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The article
previous to this one was Disaster Recovery, written by Larry Lehman. The
title was a lead to this article’s title. After being in this business
for several years, I have been through many "disasters." I emphasize
the word "disaster," since what we have experienced in the past
does not compare to what our great nation experienced on September 11th.
Past situations that we have encountered are hurricanes, power outages,
and the UPS strike. Yesterday one of our stores was evacuated because
of a bomb scare at the store next to us. Of course, there are other disasters
that can occur. Following are some suggestions that I can share with you
to help on how to weather a disaster.
Don’t Put All of Your Eggs in One Basket
Many of us first learned this with the UPS strike years ago. Beforehand,
many of us in the retail packaging and shipping business shipped mostly
via UPS for ground service. The former RPS got to the point to where they
could not open new accounts, since they were overwhelmed with the sudden
surge in business. Many post offices started limiting the number of packages
that they would take from one person at their counters. So if a packaging
and shipping store had an acceptable day of thirty packages or more, one
could spend the entire afternoon trying to get ground packages shipped
at the post office. Many customers simply waited to ship packages, so
sales dropped, too.
Many of us learned to rely on several carriers and to recommend the
best service and carrier for what the customer needs.
Many stores did not survive this strike, since sales were down and pressure was up. We survived since we have developed a reputation in the city for providing specialized packaging, crating, and large freight. Also, we had other profit centers, such as greeting cards, copying service, and secretarial service, and all of these "extras" almost weren’t enough to help us weather the storm.
Don’t
rely entirely on small package shipping. Add other profit centers.
Research your area and determine what products or services are needed
that compliment the core of your business. Many merchants have started
doing bulk mailing, storage, printing, etc. Others have researched their
community and have added popular and hard-to-find items to their product
line.
Don’t Rely on Electronics to Run Your Business
When Hurricane Hugo hit our city, the power was out in most parts of the
city for ten days or more. Also, we have had transformers blow and storms
that crashed power lines. We stay open while our competitors close, and
the customers appreciate that we are there to help them get their business
done.
More than
likely, you will experience a power outage at one time or another.
Following are suggestions on how to continue to operate in a power outage.
- Keep a printed price book of all of your prices.
- Have a key to your cash register drawer available.
- Make sure that you have a cell phone in your store.
- Read last month’s article on how to keep good, safe back-ups to your data.
- Take safety precautions.
It is surprising
to us that so many people rely on their point of sale software to store
their prices. We suggest that you always have a printed price book for
reasons other than a power outage, too. If someone calls your store for
a quote, and your cash registers are busy, either the customer at the
counter or the potential customer on the phone will have to wait. If a
price book is handy, the employee on the phone can easily quote a price
without relying on the cash register.
Most cash register drawers are electronic, so when these are closed, and
the power is off, a key is needed. Otherwise, you will have to start a
new cash drawer or pry open, i.e., damage, your existing one.
We all have learned the value of cell phones since our nation’s last tragedy, so make sure that you have one in your store. We have both regular phones and a cell phone as our store phones, and everyone prefers the cell phone since it’s easy to walk all over the store while taking care of business over the phone.
Once more, read last month’s article on keeping good back-ups of your data. Believe me, it’s very time-consuming to recreate data.
If you want to make an investment to make power outages easier to weather, consider buying a generator. Even though these are noisy, you can at least run your cash register, a lamp, a fan, and/or a space heater.
A colleague
of mine, Larry Lehman, gives this valuable suggestion. "During a
power outage, we close and lock the doors, not just because the computers
are down, but for safety reasons. During a power outage, certain people
are tempted to pull some quick robberies. Many phones don’t work
without power. The police usually have other problems to worry about.
There is general confusion. People may not be able to see into your store
to know what’s going on. Alarm systems often don’t work at this
time. The temptation is just too much for some folks." The door can
be opened for customers but kept locked against suspicious-looking characters.
Keep Your
Good Service Mentality Always
Try to open if at all possible. You are in operation to provide a service,
so provide it! This is an opportunity to win the loyalty of your competitors’
customers, since you make the effort to serve them, and they will appreciate
your dedication.
Make sure that all employees know to be cheerful and to understand that customers are under stress. In good and hard times, a smile on your face and a kind voice can make another person’s day lighter.
Be a Guerilla
Marketer and Prosper
During the last recession, our business was boosted. As businesses were
laying-off employees, we were getting the packaging and shipping of these
ex-employees’ computers, office furniture, and personal effects.
Guess what we are doing now? That’s right, we’re composing a
letter and offer to the decision-makers of the airline that has a hub
in our city and are offering discounts on the packaging and shipping of
laid-off employees’ goods.
I project that more people will be shipping, since airline tickets cost much now and people are traveling less. Those business people who used to travel every week now may decide to cut down on travel and send more preliminary company information by the major carriers. Now is the time to put an ad in your area’s major newspaper’s business section. Following is an idea for an ad that you can use.
Life and business has its ups and downs, so always be prepared to handle whatever may come your way. Lets all follow the example of the phenomenal, numerous heroes we have all grown to know and love since September 11, 2001. Let’s all be strong and prosper in all aspects of the life we are fortunate to have in the United States of America.
Everyone at Vision Alliance Network sends our love, support, and gratitude to the heroes and great citizens in our wonderful nation.
Fran
Scarborough
October 2001
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