************
comment on attrition
************
Ken
Regarding attrition:
When I worked for a large company as VPof Operations, we had one person who's only job was to track any customer who canceled for reasons of moving, or even a death. This person took care of staying in touch with real estate companies, family members or even companies who moved out. As soon as someone moved into an existing customer's home/business a file folder with all routing on the front complete with contract etc. was created. Instead of this folder being routed through all departments which could take 3 days, it was immediately brought to me and a service call was scheduled for the date set upby the customer. In this way we would appear on the same day as say telco or other repair persons in a timely fashion and the customer was not left hanging for over a week or so.
This helped keep our attrition rate lower than most in the industry. The customer was happy and we had a new customer.
This "takeover account person" while in the sales department was as successful as a regular sales person with getting new customers.
Some accounts can't be saved, but this kind detail to customer movement by a very organized person saved more than we lost. This person also sent out mailers etc and tracked responses from them and funnelled them to sales if it was a new customer.
John Elmore
Security By Elmore Inc
****************
comment on OSHA
**************
Hi Ken;
I can only speak for myself, but I am so sick to death of all the regulations, OSHA included.
Do we need some type of watchdog organization to look out for hazards that might befall some unsuspecting soul? I would say yes. But if they go any further, they will be telling us what type of boxer short that we can or cannot wear. It is ridiculous. I don't know why no one seems to grasp the concept that some people are just too damned stupid to live. Maybe someone foolish enough to wear open toed sandals in an industrial environment deserves to lose a toe or two. And the employer should be allowed to dock the jerks pay for time lost, rather than letting him claim a lifetime disability.
In a former career, I was a police supervisor. We had a difficult time getting the officers to wear seatbelts because of how often they had to get in and out of the patrol car. It wasn't until a ruling came down from the pension board that stated any officer that became permanently disabled in a MVA and was not wearing their seatbelt, would only be eligible for disability pension of 40% of their current pay. Most full disability pensions are 66 2/3% of their annual compensation. THAT got them using their seatbelts.
While I agree that traumatic brain injuries were the most common cause of death in motor cycle accidents before the helmet laws, if you want to be foolish enough to ride without a helmet, shouldn't you be allowed to a jerk? To me it would make more sense for insurance companies to spell out in their policies, that if you don't wear a helmet, we will pay the minimum amount for your medical bills, but there will be no life long pay outs because of the rider's own stupidity.
What we really need, more than more regulations, is common sense and tort reform.
John from NJ
**************