Don’t forget to tell your people…

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

I have found that a lot times when a client signs their stores with PhoneSmart services, they neglect to tell the store managers they have done so. A lot of times in these instances, store managers become alienated where PhoneSmart is concerned. This is not a good thing. I believe when managers became suspicious of PhoneSmart and possibly even angry with PhoneSmart, they only do so because they feel like they weren’t told because we are there to sneak in and steal their job.

It has been my experience that managers that weren’t told sometimes feel like they weren’t told because someone higher up in their organization doesn’t think they are doing their job sufficiently and just aren’t telling that manager. Again, not a good thing.

This is simply not the case. I believe PhoneSmart is a valuable tool that can and should be used to make the manager’s live easier and of course, to create rentals. We want to be an ally for the manager, not an enemy. Our clients hire us to be the manager’s ally and to help the manager rent more space. But this is not always communicated down the line.

When new stores come on our service, we do what we call a, “Manager Buddy Call” with each store manager. The purpose of this call is to introduce ourselves, check screen accuracy, go through website and voicemail instructions, and to answer any questions the manager may have at that time. We call this a, “Manager Buddy Call” because we want to be just that! We want to be the manager’s, “Buddy”. We want them to know they can count on us and we are here for them.

However, if the manager we are calling has not been informed that we are going to help them out with their roll-over calls, they sometimes feel like we are telling them what to do. Simply because they were left out of the loop.

It is my opinion that whenever a store is signed up for PhoneSmart services, one of the first things that should be done on the service purchaser’s end is to tell the manager what is going on. That way, when we call to do our “Buddy” call, the store manager is more likely to say, “Oh yea, I’ve been waiting to hear from you.” Rather than, “Why are you calling me? No one told me about this. I need to make sure this is approved before I answer any questions!”

In short, being any ally for the store manager is one of PhoneSmart’s main goals and any lack of communication on the service purchaser’s side may interfere with this goal.

Help us do our job while we help your staff do theirs.

Thanks, Liz

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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