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Business Relationships – 2's Company – MagnusInsights.com https://magnusinsights.com Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:09:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://magnusinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-2sCompanyLogov23-32x32.jpg Business Relationships – 2's Company – MagnusInsights.com https://magnusinsights.com 32 32 Colossal Failures at American Express and Chase https://magnusinsights.com/colossal-failures-at-american-express-and-chase/ Thu, 13 Oct 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3309 Over the past 2 months, I’ve been battling American Express to get them to correct a colossal mistake THEY made, but for which they blamed us/me and penalized us accordingly. To be fair to American Express, Chase Bank also failed during this time period, but not as badly as American Express. The issue common to both American Express and Chase is that their mail center can’t process all the incoming mailed payments in a timely fashion (both companies admitted as much to me). Thus, despite mailing our payments on time, and the post office actually delivering them on time, they sat at the destination. Both American Express and Chase failed to adjust for this and started sending late notices, imposing late fees, and even reporting Magnus to the credit agencies. To Chase’s credit, they had figured out the problem by the time I called and had started making corrections, although it is impossible to know whether the damage they did will linger, for example, on our credit reports. American Express, on the other hand, was completely obtuse about the problem. The situation was compounded by Melissa and me being on vacation. They called, texted, emailed, froze the card and basically harassed me for days, which turned into weeks, then months. Calling them was painful and the calls lasted an hour or more with transfers to multiple agents, many of whom had accents I couldn’t understand, and they were unable to comprehend that the failure was on their end. Not only did they process a payment late, but they failed to credit an $11,000 payment to us. That’s right, they lost $11,000 of our money. For some people, that may be pocket change. I’m not one of them. At some point, I decided to go to the top and I wrote the CEO’s office. Apparently this person gets lots of messages such that he has a “public” email address (chairmansoffice@aexp.com) where messages are answered by his minions. This did trigger some action, but it was still very difficult to communicate with anyone who seemed to “get it” and who was willing to find our lost money. We did receive a letter telling us they were working on it, but never did anyone take responsibility for their mistake(s). As of this writing, most of the situation has been resolved, I think. And, we received another letter, but of note, at no time did any of the correspondence from American Express offer an apology for the (massive) inconveniences they caused. I have about 12 hours into this situation that THEY caused. In billable hours terms, that is a lot of money – especially due to the vacation damage. So, I have to say “Shame on American Express.” Their customer service was horrible. It is hard enough running a small business without having to fight a company that is supposed to help run that small business.

]]> You can go to Wal-Mart, Kmart… https://magnusinsights.com/you-can-go-to-wal-mart-kmart/ Tue, 20 Sep 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3269 David and I have different ways of accomplishing the same task. We are frequently engaged in debates about how to perform seemingly simple tasks. When we catch ourselves in the midst of another debate about some mind numbing chore, one of us usually says, “You can go to Walmart, Kmart (sadly, that’s no longer an option for us), Target, or wherever you want.” This statement stops the debate because it reminds us of the same type of debates David’s dad, Herman, would get into over the smallest of details. For example, when we drove from Pompano Beach to Jacksonville, Herman used to ask which way we were coming. Were we driving all the way north on I-95? Were we coming up the Turnpike, then crossing over to I-95 on State Road 70 in Fort Pierce? Were we coming up the Turnpike, then crossing over to I-95 at the Jupiter exit? Had we checked to see how traffic was moving on both the Turnpike and I-95? Had we considered taking a more scenic route, for example, driving part of the way on U.S. 1? Did we think we might want to drive up U. S. 301 through Lawtey, Waldo, and Starke? Had we considered all the options, including where we would be stopping for lunch? This type of exchange was common with Herman, regardless of the subject, sometimes to the point of hilarity! We got into the circular discussion about the virtues of Kmart and Walmart at a time when Kmart was still a worthy competitor of Walmart. Given that both of these stores sold the same type of merchandise, I usually went to the one closest to my location. Not Herman! He weighed the options, such as which one had the desired item on sale, how close each store was to the gas station currently selling gas for the lowest price, and a host of other variables, all of which were exhausting to me. Yes, there are many ways to chop a bell pepper, depending on how it will be used, but I’d prefer not to discuss it for too long!

