the first 10, I found someone that I thought was good for the job. She went through an interview with me and my area manager a couple of days later. She was excited and said that nothing would prevent her from doing the job. She past the initial background check and I needed her to come in to complete the hiring process. No response to my phone messages for two days. I located her on FB and sent a message asking if she was coming in. She responded that she had too much going on. Wha? Back to square one.

Since then I’ve been bombarded with resumes. Most of the resumes list skills that have nothing to do with the job posted. I was quite specific. The job is administrative, customer service, must be able to learn and operate required software…and, it is only 12 hours per week – 7 hours on Saturdays + 5 hours during the week with an occasional 29 hours per week when covering for me on certain holidays, vacation or sick days. It is not manufacturing, phlebotomy, nurse’s aide, legal- or law-related; and it is not full time.

I started to get suspicious. When I called some of the applicants, I asked them if they had read the job posting. Most said no. So, you have no idea what you’re actually applying for… I thanked them for their time and recommended that in the future, they read the job postings in order not to waste time of the person doing the hiring. If they know in advance that they will not want the job then perhaps they will not apply for it.

I realize that people need jobs but going through resumes that have no direct correlation with the job applied for is an alternate time hack. I don’t want someone who is just trying to bide their time for a few weeks and then leave for “the real job” they wanted in the first place. I want someone who is looking for part time work and can do the job as necessary. Simple.

Of the persons that did read the posting I have three good candidates who are coming in to interview this afternoon.

In my world integrity is important. I need to know that the person I’m dealing with is genuine. Otherwise, we’ve started a relationship that may not, probably will not, be natural and lasting. Everyone does not always get along well but if you’re working with someone, for someone or supervise someone it is always beneficial to the environment if people do get along.

A person with an AA, AS, a BA or MBA, et cetera, can do this job but so can someone with a HS diploma or GED. It’s not necessarily about the education. It is about ability. The ability to learn, do and deal with people in general but a great customer service attitude will win every time. Understand that in the storage business, as in most other customer contact-related businesses, you are the company representative who is providing a service to fulfill a customer need. It’s not about me and it’s not about you. It’s about the company that you work for and it’s about the customers that you serve.

If you don’t get it, please, don’t apply.

Jay 🙂

 

No One Should Be Irreplaceable…

  It’s a nice, quiet, cool and drizzly Saturday.  A day of coffee and catch-up blog reading.  The satellite radio station seems to know what kind of day it is and the music is appropriate.

Angela came in to see if Stacey left a key…no, even though he’s been in the past two days. It did give us a chance to chat about how are faith strengthens our respective relationships and how nice it is to be back with the love of our lives; and how happy God has made us in spite of ourselves.

A rental from a guy with stuffed wild turkeys that he personally killed. Apparently, his wife does not have the same appreciation as he does for the finer things…just wait until he gets the coyotes back from the taxidermist. Better go ahead and rent a larger unit now.

Rental trucks coming and going.

A relatively calm work day in the self-storage environment after such a busy week.

I went through a dozen or so resumes in hopes of finding just the right person. I found three. I interviewed one. She, I think, will be perfect for the assistant position. It amazes me how some people can almost beg for a job and then not show up for the interview—without a call to say they won’t be showing up. I have a feeling there’s a reason they were unemployed. It is alright, I got the cream.  Alas, I can’t start her until sometime next week because the VP who is in charge of the next stage of hiring is on vacation until Monday. Shouldn’t someone else be able and/or authorized to do this in his absence? No One Should Be Irreplaceable…

This past week was public sale week for those who haven’t paid their storage rent in a few months. One hates to do it but, it’s all part of the business. Unanswered legal letters, phone calls, messages, voicemails…sold!

Next week should be more fun as soon as the young lady starts training – I like training. I often feel like a potter taking raw clay and forming a new pot or figurine. It really isn’t about me, though. It is about another chapter, with a new character.

Twenty days to go until my long weekend of time with my wife and friends; and fishing…and relaxation.

Jay  🙂

So, last night before bed my wife presented the profoundly daunting question, “If right is right, why would anyone go left?” I had no argument there. 😉

 

What Crawled Up Your..?

