The Merchant ilagazlne

(2) Keep records about accidents.

(3) Involve your supervisors.

(4) Support rhe injured employee.

(5) Consult the physician about the employee's capabilities.

(6) Help employees return to work.

(7) Provide light duty or a modilied job if needed.

(8) Investigate accidents (fact-finding, not fault-finding).

(9) Challenge questionable benefit payments.

Young Westerners Club is planning a 1988 conference in Eugene, Or., Jan. 2l24, according to Dennis Parry, immediate past president. They recently met with the directors and board of WBMA in Sun Valley, Id., to firm up plans for the weekend of speakers, industry educational programs and round table discussions.

Future Dates

Check our Calendar on page 20 tor information on upcoming conventions, meetings and trade shows in your region.

GARY L. SMITH executive vice president

r r AVE YOU ever had to wait for Fl anything? Amend that. Has anYone ever put you on hold, said they'd get right back to you; ordered something for you and given you a deliverY date?

The list could go on and on. The common thread in a multitude of situations like those listed above is a time limit. Even with the infamous hold button, there is an implication that someone will pick up in a "reasonable" period of time. In the other situations the time frame may be more exact.

Assuming you sometimes must accept a delay in delivery or service, or even expect it, what then becomes the potentially most aggravating thing that can happen? The goods or services are not provided when promised! Since service is the independent's forte, your customer's perception of the quality of yours must be closely guarded.

My perception of service includes a number of elements, and one of the most important is time. But it's not always a matter of how much time it takes to satisfy me as it is a function of what my expectation is of the delay. If I have to wait, I'm less likely to think it took too much time if it takes a little bit less than what I'm told than if it takes even a minute more.

For example, take contractors "A" and "B. "Contractor "A" is told that his delivery will be there before noon and it arrives at l:30. Contractor "B" is promised a delivery at 2:00, but receives it at 1:30. Who is most likely to be fuming at 12:15? Both suppliers wanted to please their customer, but one promised something he thought he could deliver and hoped it would happen, while the other promised what he knew he could deliver and never had to give it another thought.

In an industry as replete with conservatives as ours, it's amazing how often we alienate our customers bY making promises we can't deliver. Although I'm not always successful, I try to live by the philosophy that if I say it, I will do it. I hate to be late because I've failed, at least in my own mind, to live up to an implicit promise to be on time.

I believe your customer would rather be given a later commitment that he can count on every time than an earlier one you miss even one out of ten times. They'll remember one unkept promise to your detriment a lot longer than a hundred that You've made good on.

Assuming both suppliers mentioned earlier provided the best service they possibly could, isn't it a shame that one will actually suffer from trying too hard because his customer's perception will be that he doesn't deliver on his promises? If optimism can ever be a negative, the sincerely given but narrowly missed time commitment has to be near the top of the list. There are enough opportunities for your reputation for good service to suffer without building in your own time bomb.

WAYNE GARDNER executive viCe president

The armed forces give troops survival training and as the recent scourge of fire hit Northern California we read how troops from Fort Ord and other militarv installations were given five hours of training in fire fighting. The most emphasized point in the training was how to survive ifa fire sweeps over you. Each fire fighter is given a heat resistant envelope to wrap up in so that they can quite possibly survive a fire if it moves back unexpectedly.

How to be a survivor. That's what we all want to know. But just as some of the troops had trouble learning how to use the fire shield, many in the industry seem to have trouble learning how to use techniques available to them.

What can we do to survive? We can look back. Somewhere in the past we may have encountered a similar situation. Some elements of it may have been parallel to what we are now facing. What did we do then that worked? Can we try it once more with perhaps minor modifications to help us gain control

There is always the possibility that some of our acquaintances have had a similar problem in the past. By looking at their experiences and examining their recovery, and applying their techniques to our situation, we can perhaps achieve the balance in business that we desire.

Maybe we have not had any prior experiences that were BAD nor have we known anyone who has. Look around. There is bound to be someone who is worse off than you. Examine that situation and determine how the failing business, if that's what it is, arrived at where it is. Then make certain you don't go down on the same set of ways, like a ship being launched into a turbulent sea.

There are businesses that can't ask anyone because they really don't know anyone. They have remained isolated from the business community and perhaps don't have anywhere to turn. They grope at quick fix schemes that turn out to be like placing a "band aid" on an area that needs suturing.

In November, the Lumber Association of Southern California will hold its annual Management Conference in Palm Springs. The speakers will all be experts from the building material industry and other management fields. There will be at least 150 members of the Southern California industry plus their wives, listening to the assembled experts. When the sessions are not going on, they will be talking among themselves.

The topic is alwaysHow To Be A Survivor. These management people are there to learn from their associates about how to survive. Maybe it's a comment that brings out some thoughts from the past. Maybe it's talking and finding out that a guy from San Diego County is experiencing a problem just like a guy from Santa Barbara County or maybe it's finding out that someone in San Bernardino County is following footsteps like yours from Los Angeles County and the future doesn't look too rosy.

Yes, a gathering of lumbermen in Southern California is the only place to be Nov. 5, 6 & 7. Because that's where you learn "How To Be A Survivor." See you at the Marquis Hotel, Palm Springs.