Blog
Oct 06 2023 |
BusinessBy: Matt Gugliotti
Last weekend I took the train into NYC and I parked my car in the garage across the street from the train station for the night. When I returned sleepy eyed at 1:30am to get my car, the garage was locked down like Fort Knox with no way to get my car. I was not a happy camper and had to take a Taxi home. Thinking they would be open around 9 on Saturday morning, I headed down to spring my imprisoned car (another Taxi). Still closed! At which point I discovered a sign that said: "closed weekends" in the fine print towards the bottom of the "rate" sign as you pull in the very short driveway before entering the garage. Needless to say I was now a cranky camper. Yet another Taxi home. So, Monday morning I went back to the garage, (another Taxi) to retrieve my now very well rested car in hopes of not having to pay for a weekend's worth of parking. I met the security guard who directed me to the garage manager. But, before doing so, I asked him: "Does this happen often?" My question was met with laughter, and a simple, "Yes all the time". Hummm... So, I set off to meet with the garage manager to plead my case. At first he would hear nothing I had to say and insisted it was my fault. He said, "it was on the sign and the sign has been there for 30 years." Ah, yes but I've only been here once, and didn't have the opportunity to read the fine print of your sign, as I pulled into a very congested area, with a short driveway, and read the entire "sign" which read like a New York City Diner menu. I mean it's a parking garage across the street from the train station, I'm not buying a timeshare, how complicated could this be? I then brought up the history of such events as told to me by the security guard, and I caught his attention. He just simply could not win the argument that if this is a common occurrence, then perhaps the 30 year old sign just isn't cutting it. He realized the flaw in his argument and quickly said parking was on the house. There are "sign's" in business that present themselves every day; the question is do we choose to read them? I don't mean the sign like on the outside of the garage, but the sign "his sign" may not be suiting his business. If something happens once, it could be a fluke, if it happens again, it better catch your attention, and if it happens a third time, you have a problem that you need to address. This guy kept the same narrative that the sign has been there for thirty years, and that must be good enough. But the reality is, it's not. Even the security guard told me so. Yet, here we are three decades of cars getting locked in the garage because they fail to see their signage is inadequate. The point is, if we fail to recognize the signs our business gives us, we need to change, or we run the risk of failure. If you are trying to increase your cash flow by getting delinquent customers to pay the same old way, you have missed the sign your business is sending you: IT'S NOT WORKING! Try something different this month. Give Validate a try and see how much you can increase your cash flow in just 14 days! Become a member of the most powerful tool offered to business since the computer. Join today at www.validatenow.com! Add your comment (for display after moderator approval) |