Today was a pretty good day.  It started with no breakfast (yes, that means no coffee or grapefruit juice) and a trip to the dentist because I broke a tooth on Friday.  It took me about a half-hour to drive a 15-minute trip; then I waited at reception for almost another 15 minutes while the patient ahead of me just couldn’t figure out her schedule when making a followup appointment.

Then, I met Renee.  Her first day on the job as the Dentist’s assistant.  She is so nice that I almost wanted to pinch her just to see if she was real.  Dr Sharon was her great self and prepared my tooth for an upcoming crown in a couple of weeks.  The greatest hygienist, Lauren heard I was in and stopped by to say hello and remind me that I’d be seeing her in May.  A new person at the front desk on my way out gave me the bad news about the cost but assured me that it could be taken care of later when the crown is applied.  Whew!

Numb faced, I took the long way to the office knowing I would pass right by the donut shop…but I didn’t, I stopped and went inside.

I waited in line behind several people.  When it was my turn, I said, “Hey, how ’bout a donut for this old man?”  She responded a bit curtly as to did I want something or not.  Hmmmm… Two other young ladies told me not to mind her and asked me what kind of donut I wanted.  Then they collaborated to find an old fashioned with chocolate icing.  When time to pay, the original person told me the price and when I handed her a $20 bill for $2.01 charge she said, and I kid you not, “So what?  No penny, really?”  I was a little surprised but said that I was sorry but I had left the house with no change in my pocket but after she gave me change then I would have some for the next place I went and thanked her.  Meanwhile, the other two jumped in asking her, “what crawled up your…” and then they started speaking in Spanish. I just said thank you and departed.

“What crawled up your…” went around in my mind as I continued my drive to the office.  After having witnessed that young lady treat the several people in front of me politely, what happened when I got to the counter and attempted a light-hearted order?  I surmised that five customers in a row must have been her limit.

Then I wondered, do I do that?  Do I treat that one customer too many rudely?  The only way to know is to keep an eye on myself to ensure that I don’t in the future.

So, I get to work and a customer is at the counter engaged with my wonderful assistant, Brittany (who was so nice to come in today on her day off and cover for me while I was at the dentist).  Something about him wasn’t right with the questions he was asking and so I stepped in to inquire how I could help him with his request.  He quickly made his exit.  Brittany informed me that he was insisting on 24-hour access but he had no reason for being on the property outside of normal access hours.  It was good that he left.  Not every customer is right.  I was pleased with the way she handled him though he was acting odd and potentially could have been a problem later.  Brittany is nice and has a great customer service demeanor.

After my regular property inspection and a little time with the maintenance guy, I had to go to the hardware store (okay it was one of those big home stores) to obtain some much needed parts to repair some broken things on the property.  I really don’t like those places because I’ve actually spent too much time there lately for home projects.  Anyway, I was expecting, or I should say, not expecting the great customer service I received from a few different employees.  People who answered my questions, showed me how something worked, looked in the back for parts, and one person even took instructions from one box and made me a copy to take with me for something that I already had but need more information.  I was pleasantly surprised enough that I had to tell the store manager.

I got back to work and received a passdown from Brittany before she departed to return on Thursday to make my life easier again.  The remainder of the day was fairly busy with paying customers and numerous phone calls, including a few time hackers.  New customers who spent a great deal of time chatting as though we were old friends; some older customers chatting also as though we are old friends.  😉

At the end of the day, I looked back and thought that all-in-all was a really good day.  Out of a long, very busy day, I only witness two rude people.  What started as a potentially crappy day wasn’t so crappy after all.  I think it may have something to do with attitude.  An attitude of a lot of people who have just come out of a long winter and decided that they are just happy that it is over.  Or, maybe there are just some nice people out there that I’ve missed until now.  Or maybe, they’ve been there all the time but now my attitude is more open so that I can see them.

Of course there was the great chat with dad on the drive home.

Jay 🙂

 

Time Hackers…

“Hi, this is Ashley…Andrew…Dan…Bill…our records indicate…this is #Google calling…”  Ah, those famous words heard throughout the day on my business phone.