]]> Employees Should Cover Each Other https://magnusinsights.com/employees-should-cover-each-other/ Thu, 15 Sep 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3244 This is the 3rd in a series about “covering” or looking out for each other in a work environment. The need to do this is on a top down, down to top, and peer to peer basis. In the immediately prior post, I mentioned an employee who was hostile to another employee. The fact that this was happening was unknown to Melissa or me. To some degree it was known to other employees, but the full extent of it was known only to the junior most employee who was being verbally abused by a more senior employee. “Covering” for each other would have required any employee who was aware of the situation to report it. Another time we had an employee who was drinking on the job. When the intoxicated employee was eventually terminated, one employee reported to us that she was aware of the situation but thought we were trying to help the impaired person. Both situations are examples of NOT covering for each other. Being a “tattle tail” certainly has a negative connotation. Allowing bad things to happen in a workplace should outweigh that connotation. Looking out for each other is critical to “mission success.” The lesson we learned from these experiences is that it is important to discuss various scenarios with employees and explain how they should handle observations about problems among and between other employees. Ensuring that staff know what is expected of them in this regard is crucial to doing the right thing, and doing things the right way.

]]> Cover the Employee’s Back https://magnusinsights.com/cover-the-employees-back/ Thu, 08 Sep 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3242 As I wrote the prior post about the need for employees to cover the boss’ back, I had this post, and the next one, in mind, because covering for each other is critical. It is important for a boss to keep the health and well being of the employees in mind. In our 30+ years of being employers, Melissa and I have had examples of issues where this came into play. One employee had an issue with the hostility of another employee. In that instance, we were kept in the dark about the extent of the behavior by other employees (see next post). For other reasons, the “bad” employee was terminated and the truth of the hostility came out. Another example was on a research day, when a mock juror was verbally abusive and made racially derogatory comments to one of our employees. Melissa overhead these comments and immediately jumped in to help our employee by dismissing the abusive mock juror. I was quickly enlisted to escort the abuser out of the room and facility. We have always known we did the right thing by ending the abuse as quickly as possible and ensuring there was no residual impact on our team member. Another memorable occasion was when one of our employees, a black, Haitian, male, was followed by our local police department and stopped for questioning on multiple occasions while in our neighborhood. I decided the only way to “cover the employee’s back” was to approach a supervisor in our small police department about the issue. Ironically, the supervisor was a minority as well, an Asian man, who at first didn’t know how to react to the situation. But, after a bit of discussion, he helped me come up with a solution that eliminated the “harassment” of our minority employees. These are things you never learn about in business school. Things you may not consider otherwise. But, they are things that demonstrate the need to look out for employees in ways that go beyond the norms of a job.

]]> Mutual Admiration Societies https://magnusinsights.com/mutual-admiration-societies/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3222 There are relatively few people with whom I share a mutual admiration. Don’t get me wrong: I like a lot of people and there are some people who like me, but that is different than my definition of a mutual admiration society. The first person who comes to mind is the first person who used the expression, “mutual admiration society” to describe our friendship. Her name was Viola McHugh Fauss and she was David’s grandmother. “Olie,” as she was called by her grandchildren, and I formed an instant bond upon our initial meeting. Like me, she was a career woman whose work defined her life. She was no warm and fuzzy grandmother; instead, she enjoyed talking about her glory days working in downtown Atlanta. Instead of writing notes, she typed them, which always impressed me! Olie and I had great times together. She worked during a time when most women had no aspirations of a career; she worked hard; and she worked until she could no longer do so. She was my kind of woman! The next person with whom I have a mutual admiration society is, of course, Bob. (In case the reader needs a reminder, Bob was my best friend, office mate, and favorite person in graduate school. He is one of the dearest friends I have ever had. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for “my Bob.”) Bob and I have a running debate on who, between the two of us, is smarter. I say he is and he says I am. That sums up our relationship! Two other people, one who is alive and one who is no longer with us, also come to mind in the category of mutual admiration society. They are both attorneys, clients, University of Florida law school graduates (proving, once again, how open minded I am!), and among my favorite people. One of them is Buddy Schulz, who is amazing in as many ways as it is possible to be amazing, and the other was the late Pat Geraghty, who was super cool in every way, including being a true “Parrot Head” (Jimmy Buffett fan) like me. Perhaps, if I gave this topic more thought, I would be able to come up with a longer list of people with whom I share a mutual admiration society, but the fun part of writing this post is that I gave absolutely no thought to the four people about whom I wrote. They came to mind instantly!

