After a successful event created by my good friend, Gary Riger, we have decided to partner and head up a new networking group. We have very different backgrounds, with very similar goals. We want to know what's around us. As you all know, I'm somewhat of a Long Island enthusiast. The purpose of this group is to meet our local professionals. There are plenty of us, and we have a lot to offer one another. If you're on LinkedIn, you can join the group at:
Long Island Professionals
We will be holding monthly events throughout Long Island. Our next event will be at the end of March.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
An Explanatory Note
After putting much though into it, I have decided that I owe my cyberspace friends a bit of an explanation. It was recently brought to my attention (because I didn't already know...) that I've changed careers, and am no longer a "real estate matchmaker." There is truth behind this, and I'd like to explain.
In September, I decided to leave a position that was causing me nothing but agony, and move on to something a bit bigger and a lot better. I am now the Regional Sales Manager for a large construction company that deals with major retailers. There is, believe it or not, a lot of "real estate" involved with my job. Every deal is based on a location. If the location isn't right, the deal isn't happening (Sound familiar?). By nature, I am a salesperson. I will always be in the business of creating deals and relationships, it's who I am. I will also always have a knack for understanding real estate, and being able to use my knowledge to continuously push me to higher levels in my career. This blog is not for the sole purpose of "real estate." This blog was created as a means for me to communicate on a professional level with like-minded people, and hopefully offer some insight into my professional world, regardless of what that world may be. Business, is business. We all deal with similar issues regardless of our profession.
So, there you have it - the air has been cleared. Let's all move on with our lives and keep reading, okay?
In September, I decided to leave a position that was causing me nothing but agony, and move on to something a bit bigger and a lot better. I am now the Regional Sales Manager for a large construction company that deals with major retailers. There is, believe it or not, a lot of "real estate" involved with my job. Every deal is based on a location. If the location isn't right, the deal isn't happening (Sound familiar?). By nature, I am a salesperson. I will always be in the business of creating deals and relationships, it's who I am. I will also always have a knack for understanding real estate, and being able to use my knowledge to continuously push me to higher levels in my career. This blog is not for the sole purpose of "real estate." This blog was created as a means for me to communicate on a professional level with like-minded people, and hopefully offer some insight into my professional world, regardless of what that world may be. Business, is business. We all deal with similar issues regardless of our profession.
So, there you have it - the air has been cleared. Let's all move on with our lives and keep reading, okay?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A Resurrection, If You Will.
Well, long time...eh? What a crazy and wonderful few months it has been. I am happy to say that I have evolved from a place of self-deprecation, to a place of almost full contentedness. That being said, I am hear to complain. Over my time in "the business" (whatever business that may be...) I have learned one thing above all else: Customer Service. If your customer is not happy, neither are you. Now, I'm not necessarily a believer in the old adage "the customer is always right." However, I do believe that the customer always deserves the courtesy of an explanation.
This story is not to shred the dignity of a well-known pharmacy chain, it is merely to comment on the societal pressure put on menial employees to produce, versus the thought of customer service and self-satisfaction. This evening, I left work at 5:30pm. My normal travel time home is roughly 20 minutes. On my way home this evening, I had to stop to pick a prescription from a pharmacy that I use regularly. Now, this isn't the first time I've had an issue and I'm sure (unfortunately) it won't be the last. Today, I received three separate "courtesy" calls informing me that my medication was ready for pick up. When I arrived, I waited in line for about fifteen minutes and was then told that my prescription was not only NOT ready, but wouldn't be ready until January 30th. I was told I could pay for a partial dosage until that day came. I said "no problem," and asked how long it would take. "Five minutes," I was told. After sitting there for about twenty minutes, I started to glare at the pharmacist. I noticed that my stares of anger, and my head shakes of disdain were going unnoticed. During my plea for attention, I received a fourth "courtesy" call letting me know that my prescription was ready. That was the last straw. I had enough. I went up to the counter and simply asked when my prescription will be ready, and informed her that I just received another phone call (yes, while sitting in the pharmacy) about the positive status of my prescriptions whereabouts. Without answering, she turned to who I'm assuming is her superior, and just looked at him. Before I could even open my mouth, I was being scolded for questioning their employee's actions. Needless to say, a verbal altercation ensued.