The calls that take up so much of my time during the day when I could actually be working; or properly goofing off reading posts on WordPress.com.

All of these recordings, sometimes several an hour, taking up my time unnecessarily, for what?  I dunno, because I never listen to the whole message.  Does anyone?  Really?

I consider these #robo-calls time hackers.  Yes, they are hacking into my time when I could be doing something more productive (subjective).  It used to be that caller ID would let me know when it was some odd caller that I could most often determine a #timehacker.  But now, they use regular phone numbers which means in the business world, I have to answer the phone.  Of course, if I get one of those Ads R Us caller IDs, I still ignore it but when I get one that appears as a local number, I can’t.  Therefore, wasting my time.

Occasionally, I get a legitimate sales call, “Hi, this is Fred and I’m with some company that wants to sell you something, can I speak to the owner, please?”  Much more refreshing, I assure you but alas Fred, if you can find the owner through all the corporate red tape, tell them I’d like to speak to them, too.  😉

Jay 🙂

 

Goodbye Gentleman Giant

Many people know as much about the self storage business as what they see on television–battles for the contents of unpaid storage units.

Most people do not realize the connection a storage manager has with hundreds of lives of everyday people.  So many stories from so many people of all walks of life.  From time-to-time in my world I lose one of those people.  Quite often an elderly tenant passes and then I help the family process all the appropriate paperwork that goes with clearing out the items left in storage.

Occasionally, the tenant is not elderly, as in the case of a true gentleman named Gary Cobb.  Though Gary was only a few years younger than me, we were not buddies who went fishing or motorcycle riding together but we had several times where we would get together on the lot and shoot the breeze for a while.  A former military man and a sergeant with the State Police, Gary enjoyed riding his motorcycles which he stored here at the facility I manage.

Although Gary passed last week from a battle with cancer, I take today, the day of his funeral, to say, “Fair winds and following seas for all eternity.”

My life was touched by a nice man and I will miss his presence.  May the Lord welcome him into His arms.

Jay

 

Do we know our audience?

If possible, we must slake our paucity of compassion for the illiteracy and ignorance of the common man; we must lend ourselves to encouragement and assistance to his need, lest he be bound to that blight for perpetuity.   Me

com·mu·ni·ca·tion

noun \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\

: the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else                    m-w.com

(US Sniper team Radio): tank convoy is currently stationary at the intersection, looks like it’s preparing to move with BTRs. Break. Command, requesting air support, recommend AGM loaded UAVs to neutralize convoy. Over

“Breaking it down Barney-style”

Refers to the kid show “Barney and Friends.” When something is broken down “Barney-style,” it’s being explained as if to a child.  Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/military-phrases-2013-12#ixzz3FTSMxHLY

Do we know our audience?  Do we communicate with our audience or expect our audience to already understand what we are attempting to communicate?

How many times have we provided instructions to someone at work, or even a client only to find out later that the message was not clearly received?  Knowing your audience makes considerable difference.  If you are an electrician, a carpenter or a plumber, you will most likely explain the job to the average client as though you were speaking to a child to enhance their understanding ensuring less questioning during, and less hassle at the end of the job.  Now, if your client, in their younger days, was a general contractor, you will be able to speak more in terms of the job and the message will be received with little or no problem.  (Chances are, they’ll instruct you some, too.)

When writing, we don’t have the pleasure of immediate interaction so anticipating our diverse audience comprehension is important to the success of our communication.  If we write to teach, our audience is not expected to already know our subject.  If writing to others in our field of expertise but communicating changes in procedure or a new idea, we can expect that our words and ideas will be mostly understood.  If we are in an advanced field of expertise and our audience is close to or on our same level, we also want to be careful not to bore them out of their skulls by dumbing down our subject matter to reach an audience that doesn’t exist.

When telling a story, writing for entertainment purposes, the genre will often determine our audience.  Science fiction of all types, romance, horror, etc., will attract it’s respective following.  However, we reduce our audience when we decide that the language level must be highly complex based on our education level alone.  The word, ebullient may be a great word to describe champagne but may also distract the reader from an otherwise smooth running story if they have to stop reading to look up the word.  Too many of those words and the reader will discard the story for one easier to follow.

