The Commoditization of Service

In the old days, service had meaning. It had value. People were willing to pay a premium to obtain service. What changed? Why do people now assume that the service should be free? The truth is it is not, but it is what people have grown to expect as part of their transaction. So how does a company that was founded on service differentiate itself from the competition when the service ante has been raised. This is the position we find ourselves today at Paragon Steel.

It is my opinion that we must continue to up the ante on customer service, because customers demand it and secondly, we must be able to better understand the needs of our customers. If we are not providing one or both of these functions to the equation, we cannot be successful. Why else should customers buy from us? Because if the product they buy from us is a commodity and the service is the same or similar as from everyone else, where’s the incentive to buy from Paragon Steel.

We have numerous examples of how doing it “right” has been successful. We have plenty of customers who believe our service and dedication to their goals is unsurpassed in the industry. The hard part is in convincing those who have never experienced the extraordinary service levels that we can provide. People are quick to criticize poor service – less likely to praise exemplary service. When was the last time you called to thank someone for “getting it right”. It usually doesn’t happen

This is how I see our role in the marketplace. Perhaps I’m living in an alternative universe where it matters how people act and that if you work harder, than you will get a greater share of business. I believe buyers make their decisions for lots of reasons and often times it is to who cares for them the most.. We need to tap into the customer’s hard drive of needs and provide value each and every day. At the end of the day, what matters most is the customer, their needs and their fulfillment. If we are to be successful, we need to start there.

New Years Resolutions

New Year’s Resolution

This was a conversation between my friend Robert and myself. We were discussing New Years resolutions. “Tonight’s assignment is to make two lists,” Robert said. “The first is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WANT to keep, and the second is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you WILL keep. Write the WANT List first, and when you have exhausted all of your ideas, then write the second list on another sheet of paper.” That night I went home and spent several hours working on the two lists. The WANT List felt overwhelming at first, but after a while I got into writing all the things I had always wanted to do if the burdens of life hadn’t gotten in the way. After nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life. The second list was much easier, and I was able to quickly commit ten practical resolutions that I felt would be both realistic and helpful.

The next day, I met Robert . “Tell me about your two lists,” Robert said as the familiar smirk crept onto his face. “The first list contains all the things I SHOULD do if I completely changed my life to be the person I always wanted to be. And the second list contains all the things I COULD do by accepting my current life, and taking realistic steps towards the life I want to lead.”
“Let me see the second list,” he said I handed him the second list, and without even looking at it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His disregard for the effort I had put into the list annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down I began to think about the first list in a different light. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cop out, and the first list was the only one that really mattered.

“And now, the first list.” Robert bowed his head and held out both of his hands. I purposefully handed him the first list and held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for him to begin reading the page. After an unusually long silence, he began to crumple the paper into a ball and once again tossed it into the can without looking at it. “What did you do that for?!” I couldn’t hide my anger any longer.

Robert began to speak in a quiet and assured voice. “What you SHOULD or COULD do with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, from this day forward, is what you MUST do.” He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to me.
I opened it carefully, and found a single word floating in the middle of the white page:

“Love.”

Thankgiving Day After

There is so much build-up for the Thanksgiving holiday. Aside from it being the officisl kick-off to the Christmas season, it seems to represent the spiritual realization for all of our blessings. It is the past few days I have received numerous messages from friends and family expressing thoughts and feelings that are often felt but not told. Thanksgiving seems to be the time to express such feelings. It is also the time to feast – to excess. All year long we try and watch what we eat, be mindful of overeating and then for one day, we throw caution to the wind. We eat beyond our means and thats okay.
The day after – well that’s another story. Its a day for leftovers, Black Friday shopping and tons of football. There is the perrenial clean-up from the night before and the stories of who was most embarrassing from the same night. Thank goodness, there is only one Thanksgiving per year. And getting back to Black Firday, who really goes out shopping at the local mall at midnight to get the best deals? Really?
Fortunately, there is still a weekend to recover from this special holiday. We still have all of December to look forward to.

My five year old heart

Tomorrow, November 3rd, marks the five year anniversary of my heart and kidney transplant. Amazingly, I’m doing better than ever. Unfortunately with every miracle of transplant there is a flip side story. In my case, the heart and kidney came from a 17 year old who tragically died in a car crash five years ago. His family made the courageous and bold decision to donate his organs, which in effect saved my life. When you go through this process, you are encouraged to send out a thank you note to the donor family, but realize that very few recipients will receive a response. I was one of the lucky few. I received a letter from my donor’s family and met them at what would have been his high school graduation 4 1/2 years ago. We have stayed in contact throughout this period of time. Last Sunday, I visited the donor family in Lompoc and gifted a steel bench that our welders at Paragon had built. It was a very emotional day for all. If you have a further interest in the story, we are posting the newspaper article from the Lompoc Record on our website in the News section.

Border Fence – A costly Mess

Paragon Steel was fortunate to receive steel orders for sections of the Mexican Border Fence over the past few years. The fence was very controversial as it spanned over 2,000 miles between the U.S. and Mexico border at a cost of over a billion dollars. Yes, that is a lot of pesos. The goal of the fence was to stem the influx of illegal immigration and drugs into the United States. Who knew that the bad U.S. economy could achieve the same results for a lot less money. No jobs = no immigration. Anyway, the sad part of this story is what a failure the fence has been. Boeing, the folks that make airplanes, was lucky enough to receive the big government payout to fund the venture, but just this week the government pulled the plug on the whole thing. Now that is truly an example of “cutting your losses”. Evidently there is some 53 miles of “unreliable” coverage within those 2,000 miles which if you could just zone it off, everything would be fine. But, I suppose that is hard to do. The word gets out, even in Mexico. The problem probably lies in Homeland Security’s court, since the project had problems from the very beginning. It seems that the same “experts” who created the technology to monitor the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have failed miserably here. it seems that daytime cameras can monitor only half the distance expected while ground sensors can identify off-road vehicles, but not human activity. Evidently the physical fence portion has been effective at stopping traffic, but the technological portion called SBInet has been a failure. I wonder if Boing has to return the money back to the government. What do you think?

Steel Imports and Exports

I had lunch with a trading company last week who claims that many traders have pulled out of US market due to our economy and monetary policies (declining dollar). As a result they see more export opportunities than import opportunities. Steel distributors are still buying cautiously not certain if prices will rise or fall. There is much uncertainty in the marketplace.

Our Government and Obama are trying to say and do the right things to stimulate the economy and help the job market. Talk is cheap. We will have to wait and see if their efforts have any effect on the small business sector – where all the jobs are. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi there and welcome to my blog.  For over 15 years now we have diligently sent out monthly company newsletters to our customers and prospects.  During this period we have developed somewhat of a following.  Recently I’ve been told that I should develop a blog to express my views and opinions on steel, business and life itself.  I truly believe that the success of our newsletter is because I believe there is more to life than just steel news and business.  I try and express my personal perspective which has been greatly influenced by my health adversity and how I have prospered in spite of it.  For those that do not know, I’m a triple organ transplant recipient that occured five years ago.  That does make my journey unique and perspective on life as well.

I hope that you will read and comment on my blog page.  This is an exciting new forum for me.  I welcome your feedback.