Economic downturn? Keep the service coming! September 30, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in business.Tags: business, cashflow, economy, finance, service
add a comment
Even while we are on a family holiday, we keep talking about Service Management ( I know.. occupational hazard I suppose!) as it is very obvious around us… things are changing with the US economy going down. We are in Hawaii at a resort that is famous for its restaurants and service and we were wondering what the impact of the economy would be. Well, the first impressions are:
- The resort is approx. 25% occupied… great for us because it is quite relaxed and not crowded at all! But not so good for a resort as the fixed cost would be HUGE! This would bring a cash flow issue with it – I’m sure of that…
- The resort restaurants have split the work between them: some restaurants are only open for breakfast and lunch, and others only for dinner
- There are not many US people on holiday here.. we mainly hear foreign languages and accents
- The prices have NOT dropped / changed
- Don’t lower your prices – there will always be people who will pay for your services. Lowering prices means lowering service standards (usually) and this is the start of a vicious circle of fewer clients and less cash
- Cut back on the amount of services you offer – do your research to find out where people go and what they do and offer the most popular ones. Close the other offerings temporarily so you can still offer the same level of service and still make money
- Be flexible and have the ability to change quickly. Change the marketing message to link in with what people really find important and are willing to spend money on. Also, change who you are marketing to… there is always a group of people still willing to purchase what you have to offer, you just have to look for them in a different spot, that’s all!
Show me the money… please. September 8, 2008
Posted by ivankamenken in Uncategorized.Tags: business, cashflow, itil, money, Sales, the art of service
add a comment
Maybe I am a bit of a push-over but I hate saying “NO” to clients, employees and business partners. I still want everybody to be happy and to have a good feeling about doing business with me. But I have to learn when to draw the line; sometimes this is easy as it is very clear that the other party is wrong and I am right. (like the time when one of our resellers was caught cheating) That’s when I get very strong and NO comes easily.
However, in other cases it isn’t so easy. I try to have a personal relationship with most of the partners we work with and I enjoy dealing with them. That is what makes it sooooo difficult when one of them doesn’t pay their bills. I know deep down inside that I can’t carry their business and that entrepreneurship isn’t just about revenue but also cashflow. But it is so difficult! They email me with 500 different reasons why they can’t pay me this week and usually I go for it. Yeah, it’s OK.. next week is fine. But this time it is different – this time I am choosing for my company and my employees. When the partner doesn’t pay, I don’t have money in the bank so I can’t pay my employees. It’s as simple as that. (at least that’s what I keep telling myself in order to stay focused).
But what do you do when they play the “guilt” card….. “our clients won’t receive their exams and this will reflect badly on The Art of Service because your name is on the course materials. Can you please send the materials so the clients isn’t negatively affected? I promise that we will pay next week”. That is when it gets really hard as I like these people and don’t want to say no. I would hate for them to be in a situation where you have to go to your client to say that they won’t receive the materials because they haven’t paid the bill…
But I stay strong – No is No and I am NOT bending. The rules of the game are simple: you pay and you get your stuff, end of story!
Now all I need to do is practise that line until I am ready for the phone conference this afternoon… wish me luck!
Ivanka
