The service rep seemed honest, intelligent, and good at his job; he took one look at my odometer and told me that it was exactly time for a particular inspection in addition to the oil change, which would be three times more expensive and would take twice as long. I apologize to the clients who were supposed to see me this afternoon.
I powered up my laptop in the hope that there would be a rogue open wireless signal in the vicinity – unlikely because of the area – but sure enough there was a strong but protected) signal from the dealership. I asked my rep if it was possible to get the code but of course it was not. I went to pour a cup of coffee ($1) and bought a bag of chips ($1) because I had not had lunch, and read the newspaper... then the other newspaper... I did the crossword puzzle and am reasonably confident I would have found Waldo if he had been lurking about... and I still had an hour to wait so I decided to speak with the service manager and ask about the phone agent. The manager was professional in appearance and manners; I had a good impression of him throughout our conversation and not once did I feel like he was trying to pull the wool over my eyes.
Of course he repeated to me the same thing that the service rep had said – the people on the phone do not have all the information, do not know your car, etc... they are phone agents, and that is all. ‘So when I ask a question why don’t they let me know that they are not qualified to answer the question, and would you like to speak with someone who is?’ Of course Mr. Garvis you are right, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? ‘As a matter of fact there is... get me the wifi code.’ He actually spoke with his IT guy who refused because their systems were not all secure. (Does this give anyone any ideas? Note I am NOT naming the dealership!) I suppose I should count myself lucky that I did get a free inside-out car wash on my next visit, which frankly is more than I expected.
Sitting here in the waiting room it occurs to me how similar the automotive industry and the IT industry are. I had not given it any thought but just this week I have used computer to car analogies more than once.
I recently installed a brand new network infrastructure and workstations for a client who was glad to retire their fifteen year old Novell server and Pentium desktops. Unfortunately their database application (based on FoxPro circa 1993) keeps crashing as it did on the old server, and the director asked me yesterday why that was. I asked her what year and model car she drove, and she told me one similar to mine coincidentally. I asked her how well it drove and she raved about it. I asked her if she expected to be raving when the car was thirteen years old, and though there was a bit of back and forth she understood my point.
Of course many remember the old retort by General Motors when Bill Gates criticized their manufacturing practices... thankfully our cars do not crash for no reason every few hours.
The truth is I may be considered an intelligent person but the reality is my knowledge of cars is generally limited to how to drive one; when it comes to fixing them I have to rely on the expertise of others. This is probably familiar to many of our clients who know how to operate their computers but understand little about servicing or maintaining them, or repairing them if they break down or get infected. They rely on their IT Pro to be honest, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and efficient. If not there are a lot of other consultants in town, just like there are plenty of garages to fix my car. If I did not trust my rep and when required the sales manager I would not have left with a good feeling, and when the time came for my next inspection I would have looked for another dealer.
The same is true in our industry. I may not always know the answer or solution off the top of my head but that is not what my client needs; my client needs me to manage the situation and find the answer or solution and he needs to trust me to do that. He or she needs to feel comfortable talking to me, and never doubt my professionalism. As long as that is the case I have a client for life. When it falters (and in one or two cases over the years it has) then my days administering the client’s systems are numbered.
Trust is tantamount. In my experience most clients will give you all the breathing room that you need to efficiently meet his needs, as long as he trusts you. However the words breathing room can in that sentence can be interchanged with rope, because if you abuse that trust your client will eventually pull it in and usually let you hang yourself by it. I have seen it on several occasions when I was brought in as an expert third-party to evaluate work done by other consultants. As the president of the community I am always proud when I can make a couple of recommendations but generally give a good analysis of an IT Pro’s work. As an independent consultant I am always happy when that analysis is negative because it usually means a new client.
What is the bottom line? Stay honest, stay true, be successful.
Have a great week-end!