Confessions of a Curmudgeon

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I think I’ve reached the stage in my life and career where a tendency to occasionally be a bit curmudgeonly has become more pronounced. As I consciously work on my emotional intelligence every day, I recognise this trait and try to control it. However, there’s one word I see bandied about on LinkedIn that triggers me every time: Disrupter.

Where has this come from? I see it proudly announced in people’s biographies: “Proudly disrupting the telecommunications sector for 12 years!”. By doing what, exactly? Tearing up satellite masts? Putting superglue in people’s charging ports on their mobile phone?

In school if a child is disruptive, they are removed from the class. If a business has a disruptive employee (assuming that giving them clear objective feedback and coaching hasn’t worked) they are taken down a disciplinary route by HR. Why then do some people believe that this moniker gives them some sense of ‘edginess’ or danger? 

If I’m looking to engage with a supplier or collaborate on a project with someone else, I’d much prefer to be working with a pioneer, a creative thinker and a person who positively challenges the status quo.

Or am I being disruptive?!

It's Only Rock and Roll... But I don't Like It

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Last week I bought a bass guitar from a store – For those interested it was a Squier 60s Classic Vibe Precision in Seafoam Green with block inlays on the fretboard – I saw it on display and fell in love with it because it’s a very, very cool bass! 

Purists can be a bit sniffy about Squier (It’s Fender’s budget sub-brand) but I’ve found the Indonesian-built stuff surprisingly good (punchy pick-ups and a nice, slim neck profile for playability). Plus, I live part-time in the desert so I don’t want an expensive instrument as it will get ruined by the climate and my constant to-ing and fro-ing). However, despite being a ‘budget’ instrument it still cost 2,000 AED (approx. £400). Now, the bit above is important because it details my buying motives.

When I tried it, the action on the bass was way too high (action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard) so I paid in full and left it with the technician in the shop to set it up and we agreed I would collect it the next day.

Now the bad news – He called the next day to tell me that the bass was beyond repair (despite being brand new) as the neck had warped. This prompts several questions; firstly, why display unprepared and unchecked stock? Secondly, what measures are in place to store and display delicate instruments at an appropriate temperature and humidity? Thirdly, what process is in place to liquidate over-age stock in the inventory (for a neck to warp it must have been in stock a long time despite it being new).

Despite this bad news I agreed to go back and look at selecting another instrument. It went from bad to worse. The ‘salesperson’ made no attempt to uncover my buying motives (detailed earlier). He also made an assumption that I wouldn’t be willing to spend any more money (I was) therefore eliminating his opportunity to upsell me on another product.

The outcome was I opted for a refund (although interestingly that will take 10 working days!!) and I made an affirmation that I would never visit that particular store (wherever the branches happen to be) ever again.

Any of us who have spent time in retail will have heard the mantra ‘Retail Is Detail’. This episode illustrates in very clear detail a lack of stock management process, staff training (in both sales and customer experience) and a total lack of understanding of how customer retention and advocacy works. 

I’d like to think that this particular example is the exception but sadly it’s not. An investment in process and customer experience training would pay an almost immediate (and ongoing) dividend to this and many other businesses so why is training often dismissed as ‘nice to have’ rather than ‘business critical’?

Oh, What A Circus

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Times are getting tough at Rafferty’s Travelling Circus; visitor numbers are dwindling as there are now more competitors drawing the crowds with bigger and better attractions. Bob, the head of ticket sales, is worried but comes up with a plan to revitalise the business – he goes to his boss Patrick to discuss it:

Bob: “I’ve looked at why business is down and there are two reasons. Firstly, the economic trading climate, which we can’t do anything about. Secondly. We’ve not invested in acts – we’re trying to get a better ticket sales result by offering the same things the acts have always done and it’s not working.”

Patrick: “So what do you suggest?”

Bob: “We need to invest in training – give the acts the additional knowledge and skills that will make them a compelling proposition to the audience. We can ‘drip feed’ the training to minimise the impact on day-to-day operations and the trainer will come to us so we have no hotel or travel costs. In a short period of time we’ll have upskilled the team to meet the needs of the business. Not only that, but the cost of the training will be recouped within 3 months”

Here was Patrick’s response:

Patrick: “We need these people & animals out there in the ring earning us money - we won’t be generating any revenue whilst they’re out of the business. And I’m not spending any of our budget on training – what if we upskill them and the lions run off to a competitor? Now, get out there and increase our earnings!!”

In the absence of any signs of an improvement in market conditions it only remains to wish Rafferty’s Travelling Circus the best of luck.