]]> Give Someone a Chance https://magnusinsights.com/give-someone-a-chance/ Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3204 John Lennon wrote a song called “Give Peace a Chance.” It is a great song and it has provided me with considerable inspiration over the years. This post is not about giving peace a chance, however. Instead, it is about giving someone a chance. Who is that someone? It could be someone who is young, inexperienced, eager to work, hungry, or just about anyone, for that matter. David and I were fortunate, in our early years of owning and operating Magnus Research Consultants, to have been given a chance by several people. Mike Corso, a prominent attorney in my hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, told David and me to feel free to use his law office if we needed anything, from conference space to a quiet place to rest between meetings. The late Pat Geraghty, also a prominent Fort Myers attorney, retained Magnus on a high profile case soon after we started Magnus and continued to hire us until his passing. Then there was Charlie Stiles. Mr. Charles Stiles was the father of one of my childhood friends, Mary. Our families were neighbors for several years during the time Mary and I were in elementary school and Mary and I were frequent playmates. When David and I founded Magnus, we went around Fort Myers “knocking on doors” for business. Mr. Stiles, as I always called him, was in an executive role at a large bank downtown. David and I went to visit him, to inform him of our new business venture and to get his ideas about who else to call upon as we ramped up our marketing efforts. Lo and behold, Mr. Stiles said he could use our help with a project the bank was planning to do. This project involved marketing research which, by then, I had been doing for 10 years. Although I had no experience conducting marketing research in banking or finance, Mr. Stiles was confident that my research skills could be easily applied to meet his bank’s requirements. Our research project was executed with flawless precision; we made a presentation of the results to the highest echelon of the bank, who seemed pleased with our work; and we were well compensated for our work. It seems that Charlie Stiles was right to place his confidence in me and my fledgling company! David and I have discussed this example of “giving someone a chance” for almost 30 years now. One never knows how much help he or she can provide to someone who needs it. Give someone a chance. And thank you, Mr. Charlie Stiles, for giving me a chance! May you rest in peace.

]]> Share The Positives https://magnusinsights.com/share-the-positives/ Thu, 21 Jul 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3208 I observed Melissa do something today that is worth comment. She complimented our clients for the professional and supportive ways they have worked with us, and as a team, to prepare for a jury research project. The clients seemed taken aback to hear a compliment, and they were surprised their behavior was noteworthy. It is just how they operate, but we recognize it as an indication of more professionalism than we sometimes observe. We had another example recently when the clients were particularly good in preparing for research. The clients’ behaviors are not the focus of this post, however; the focus is on giving positive feedback. In today’s world, there seems a much greater tendency to bring out the negatives. Fussing about bad service, fussing about uncontrollable frustrations, complaining, whether warranted or not. Maybe for the sake of good karma, pointing out the good is important. We tip based on good service, so maybe the server knows the customer was satisfied, actually happy. But, unless we take the next step and tell someone they did a good job, the satisfaction is not really communicated. Better yet, telling the supervisor of the person providing good service makes a difference and rewards, at least intrinsically, the person making the effort to do a good job. It takes a little effort to pass along a positive, but it is something I try to do whenever possible. It helps me remember the positives in a world full of challenges.

