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Philip F. Jacobus, CEO | February 13, 2012
About two weeks ago, I had a conversation with
Bill Biddle, the COO of BC Technical. I know from speaking with end users that BC Technical's business is growing.
I was curious: How is it possible that at a time when, generally speaking, sales are down, BC Technical's business is growing?
I asked him point-blank, "How is it possible?"
I asked him, "Give me one word to describe why BC Technical is growing?"
Bill's answer was: "Training."
Training customer service, training service engineers and training the manufacturing team.
How many of us overlook training in our business?
I know that we did in the early years and our little company had to develop a 350-page manual just to handle our customer service issues. It was not until we made some mistakes and I had to make some apologetic phone calls did I realize how important training is.
In an era where there is more competition and less money, customers are less forgiving. They expect you to get it right the first time. Everyone in your company needs to do it the same way, say the same thing and handle a problem according to procedure.
If you are refurbishing equipment or installing it, you need to write down the process so everyone learns from their mistakes.
Bill gave me some examples that would not be appropriate for me to share but I imagine we all can think of things in our mind we wished we had done differently.
Do not lose sight of training.
Read more Jacobus Report entries here.
Phil is a member of AHRA, HFMA, AAMI and the Cryogenic Society of America. He has contributed to a number of magazines and journals and has addressed trade groups.
Phil's proudest achievement is that he has been happily married to his wife Barbara since 1989, who helped him found DOTmed in 1998.
