Customers Aren't Fooled By Corporate Grandstanding

This is the 10th in a series of buzzes entitled, "Rage Against the Machine." It recounts my experiences as a maverick manager working withing the constraints of corporate America. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and wonder how the hell we made it this far.

Now that the fleet was virtually taking care of itself, I found myself with an abundance of spare time.
I knew it wouldn't take long for the general manager to notice.
After all, my office was just across the hall from his and we had to keep our doors open.

We had an intercom system, but he rarely used it.
He preferred to attract my attention by bellowing.
"Randy!, get in here -- now!," often echoed down the hallway.
It was nearly impossible to tell what he wanted. Sometimes, it was important.
Other times, he just wanted to know what I was doing for lunch.
One day, while I was updating some fleet records, he walked into my office and sat down.
It was very uncharacteristic. I could tell he was uncomfortable.
"I just got a disturbing call from a high-profile customer," he stated. "They're threatening to quit. I can't have that."
At the time, we were in the midst of unprecedented change.
A substantial increase in business had led to the addition of four routes, which, in turn, led to the addition of four delivery representatives and four assistant managers. They were all inexperienced new hires.
The ensuing geographical re-routing of our 22 routes was like playing musical chairs and the game was still in progress.
The restructured management team was doing its best to find everybody a chair, but the new guys were floundering.
As a result, our customer service was failing.
Calls weren't being returned in a timely manner, which meant issues weren't being resolved, and in-person visits with

customers had become few and far between.
We were failing to live up to our motto: "Managed Services, Managed Better."
I began to envision my next assignment. I would once again become a manager-at-large.
"I need you to pitch in," he said. "I want you to babysit this account. Corporate's watching."
He briefed me on the customer, who represented an international account, and the issues that needed to be resolved and turned it over to me.
It was a challenge, to say the least. There was a lot at stake.
If successful, our organization stood to gain an additional $40,000 a week in business.
Both corporate offices were keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
We were being tested and failure wasn't an option.
It was a new account and we'd established a beachhead, but our push inland was facing heavy resistance.
They had already established a deadline for us to get our act together and they were requiring weekly progress reports. Every Friday afternoon, for nearly two months, I was scheduled to join their local management team for an intensive conference call involving their corporate office.
The calls began innocently enough, but I soon smelled trouble brewing.
The local facilities manager, who conducted the call, took every opportunity to find fault with our service.

I would later find out that she relished a tight connection with one of our competitors. Go figure.
However, her assistant, who was my immediate contact, was more than willing to work with me.
Securing services, such as ours, was her responsibility. She was well aware of the headaches associated with changing from one supplier to another.
It would be a nightmare for her.
She new that If we missed even one deadline, the facilities manager wouldn't hesitate to have us thrown out the door.
So, I met our delivery rep at their facility for each of his weekly deliveries. I'd made sure the day before that everything was correct and in place prior to the delivery.
While on site, I assured that the delivery went smooth, established relationships with a few key people, and made sure everything was left neatly in place.
After the delivery, I reviewed the paperwork with my contact, making sure that she noted the issues that had been resolved. I always requested a copy for my records. I was leaving nothing to chance. 
She kept an ongoing log, in the form of a checklist, which we reviewed during the weekly conference call.
I made sure that she knew to call, text, or email me the minute an issue arose between deliveries.
If one did, I immediately dropped whatever I was doing and paid her a visit. I've always preferred face-to-face contact.
She did, too, and she never failed to mention it during our conference calls.
My personal and timely attention to her needs also impressed her corporate officials.
It was really nothing out of the ordinary. That's how we were expected to conduct business. We just hadn't been doing it.
Week by week, the issues were being resolved.
Finally, everything had fallen into place. Each deadline had been met.
It was time for the final conference call and I was feeling rather self-assured.
However, at the last minute, I was informed that one of our corporate gods would be joining me for the final call.
Our corporate "troubleshooter" had decided to make an appearance, along with my general manager.

I'd met this corporate menace before.
He was an obnoxious, arrogant bastard.
He's one of those guys who had no use for underlings.
He carried himself like royalty.
So, of course, he practically assumed control of the conference call, which didn't sit well with their local or corporate officials.
My general manager and I just looked at each other, bracing ourselves for the worst.
When it came time for introductions, he noted my general manager was in attendance.
No one was impressed.
In fact, they questioned why he hadn't taken an interest earlier.
I simply sat silent in my chair.
He glanced at me, searching to come up with my title. He hadn't a clue.
I let him hang for a moment before I spoke up, making up an appropriate title. 
Their corporate president interjected, "We're familiar with Randy," he said. "But, how do you fit into the picture?"
I watched him squirm in his chair, taking extreme pleasure in his momentary beat down.
He threw out his title and immediately spouted a line of corporate bullshit.
He noted how much he looked forward to our continued partnership and how much it would benefit both organizations.
I could have puked.
I knew he was preparing to take all the credit. He gave it a valiant effort, too.
However, he might as well have been telling an off-color joke.
Everyone in the room knew he was no more than a song-and-dance man. Nobody was taking him seriously. 

Their corporate president certainly wasn't buying it and he said so.
"Don't put your cart before the horse," he said. "We're pleased with the progress that's been made, which is due to the efforts put forth by Randy and Evelyn (my contact). We'll take everything into consideration and let you know our decision."
That decision may have been rendered on the spot, had he not stuck his snooty nose into the proceedings.
The meeting concluded and we gathered for a quick review in the parking lot.
"I think we're in good shape," stated our corporate guru. "I think we showed them how committed we are to the success of our partnership. I'm sure they'll remain on board."
I excused myself and headed back to the office, having never been noted for my efforts.
I didn't expect to be. After all, it was another feather in his cap -- not mine.
That's the corporate way.
By the way, we did retain their business and, eventually, began serving additional facilities to the tune of $40,000 a week.

Please follow the link below to read the previous installments of this ongoing series. It will lead you to the Business Hub hive, which is administrated by Phil Friedman and myself. It's a collection of original content submitted by various business professionals on beBee.

https://www.bebee.com/group/business-hub

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