It is not going to hurt our audience one bit to increase their vocabulary–it certainly didn’t hurt me to discover the word ebullient but I’m willing to look it up without being completely distracted.  After reviewing the dictionary, I re-read the paragraph with enlightened understanding of what the writer was saying about the situation.

Know Your Readers

‘Literacy and the reading habits are of major importance in communicating with your audience. A document may be “plain” for one set of readers and not for others. Writers often wrongly assume that their audience is of the same class of readers.They are often surprised to learn that very large numbers of readers cannot read what they have written.’  Plain Language At Work Newsletter

 [According to: The Brain Lady Blog Psychology and Brain Science, Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.

100 Things You Should Know About People: #54 — The Average Reading Level In the USA Is Grade 8   

This web page has a reading level of Grade 12 and a reading ease score of 40. Americans average a reading level of Grade 8, so 12 is harder than the average American can read. For the reading ease score, higher is better. Comic books are at 90, and legal documents are often 10 and under.]

Know Yourself

Who are you and what are you trying to say?  In order for the audience to know you and your subject, just say it as you would normally say it.  Be yourself, unless you’re an ass–then be less of yourself.  😉  Not everyone is an intercoursing idiot but nor does most everyone lack understanding of language (see what I mean–more than one way to say the same thing).  Know what you want or need to say and say it in a way that can be understood by as many as you can reach.

So, does our personal lack of compassion for people who don’t have the same understanding or education get in the way of us reaching others?  Only each individual can answer that question for themselves.

Just thinking out loud…

Jay 🙂

 

Networking (simplified) (CSR-related)

My wife and I were discussing networking some time back (don’t ask me when, I thought it was last week when it was actually months ago).  Anyway, she says to me she says, “I need to be networking with people that I can actually work with helping each other, not just me recommending them and their company but getting little or nothing in return.”  I agreed because it definitely seemed logical.

People in business working together to help each other promote business.

That is what networking groups are supposed to be providing.  Often, I found myself paying money to belong to a group that some fit into much more readily than I ever did.  Besides, I have to work, I don’t have time to be going to all those meetings and group luncheons.  Don’t get me wrong, some of what they do is quite beneficial but I always felt that the groups benefit a few, more than the many.

Today, I had the opportunity to put the thought into practice.

A nice woman came into my office.  We’ll call her Dawn because that is the name on her business card.  😉  Dawn is very professional, courteous and friendly.  She and I were able to chat for a few moments about our businesses and I was impressed with her sense of CSR (which, as we all know, around this place means customer service relationships).  Dawn is a consultant for a security company.

I rambled, she was polite; I offered her coffee, which is something I would’ve done anyway but it being National Coffee Day seemed more fitting.  She declined (because she really prefers tea) but thought it was nice of me to offer and wondered if the beverage company representative from the business card I have on my counter had told me about National Coffee Day.  “Actually, I heard it on the news this morning,” I replied.  And then it struck me as fast a lightening.

My wife is sales manager for the water filtration and beverage company she works for; Dawn is a consultant for her company; they’re both really nice people who do not believe in high-pressure sales tactics and they probably have or would have many of the same type customers.  Why not make the suggestion?  I thought to myself.  So, I did; and will when I get home.  Dawn appeared thoughtful and said she thought that was a good idea and she took the business card.  They may not use each others’ services but they might be able to point each other to appropriate customers that they think will be interested in the services the other can provide.

So, imagine in your own business, instead of just handing out cards to most everyone in the room, discover who has the same or similar customer base. That’s right, you must communicate with other people.  Exchange ideas through speech and hearing.  Build a relationship(s) with that one or those few people and work together, the way a networking group should to promote each of you when the opportunity arises.  You’re not going to recommend the other person to everyone and anyone but you will when you know or believe their is a potential need of someone for the other person’s services; as they will for you.  Now, you’re part of a team dedicated and willing to work together to forward the progress of each others’ success.

And in the process, you may find, wait for it…a friend.  It’s worth a try.

Update:  Since I got home, my wife informed me that Dawn phoned her and they will be checking their calendars to set up a meet.  “Ture Networking”

Jay 🙂