]]> Run of the House https://magnusinsights.com/run-of-the-house/ Thu, 30 Jun 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3176 I booked a hotel room recently and, while navigating the rates, I came across one that said “run of house.” I know this means “you get what we’ve got left.” It is doubtful that this would ever be an exciting upgrade, but maybe. In my experience, upgrades rarely happen even when I’m paying higher rates. I saw this kind of phenomenon recently when booking a rental car. Avis had an exorbitant rate on a “mystery car” for an Alaska trip we are planning. Run of house or mystery car, I’m usually unwilling to gamble on things like that. When pondering the hotel rate though, it reminded me of something we’ve heard from clients who tell us they like working with us because they know who they are going to work with – Melissa primarily, and me. We have had times in our business when we had other consultants to assign to certain cases. But, we always disclosed the details about the other, well qualified, consultants in advance. To my surprise, some clients have reported not knowing who they would be working with at competitors’ companies until that person showed up on the research day, or in court. That kind of run of house was a major turnoff to these clients. As a boutique operation, our clients don’t face the uncertainty of run of the house, or mystery consultants!

]]> The Problem With This Case is the Client. https://magnusinsights.com/the-problem-with-this-case-is-the-client/ Thu, 26 May 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3135 An attorney client of ours recently told Melissa that his client is a problem. He said, “the problem with this case is my client.” He was pretty direct, but we’ve heard this, or some variation thereof, countless times. In this case, the client is wealthy (and accustomed to getting his way as a result). He’s “cocky” arrogant, and dismissive of other people’s opinions. He isn’t well educated, meaning he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and, rather than trying to learn from those who can educate him about the legal issues he is facing, his insecurities lead him to trying to prove himself to hide his ignorance. The attorney does not think his client, our ultimate client, makes a good impression because of these factors, and because he is dismissive and rude. In other words, he is his own worst enemy. And, he’s the one on the spot, in the hot seat! This can be a recipe for disaster. We’ve seen this many times. Not necessarily with these particular variables, but in some way, shape or form, the client can be more challenging to manage than the facts of the case. We’ve had highly emotional and upset end clients. We’ve had angry, argumentative end clients, one or two who were prone to physically abuse their own attorney. These have been plaintiffs and defendants; “bad clients” are not limited to one side of the case. Some of these clients are tamed after the reality check of research. Others can be improved by Magnus conducted witness prep. Other times, it is a matter of just holding on for the ride and doing the best one can!

]]> Magnus’ Women Power https://magnusinsights.com/magnus-women-power/ Tue, 24 May 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://magnus.lisawhitsell.com/?p=3152 In the almost 30 years that David and I have co-owned Magnus Research Consultants, we have employed many people of both sexes. We have had several long term employees, 2 of whom are men and 2 of whom are women. In addition, there have been 3 women who are former Magnus employees who have gone on to achieve considerable success in their lives. This post is about the “women power” from which we have benefitted at Magnus. As a woman who is the primary shareholder of a corporation, I am especially proud of the women of Magnus. It is difficult for women to thrive in many employment settings. (Yes, we have “come a long way, baby,” but not as far as we can go.) The 3 women who have achieved career success are, in order of their employment at Magnus, Jessica, Kristin, and Suzanne. Jessica left Magnus to become a teacher. Interestingly, she taught at the high school from which she graduated until recently, when she was promoted to an executive position at the Broward County School Board. Kristin resigned her position at Magnus to attend law school and she has been employed as an attorney for many years. She is the only client we have ever had who is a former employee. Pretty cool! Suzanne, like Kristin, left Magnus to attend law school. She is now a JAG lawyer with the United States Army. She holds the rank of Captain, but she has the potential of becoming a General, as far as I can tell! The 2 women who have long tenures at Magnus are Chelsea and Megan. Chelsea has the distinction of being the person with the longest tenure at Magnus. If everything works out as I hope, she will stay with us for over 25 years, until I eventually decide to retire. Last, but certainly not least, is Megan, who is, without a doubt, the best employee Magnus has ever had. David and I have written past posts about all of these women, but I thought it would be fun to write a tribute to all of them, collectively. Women power!

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