Fastlaner At Risk - Need Advice

[YogiTheBear]

There is a concept in auditing about splitting access and responsibilities (i.e. no one person other than the boss have access to all the pieces of information --it even has a good name that I can't recall right now).

Something I learned back then for situations like this?

You talk to that person and tell them:

"Hey, you have been working hard and I am concerned about you burning out. Go take a week off, no worries, I will cover for you."

And send them home and block their remote access.

Guilty parties will fight back and resist leaving cause they know their 'empire' will fall quickly and they will be caught.

Very good advice. Thanks.

So, how is it going for you now that you are again involved in daily operations?

Barely surviving, working 12 hours/day and in debt. Sales volume not as high as it used to be. Trying to put more time and money into advertising to get more customers. Making various changes to adjust to changes in consumer behaviour. My current problem can potentially destroy me if I make any mistakes during this 2-3 months.

Those good old days when I felt like a fastlaner are forgotten. But I still don't regret quitting my job 5 years ago and became an entrepreneur.

 

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[YogiTheBear]

I loved seeing how this all unfolds. Thinking in terms of a storm, hurricane, or other unwanted event, I could see the storm clouds brewing then the storm comes and the fallout. What got my attention was when the Manager left, and BAM! you found a solution and you thought you could have prevented it. Then I could see your business entity as a tree in the storm, losing its leaves and its limbs and it made me smile.

Not doing good, buddy. I've been losing money for 4 straight months because of the customers I lost.

Well, I did find the solution, which was good.

You will be ok and as confidence in that belief (the best is ahead), if I can help in anyway, hit me up. I want nothing in return because I would be doing this with what little spare time I have.

Thanks.

 

[bflbob]

There is a concept in auditing about splitting access and responsibilities (i.e. no one person other than the boss have access to all the pieces of information --it even has a good name that I can't recall right now).

I think you're talking about segregation of duties. In our company, my assistant enters all the checking account info from the bank statement, but I do the reconciliation. Our AP manager cuts all the checks, but I review all paid invoices.

Making sure no one has control of all processes from start to finish keeps everyone honest.

It takes a little time to think of how to break tasks into separate components, but it helps you sleep easier at night.

 

[bflbob]

One other thing you can try in the future, if you can find a way...

My son is a cop, but worked security in the past. In that line of work, they would set up little 'honesty tests' where they would do things like have a shopper go through the line and leave a wallet on the counter. Video would watch to see what they did.

If you can think of simple tests that will check on your employees honesty without them knowing, you'll have a good feel for what they may be up to. Maybe it is getting a buddy to act as a new client, to see how he's treated. Or perhaps having him ask that manager if there is any way to be sure he can always work with him (to see if he offers him a 'private deal').

I'm happy to see the manager is gone, but there will be more. Just be ready for them.

 

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[Jake]

There is a concept in auditing about splitting access and responsibilities (i.e. no one person other than the boss have access to all the pieces of information --it even has a good name that I can't recall right now).

Compartmentalization

?

 

[andviv]

I think you're talking about segregation of duties.

bingo!

Compartmentalization

Yes, that is the concept, but Bob got the name I was looking for (no wonder I couldn't remember it, with those fancy words and all...)

 

[Carny]

Have you tried contacting any of the lost customers? I don't know what your service is, but I've had customers leave to try someone cheaper only to come back later because they realized I was worth what I charge. If customers were willing to wait to talk to your manager (even if it was to get a deal) then you have a chance to build a relationship and customer loyalty. If your service is something that people shop by price work hard to set yourself apart and establish a value.

I applaud your willingness to take your business into the fastlane. I'm still stuck and working like crazy to get nowhere. (but that doesn't stop me from offering advice, lol) I don't even know why I'm stuck. Paralyzed is probably more accurate. I wish I had what it takes to grow my business like you did. Don't get discouraged and give up on it. Learn from it.

 

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[AlexV]

Interesting thread with an interesting issue which can happen to most of us.

Like everything in life a business is something that needs a little tune up and maintenance from time to time to keep it working smooth.

