Peter Francis’ Post

This is a bit of a "concern about customer service" post. Or a shameless share of a bike photo! 😉 I'm a bit of a secret biker - call it a midlife crisis, if you like - and of course Tommy Blue needs insurance every year. I was very happy with the automatic renewal quotation from the existing company (only £3 more), but I checked the details anyway and found an anomaly. Apparently I was insured to carry a pillion (it's a touring bike, after all), BUT at the same time it appeared there wasn't insurance for doing so - except for fire and theft, which doesn't bode well for any pillion. This detail was hidden in the breakdown of the excesses. 🤦♂️ I phoned up to try to get it corrected to avoid any dispute in the event of an accident, but had to work at getting them to take it seriously: Response 1: You don't need to worry about it - it's on the schedule. Response 2: I'll speak to my manager. Response 3: It appears that if you have an accident when carrying a pillion, we can't pay out. Response 4: Sorry that you're not renewing - is there anything else I can help with? Please, when conditions or a contract needs to change, it's important to let the customer know about this in advance, not assume that posting a set of conditions on your own website will be checked for consistency. And anyone who has motorbike insurance - maybe check there isn't any paperwork hidden or conditions changed mid-term that you don't know about!

I had an interesting conversation with Karyl Iles today at #BrumBuzz about how good nutrition works with an overall positive physical and mental wellbeing. Worth a dreper conversation. But as I prepare my chicken vindaloo from scratch, I wonder whether this portion of raspberries might be a little too much for one meal? Karyl, do you have an opinion? 😉

I've just been into Worcester to collect some things. At about lunchtime. Very little on the roads. Not many people around. Is everyone totally exhausted by the last few weeks of relentless politicking and negative energy that they just can't face going out?

I've posted recently before about bringing personal problems into work and whether employers should consider that a problem for them to solve. The world of engineering and manufacturing is still quite heavily male-dominated, and many men stay silent about problems that they may be experiencing - both personal and work-related. In consideration of this being #menshealthweek this article looks at how Havening can be brought into the workplace using some care and consideration. Maybe it's a good opportunity to explore ways of helping staff reach their peak performance in ways that haven't been considered. And not forgetting that bosses sometimes need help too! #ukmanufacturing #workplacehealth #solutionsnotjustanswers

Personal problems brought to work? Not my problem... Except, it becomes your problem because it affects productivity, wellbeing and your profits. So yes, personal problems are affecting your workplace And you can do something about it. Have a read of my article from an Engineer's perspective of finding a solution and make comments below, or contact me directly. #workplacehealth #solutionsnotjustanswers

Are you having problems with Zombies? Or, to be more accurate: do you have zombie problems; those problems you thought you'd dealt with or that you ignored? And they… Keep. Coming. Back. To haunt you?   Maybe you're just burying these problems and hoping they will go away. But they are persistent little... beggars. Just putting them into a box in a locked filing cabinet on the fifteenth floor of the office building of an obscure government department whose workers are all working from home isn't going to cut it. You need to defeat them. Permanently.   Often, these are seemingly small problems. They've become more irritating than obstructive over time, and people get used to sidestepping, finding a workaround and even just accepting "that's the way it is".   In the movies, zombies are something that must be suppressed and eliminated to avoid them taking over, and they're a perpetual disruption to normal life. So why, in the business and industrial world, do we tolerate the proliferation of zombie problems that are constantly affecting efficiency, profit and wellbeing? Some examples of the responses I've had from businesses: "Bill knows how to sort that out". "It's not such a big deal-we don't get that many customer complaints". "That was happening when my uncle ran the company. I assumed it was normal". "The guys know they can always move their workstation if the rain gets too much". "I can't see why it's an issue. If they don't like it, they can do something about it-or leave".   Recognise any of those? Of course not. You wouldn't have any persistent problems in your business, would you? (That last example had me seriously questioning whether I wanted to work with that attitude, and fortunately I didn't have to, and neither is anyone else at that business)   In reality, there will be many seemingly low-level problems in many businesses which are leaching profits, time and goodwill.   What to do about them? First call is to know about a problem. If you don't know, you can't remove it. Make sure every issue is logged.   Encourage your team, and your employees especially, to raise issues, and allow them to show if and how they deal with them. After all, they probably have the best ideas. Even frequent toilet blockages are an issue, especially if you have to pay someone to come in to rectify.   Once you have a list - and it's rarely fixed - the zombies can't hide. You'll be able to consider just how much they're costing you. Especially when your employees let you know how often it's happening!   Of course, you can identify and resolve zombie problems for yourself. Or, you could get someone else to deep-dive into tracking down the zombies (even those in that hidden filing cabinet on the 15th floor) and into permanently removing them. I happen to know a really good #EngineeringDetective.   Don't let the Zombies take over your business and steal from your bottom line.   Be alert! Be safe!

No-one particularly likes being asked difficult questions. And it’s not that easy to ask them either. It can come across as being challenging, or critical, or sometimes simplistic. But, as an Engineering Detective, it’s my role to prod, question and challenge to hunt down hidden problems, so that together we can create a lasting solution in manufacturing and engineering businesses. If I ask tough questions: It could revalidate what you’re doing already, or It could highlight a problem that is only seen with fresh eyes, or It could educate (both of us) and lead to some new ideas.   Never shy away from tough questions; the solutions are always worth it. Comment below or DM me if you want to be challenged and clear those hidden problems.   #EngineeringDetective #ukmfg #supportukmfg #ukmanufacturing

Leadership skills are all very well, but how good are you at being part of a team? Why not hone them and be part of a crew on the Challenge Wales racing yacht for a day, and have fun and make some new relationships on the way. Helen Phillips assures us it'll be sunny with no rain.

ISO or not to ISO? Just throwing it out there for opinion: How much does it mean to you if a consultant, mentor, coach or designer has a certified or accredited ISO9001 system in place, if they are a micro business or sole operator? Often procurement procedures and pre-qualification questionnaires will ask for this as part of the selection process, but what level of importance would you attach to it if a consultant doesn't have certification? I'm interested to know from both the supplier and client perspectives and gauge whether written procedures might be more important that capability. A brief poll to capture answers, but please add any comments as well.

Feedback is essential so we can make sure what we do now and in the future is as good or better than before. Testimonials are great, but can be difficult to get - especially if you often deal with people who aren't naturally inclined to go out of their way to praise, or maybe have a history of being disappointed, or just don't feel able to express themselves. (I'm sure there are a whole load of comments about how to acquire testimonials). However I had a conversation with a past client in the last few days and one comment touched me in a way that saying "you did a great job" doesn't quite reach: They said that when they came across something that didn't feel right or was a challenge, their thought was "What would Peter do?" And that makes me feel grateful and humbled that whilst I try to do a great job in solving problems, the impact of how I do it and enabling clients to actually do it for themselves afterwards means that I'm actually achieving what I set out to do. I've not named the client or contact out of respect for their privacy, but that sentiment really touched me. Thank you! #engineeringdetective #ukmanufacturing