Just Sayin’ Blog – A Matter of Fairness

Recently I was forwarded a letter that Safelite Solutions (“Safelite” “SGC Network”) sent to an auto glass repair and replacement (AGRR) company.  The letter related to work that the company had done for a consumer that happened to be insured with a company for which Safelite manages glass losses. The AGRR company had done a replacement and was required to send the bill for the work that was done for the consumer through Safelite in order to receive payment. The letter that was received started out stating:

“The SGC Network is currently in the process of performing a random fast cure kit Audit.”

The letter went on to state:

“Please fax copies of the work orders/invoices that include the urethane lot stickers. Do not send proof of purchase or receipts. The only acceptable documentation is the urethane lot sticker attached to the invoice or work order. Please forward to ATTN: SGCNetwork at 614-210-9941 within the next three business days.”

Have you seen or received one of these letters? I hadn’t seen one before. What was requested certainly seemed reasonable to me and the company also thought the request was reasonable. The company had the information readily available since the information is required under various sections of the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard that is administered by the Auto Glass Safety Council™. What was interesting about the request was that Safelite was taking on the role as an independent 3^rd party auditor in asking for the information. Who do you think performs that function when and if Safelite audits its own use of a “fast cure kit”?

Take a minute and look up the word “fairness” on dictionary.com and you’ll find the following:

Noun –

“the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or injustice; 

evenhandedness”

            Adjective –

“free from discrimination, dishonesty, etc; just; impartial”

            Adverb –

“in a fair way; correctly: act fair, now!”

It’s also interesting to see the word fairness shown via TH!NIKMAP’s Visual Thesaurus®.

 

 

So does it smack of “fairness” that a retail auto glass company that competes for auto glass repairs and replacements in the United States is also given responsibility for performing audits of competing AGRR companies to determine if they are using a “fast cure kit”? It doesn’t seem that Safelite would be the appropriate entity to audit others if you applied the definitions of fairness:

“the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or 

injustice; evenhandedness”

“free from discrimination, dishonesty, etc; just; impartial”

“in a fair way; correctly: act fair, now!”

They certainly aren’t “free from bias” and it doesn’t seem as though they would have a strong desire to adhere to the idea of “evenhandedness”. I don’t see how they could be “impartial”. And it would seem impossible that the act of their being the auditor would be accomplished “in a fair way”.

To me it seems to defy logic when the corporate mission of any company must be to grow market share and produce increased value to its shareholders for it to be possible for them to be an independent auditor of others in the industry in which they compete.

Safelite’s company web site states:

“We must do what’s right, even when no one’s watching

This means living by our values and being accountable. It is about how we treat our staff, our customers and members of our local community. We reinforce this throughout our corporate structure with legal compliances and ethics training, an employee ethics hotline and numerous channels for feedback and concerns.”

Certainly words any company would be proud to adhere. It seem appropriate to ask “who’s watching” those that are watching us? Do you think that there’s a 3^rd party auditor that’s auditing the auditor?

I think you can ask the same question relating to the “pre-inspections of auto glass claims” that was discussed in a glassBYTEs article titled “Safelite Solutions Accepts Recognition for Pre-Inspection of Auto Glass Claims” in May of last year. Does that practice seem to smack of “fairness” to you?

As most everyone on the planet knows, Super Bowl XLVIII is coming this Sunday, February 2, 2014 between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. The officiating crew this year is led by veteran referee Terry McAulay. What if for the game this year a crew of Denver Bronco fans is allowed to officiate the game instead of the impartial officials that have been selected by the NFL? If that was allowed to happen how many calls do you think would go Denver’s way? Even the most ardent Bronco fan hoping for a win for their team would see that as both blatantly “unfair” and “unjust” to the Seattle Seahawks team.

So as “A Matter of Fairness”, who thinks that how Safelite operates as an auditor and/or inspector is:

“the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or 

injustice; evenhandedness”

“free from discrimination, dishonesty, etc; just; impartial”

“in a fair way; correctly: act fair, now!”

Just sayin’.

Just Sayin’ Blog – What’s Your Line-up? – “Updated”

A little over a year ago I wrote a blog asking the question “What’s Your Line-up?” The genesis of that blog was a question I had been asked about who was on my fantasy football team. The question I asked in this blog though actually referred to who did I want to work with.

At the end of the National Football League’s (NFL) recent regular season, 5 teams switched out head coaches in hopes of finding new direction and sought after success. This annual event is known as Black Monday. With the NFL football play-offs in full swing and the field narrowing, all the teams that didn’t make it into the postseason had players cleaning out lockers and heading home to think about next season. For a variety of reasons, some of those players won’t be returning to their lockers next summer, but some NFL General Managers are quickly locking up the talent they feel is needed to find success for owners dreaming of holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of next season.

We’ve seen a similar pattern taking place in the auto glass repair and replacement (AGRR) industry haven’t we? There have obviously been a number of companies changing ownership during the past several years. Whenever there is a change in ownership that change often comes with different values and vision, along with a whole new way of doing business.

As with professional teams, every glass company wants to “put together the best team possible to ensure success”. If you have the right mix of team members in your business, achieving goals and finding success is much easier when you’re working hard to find that “special sauce” or recipe for success against others in your market.

