This past week I began to wonder about the role government doesn’t play in our unemployment problem.
I had some work done on my roof. I have a cedar roof and it needs to have moss removed, re-staining, and loose or missing shingles replaced. The roofing contractor was three weeks late in his scheduled arrival. In the process of doing the work the workmen cut the cable TV line going to the upstairs.
I called Comcast. They scheduled a technician. I had a second phone line into the house for a fax. The technician who installed that didn’t hook it up right. That was last fall. I asked the Comcast people if the technician who was going to handle the TV problem could hook up the fax line. Answer, of course, no. So, I had the extra line closed. Lost business for Comcast due to lack of common sense. They credited me six months for the down time on the fax line. Lose revenue due to lack of training for a technician. When it was time for the Comcast technician to arrive, no arrival, no phone calls. I was told we had an outage due to a storm and when there is an outage, all hands on deck. But, no calls to customers. I called AT&T to get their bundle package. On the rescheduled technician visit, he could do nothing. So, I rigged up the TV to work, called AT&T, and will give them my business at much lower rates due to the introductory offer for new customers who give them cable, phone, and Internet. All business lost due to lack of common sense, training for technicians, rules, and lack of customer courtesy.
I am helping my daughter with two projects, a plumbing project and a landscaping project. I called three plumbers, well-known established firms in our town. One called back and scheduled to meet me. He wasn’t there, I called and he said he forgot but got there in 10 minutes. One called and said he might meet me, but would call if he couldn’t. He neither called nor showed. The third still hasn’t called(5 days).
I sent e-mails to the three top landscaping firms in town on their web site where they say, “contact us” and have an elaborate process to fill out a request for potential work. Including security codes.
I have heard from one and have an appointment. The other two have not responded(6 days).
With the housing and economic crunch, do you suppose plumbers and landscapers are up to their ears in work? I think not. They may have been 4 years ago, but not today. So, what’s the problem? They are running their businesses just like they did 4 years ago and wondering why they don’t have any business and why they have to keep laying off people. Four years ago if a plumber didn’t call you back, you called them back. Four years ago these landscape companies were busy with new houses, work financed by home equity loans, and people just spending on their main investment, their house. Not today.
Until American businesses, large and small, relearn now to get and keep business, there will be jobs lost. These jobs are not on Obama. And these small businesses will go out of business due to a lack of consumer focus, jumping on any possible new piece of business, and trying to rely on old customers to keep them going.
The Field of Dreams world is over folks. You ran your businesses this way for 20-30 years but it won’t work anymore. You better wake up and smell the coffee or you will be gone and your employees with you in short order.
Just think about it. When you call someone to give them work, do you get a voice or a voice message? Do you get a quick call back, or a slow call back? When someone does call back and schedules an appointment, do the show up on time, late, or forget? When they come, are they professional? Do you get their estimate in a timely fashion?
Change is hard. These guys have been in a seller’s market for years and years. It’s a buyer’s market and they haven’t adjusted. They will be replaced by new businesses that get it. Do we have an obligation to keep the old one’s in business? No, they need to change or go.
