Build a Better Appliance...Company

The old clothes washing machine died a quick death. One minute it was working, and the next minute, it was shaking uncontrollably. The repair estimate was close to the price of a new machine, so it was time to buy a replacement.

Bridgette didn't look forward to the hassle of getting a new washer, but the local appliance store seemed to have great washers at excellent prices. She chose a new washer and asked about
installation prices. "There's only a $39 delivery and installation fee," the salesman said. "Wow," Bridgette replied, "that sure seems like a great deal. Let's schedule delivery."

So the purchase was made, delivery arrangements were made, and Bridgette left the store.
Later that week on the scheduled delivery date, the deliverymen showed up late, and they hadn't called an hour in advance as promised. While they were very nice, they didn't know that this was a washer that was being installed under a dryer, and that the 2 units needed to be stacked and locked together. Although Bridgette had made this installation need clear to the salesperson, he must not have put the stacking requirement in the installation notes.

When they pulled out the old washer, water poured out of the discharge hose, soaking into the carpet and smelling up the house. Once the deliverymen finally figured out how to unlock the old washer from the dryer and stack the dryer on top of the new unit, it was already into the early evening. Two hours after arriving, the deliverymen left.

When Bridgette tested the machine through a full wash cycle the next day, it shook like a minor earthquake. So she called the salesperson to discuss the numerous issues. He responded by saying that he put in the notes that the washer needed to be stacked below the dryer, and the warehouse staff must have printed out the delivery sheet before the notes were saved. He mentioned that he requested a one hour call ahead, and that the deliverymen dropped the ball. He mentioned that the discharge hose should have been funneled into the washer so no water would leak onto the carpet, and that they've had lots of problems with the delivery staff. He essentially stated that he did everything right, and that the warehouse/delivery staff did everything wrong.

From Bridgette's perspective, she didn't care who was to blame, she just wanted an apology and for someone to fix the shaking. She also didn't appreciate the salesperson's defensiveness or his quick willingness to blame another part of the company. She didn't appreciate his lack of follow-up to confirm her satisfaction with the installation. And she didn't appreciate his lack of checking with the delivery staff to make sure they knew exactly what to do prior to making the delivery.
In the end, the washer eventually worked fine. But the company's communication processes didn't. The company needed to work on the effectiveness of their fulfillment processes, internal communications, culture, and blame orientation. Instead, the company was focused on selling a washer cheap.

Focus on building a better company rather than selling a product cheap.

Culture Change Introduced to IST

This week, the Culture Club introduced the Culture Change initiative to the different divisions of IST. Presentations were made to introduce the new culture commitments, competencies and action items for SLT.

To view these documents, please visit the following links:

http://newmeckweb/C6/ISTADMIN/IST%20Policy/CultureCommitments.pdf

http://newmeckweb/C6/ISTADMIN/IST%20Policy/IST%20Culture%20Change%20Action%20Items.pdf

http://newmeckweb/C6/ISTADMIN/IST%20Policy/Notes%20from%20SLT_Managers%20Retreat.doc

If you are interested in participating in the Culture Club, please contact Tammy Dixon at Tammy.Dixon@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

Meet: Wendy Smith

(pictured with husband Brandon Smith)

Time with the County: 5 years (6 years in September)

Position Title: Admin Support Assistant III
Job Description: Help everybody with everything, mainly assist Jeff Beebe and his staff.

Best thing about working for Mecklenburg County: The people.

Hobbies: Riding 4 wheelers with my family, going to car shows with my family (Daddy has the car), fishing and gardening.

Favorite Movie: Grease

Last Book You Read: Bible - still working on it.

What one item in the kitchen best describes you and your personality? The mixer because I stay mixed up.

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? Hawaii

What CD would your friends be surprised that you own? Aerosmith

Understanding Asset and Procurement Management

Karl Beil, Asset and Procurement Manager, helps explain the role of his department.




Q: What are your roles and responsibilities?
A: We generate IT quotes for County staff, make their purchases and maintain IST's inventory database. We consult with customers on what products will best fill their business needs. Often, this means APM will find the appropriate IST staff member to help consult with the customer as well. We also ensure that federal, state and local purchasing laws and policies are followed. APM administers the IKON contract and tracks and autorizes all internal service request purchases.



Q: What should customers know about APM?

A: APM is here to be their partner. Our number one priority is to protect the County and taxpayer from liability and wrong doing. Beyond that, APM's goal is to help County staff acquire the tools they need to properly do their jobs.


Q: How does APM benefit the customer?
A: APM benefits its customers by doing work the customer shouldn't have to do. APM customers all have jobs with specific duties. When they need to buy an IT items, they shouldn't have to be bogged down with getting figuring out what fills the need, getting quotes, paying invoices, etc. They can let APM do all this for them, allowing them to concentrate on what they need to be doing. Also, by consolidation all the County's IT purchasing, we have been able to take advantage of the tremendous buying power an organization the size of Mecklenburg County has, helping customers get more for their money.

IST Teammates Praised for Performance

Take a look at some of the e-mails submitted to our IST Praise e-mail box:

"Matthew Newlon with the Procurement Group is one of Mecklenburg County's best customer service employees. Matthew's professional courtesy and positive attitude are always great to hear. Matthew maintains this professionalism, even when situations turn hectic. More than once, Matt has been able to immediately resolve issues that may have turned in to situations."

"IST is currently in the process of completing a project for the Solid Waste Department. The application has been delivered and is currently being used. Although the application will require some final adjustments (they all do), we are most pleased with the product. IST assigned Lisa Young as project manager and Lisa has subsequently lead this application to its current completion with a high level of customer satisfaction. The first thing our department noticed was the time she took to fully understand our needs. Once development began, she held the project to a rigorous pace to achieve the expected delivery timeline. Lisa exhibited a rare combination of people skills, technical competence, and project management skills. She made our priorities her own and delivered a quality product within a short time period. We greatly appreciate her efforts and would gladly work with her again in the future. Our assigned programmer was Elliot Garcia. Elliot was professional, technically competent, diligent, productive and customer oriented. The Department would like to thank them both for their efforts and quality service."

"Lisa Brown and Randy Overcash need to be recognized for their OUTSTANDING customer service. In the past, the telecom group was a little disconnected from IST. Recent efforts and communication with the help desk have bridged the communication gap. Both Lisa and Randy have gone above and beyond their everyday jobs to help the help desk with a multitude of everyday issues and questions that at one time took days to resolve. Because of their efforts, issues are being resolved within minutes. No one had to do anything, but because of their efforts the entire county has better communications. "

"I am very grateful to have the staff that we do working the help desk. I call somewhat frequently with questions that are sometimes simple (I should know the answer) and sometimes more complex. Regardless, they are always very pleasant to speak with, and timely with their response. If by chance they don't know right off the answer, instead of just saying they don't know- they seek out correct info. and advise within a very short time. I know that working a help desk can be a challenge but they seem to do it with ease."