Getting back to the original question, “What’s your line-up?” The real question is, ”Who’s on your team?” People are what make a business successful or not. It doesn’t matter what it is you’re trying to accomplish, its people that make any endeavor a successful one. You’ve got to show differentiation in what it is you deliver of course by using superior products and services versus those you compete, but its people that ultimately separate you from the herd and consistently drive above market results for your business.

If you’re running the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, the San Francisco 49ers or the Seattle Seahawks; you’ve assembled a team that is comprised of the best you can find. The NFL team owners, general managers and coaches that put together that “special sauce” and get through the regular season and playoff games intact get the chance to get to Super Bowl XLVIII and hoist the Lombardi Trophy at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014.

Those teams that didn’t get into the playoffs are working hard to find team members to add to their rosters during the NFL Draft May 8^th – 10^th 2014.

As I wrote in the original blog asking “What’s your line-up?”…as “an auto glass repair and replacement (AGRR) store or company you had better make sure that your team is comprised of the best”. With all that’s happening in the AGRR industry perhaps there is someone you know that’s a perfect fit for your team.

Every player in the NFL wants to go to the Super Bowl, but few really ever get the chance. The best teams with the most Lombardi Trophy’s over the years: The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the most Vince Lombardi Trophies, with six. The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys are tied for second with five each. The Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants are in third with four; and the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders are all in fourth with three.The best in any industry want to be members of winning teams. You always try to associate yourself with the best. And you know when you’re not.

So I ask again the questions I asked in December 2012:

     What’s your line-up?

     Who’s on your team?

     Who can make a difference for your company?

     Who is it that can help you make your company better than anyone else in the market(s) you compete?

     Do you surround yourself with the best you can find?

Just sayin’……

Just Sayin’ Blog – The Pain of Regret

In these cold days of winter my sports focus starts shifting away from the NFL, even though the ultimate game is taking place this coming Sunday night. The so called “HarBowl” pits the San Francisco 49ers coached by Jim Harbaugh versus the Baltimore Ravens coached by John Harbaugh. I wrote a blog last year titled “Meaningful Quotes – Harbaugh, Hogan and Einstein”. In that blog I used a quote from their father Jack Harbaugh  

“Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

While watching this NFL season we’ve witnessed how both of these coaches have guided their teams this season and on to win their divisional playoffs games. The two teams and coaches will meet in New Orleans on February 3, 2013 at Super Bowl XLVII. The Harbaugh brothers’ enthusiasm for the game and life is quite evident.

How about you? Do you have a similar level of commitment and enthusiasm for what drives you in your life?  Are you committed to doing the best that you can each and every day? Be that in business or in sport, there are times when you face difficult challenges that require you to make that extra effort that separates your company from another, one sports team from another.

The ability of you and your company to excel in business today demands that you have that enthusiasm and that you must surround yourself with those who you know have it too. Enthusiasm and the ability to give it your all, to use every play in the book and design your own new plays to beat your competition are keys to your success. This doesn’t mean that you’re always going to win just because you gave it your all,but you have to put yourself in the position to win. That’s certainly what I’m attempting to do and I want to associate myself with team members with similar enthusiasm who will help us to win.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the time of year that my sport focus moves away from the NFL and moves to NCAA Men’s Basketball. It ends quickly with March Madness, but right now, as a fan, I enjoy watching big games between NCAA powerhouse names. Whether you’re a fan of the Big 10, 8 or 12; the ACC; the SEC; the Big East; the Pac 12 or other conferences, you know what those big games are. In any game a top team can be defeated by another team not as highly ranked and seemingly with less talent. How? With enthusiasm and the desire to win underdogs can prevail. Upsets happen and, as long as your team is not the loser, it’s always fun to watch. In recent games you could see:

13th ranked Butler Bulldogs (now 9th)

over the then 8th Gonzaga Bulldogs (now 7th)

or the

25th ranked Miami (Florida) Hurricanes (now 14th)

over the number 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils (now 5th)

or the

unranked Villanova Wildcats (still unranked)

over the 3rd ranked Syracuse Orange (now 6th)

or the

unranked Georgetown Hoya’s (still unranked)

over the 5^th ranked Louisville Cardinals (now 12th)

Just to name a few.

The Gonzaga versus Butler game on Saturday, January 19, 2013 played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis was especially exciting and turned into an instant classic. After a hard fought game, Butler won the game on a last second shot by sophomore forward Roosevelt Jones. After the game Butler Bulldogs men’s head basketball coach Brad Stevens in an interview with ESPN suggested that,

“The pain of losing isn’t as great as the pain of regret.

You have to give it your best.”

The message is do everything you can to win your game even if you sometimes come up short. Don’t let anyone or any company determine the path you take and then find that you regret it later.

Win or lose in business or sport you must have what Jack Harbaugh exhorted his sons to always do and give it your all.

“Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Great advice. And as Jack Harbaugh has also told his family for a longtime,

“Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!”

With his sons battling each other as head coaches in Super Bowl XLVII it appears a fitting motto for his family.

Just sayin’.