Now, my point of this little anecdote is not to get my frustration out in writing (although, it did help). My point is to show that majority of situations that we deal with, be in on a professional level or a personal level, can be avoided. How many times have you gotten off the phone with someone and said "What an asshole?" Imagine what they say about you. I'm not here to preach about the power of kindness. I certainly understand that sometimes, people are really just being nasty for the sake of being nasty. In a situation like mine though, the confrontation could have been avoided by practicing the simple skills behind good customer service. The management (I use that term loosely) was clearly in the same frame of mind as the employee. That's the first problem. To be a successful manager, you have to fully embrace the idea of trying to make each situation work. I would even go as far to say that it's important for everyone to try to make each situation work. In life, we're thrown curveballs. If we're not ready to "make it work," we won't survive. Life is about living, not getting through the day. To me, this dynamic, pharmaceutical duo were unhappy. They wanted to be there about as much as I did.
I think I went off topic somewhere, but it's all good stuff here. The bottom line, if we can't stomach what we're doing enough to do our jobs the right way, we will never be successful. Customer service can only be practiced when we're happy enough to embrace it. I know from experience that if you don't care about what you're doing, you certainly don't care about the customer. Chose your paths carefully. Enjoy yourself, so you can enjoy others and they can enjoy you.
This story is not to shred the dignity of a well-known pharmacy chain, it is merely to comment on the societal pressure put on menial employees to produce, versus the thought of customer service and self-satisfaction. This evening, I left work at 5:30pm. My normal travel time home is roughly 20 minutes. On my way home this evening, I had to stop to pick a prescription from a pharmacy that I use regularly. Now, this isn't the first time I've had an issue and I'm sure (unfortunately) it won't be the last. Today, I received three separate "courtesy" calls informing me that my medication was ready for pick up. When I arrived, I waited in line for about fifteen minutes and was then told that my prescription was not only NOT ready, but wouldn't be ready until January 30th. I was told I could pay for a partial dosage until that day came. I said "no problem," and asked how long it would take. "Five minutes," I was told. After sitting there for about twenty minutes, I started to glare at the pharmacist. I noticed that my stares of anger, and my head shakes of disdain were going unnoticed. During my plea for attention, I received a fourth "courtesy" call letting me know that my prescription was ready. That was the last straw. I had enough. I went up to the counter and simply asked when my prescription will be ready, and informed her that I just received another phone call (yes, while sitting in the pharmacy) about the positive status of my prescriptions whereabouts. Without answering, she turned to who I'm assuming is her superior, and just looked at him. Before I could even open my mouth, I was being scolded for questioning their employee's actions. Needless to say, a verbal altercation ensued.
Now, my point of this little anecdote is not to get my frustration out in writing (although, it did help). My point is to show that majority of situations that we deal with, be in on a professional level or a personal level, can be avoided. How many times have you gotten off the phone with someone and said "What an asshole?" Imagine what they say about you. I'm not here to preach about the power of kindness. I certainly understand that sometimes, people are really just being nasty for the sake of being nasty. In a situation like mine though, the confrontation could have been avoided by practicing the simple skills behind good customer service. The management (I use that term loosely) was clearly in the same frame of mind as the employee. That's the first problem. To be a successful manager, you have to fully embrace the idea of trying to make each situation work. I would even go as far to say that it's important for everyone to try to make each situation work. In life, we're thrown curveballs. If we're not ready to "make it work," we won't survive. Life is about living, not getting through the day. To me, this dynamic, pharmaceutical duo were unhappy. They wanted to be there about as much as I did.
I think I went off topic somewhere, but it's all good stuff here. The bottom line, if we can't stomach what we're doing enough to do our jobs the right way, we will never be successful. Customer service can only be practiced when we're happy enough to embrace it. I know from experience that if you don't care about what you're doing, you certainly don't care about the customer. Chose your paths carefully. Enjoy yourself, so you can enjoy others and they can enjoy you.
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