I've got some questions:

Developers at my helpdesk/ticketing system will help me hide all customers details without hindering communications between support staff and customers. $250 customization fee. $250 to solve a problem that caused me so much

Are you sure the issue is solved? First thing that popped up in my mind was: 'why not ask at some point in the communication for the phone number when everything is hidden?'


I had about 7 years ago a tan studio where I had some of your problems, drop in sales, employees stealing. I had 2 other partners (big mistake) which had different ideas. We brainstormed for weeks to make a system without being stolen. When we thought we have everything on the run a drop in sales hit us in 2 weeks, but also an increase in promotional flyer's (50% off). After some mystery shopping we found out why. The girls at the front desk where practically scarring the customer with flyer's, taking only customers with full price but adding to this ones the flyer's so that they can steal 50% from every customer.


My suggestions on this topic:

-develop also 1 or 2 other business in the same niche but somewhere else in town, so that no one from one to the other shall know who is in charge. You won't be standing in one foot and automatically you have scaled, see how it goes and maybe you go region wide not just in your city. My mentor has done this allover the country this and it's running very well. If one part goes done he just closes it. He has also contracts with every employee that stats they are not allowed to work in the same field without his written approval, which bring me to the next point.
-contracts with every employee to tie them on you. Give them also bonuses in compensation. If they reach a certain target they get the bonus, but the bonus shall be collective so that everyone is taking care of it. If its collective everyone is pulling in the same direction, and if somebody is not doing his job the other ones will surely notice
-like the others said, divide. Segregation of tasks is really important. It would be difficult for somebody to replicate if it doesn't have all the pieces of the puzzles
-mystery shopping, you can do it by yourself if it is e-mail based just create some fake accounts.
-try to be personal to your customer at least with the bigger ones. A very good example you can find in this thread by SeanKelly: double-your-revenue-now, very nice tips

This shall keep your safe for a while and it shall also help you grow

 

[Jason K]

I have no idea what is going on... I left manager totally in charge of this business so that I can develop the other 2 new businesses.

Anyway, today I changed all the passwords and Mr Manager appeared. Straight away said he quit. But he maintained he didn't screw me.

Well..It's no problem.. just a minor setback.

Just reading through this thread for the first time. There is some info missing...but when you say you changed the p/ws and the manager appeared & quit, Suspicions Confirmed. People who aren't guilty appear and say, "What the heck do you think happened, boss? I can't get into the system!"

Now we all do tend to tell ourselves stories about why other people act the way they do. When we don't have the facts we fill in the blanks. And we're (almost all of us, anyway) ego-centric, so we automatically think whatever it is is about US. Maybe it wasn't But this guy hasn't been giving his full attention to your business for some time now, and regardless of his exact problems it's time for him to go. Don't feel bad about it.

My thought early in the thread was that you need some kind of dashboard to give you more info about what's going on at a glance. Daily revenue, new customers, people who have deactivated after 30 days or whatever your normal customer life cycle is and not come back...numbers that quickly tell you whether things are off or on track. And then you can step in immediately if they are off track.

 

[YogiTheBear]

Have you tried contacting any of the lost customers?

Yes. Won back some customers. Probably won back 30-50% of the customers I lost. With some good advertising effort recently, I'm netting $1000+ per day now. If I can consistently achieve that everyday, I'm going to be fine.

 

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[YogiTheBear]

Are you sure the issue is solved? First thing that popped up in my mind was: 'why not ask at some point in the communication for the phone number when everything is hidden?'

I can see every communication between sales/customer service staff and customer. Nothing is hidden.

If one of my guys typed something like "what's your phone number/email address? I'll call/email you to......", I'll know about it. There is absolutely no reason at all for them to ask for phone numbers/emails.

Many here pointed out that 99% of all employees want to do nothing else but have a 9-5 job. I agree with that 100%.

99% of employees not bother screwing us + the system = virtually 0% chance of being screwed over again.

The issue is solved.

The downside of having such a system is some customers prefer to have a more personal relationship with us. Some sales are lost because of that but I don't mind.