How do you think I learned to do this?

Author

Jon Matzner
October 16, 2023

As I’ve mentioned before - I’m not a natural global talent/systems guy.

I’m probably the opposite.

I love to sell.

I love to market.

Up until a few years ago, that was all I though I’d ever be.

That is, until we bought Garage Excell.

To give you a sense of the company when we bought it, this is what the marketing looked like.

After acquisition, we all put our nose to the grindstone, and got to work!

It started working….

And that was on the back of some major improvements:

Looks great right?

HELL NO.

Was an absolute BEAST to manage.

We grew REALLY fast…. and here are a few things (taken from an old talk I gave) that we dealt with.

More you say?

SURE.

Here are a random sampling of 50 “Issues” (from our issue logger) that we were managing - which were collected from our team.

There were hundreds.

  1. Flooring crew was scheduled for yesterday. No call, No show. No response from crew as well. Customer upset about cabinets not arriving within 8 weeks.

  2. We went out again and did not finish the installation. Customer needs gray slatwall, not white. Need cabinets and shelves to be aligned at the same height, currently not level with each other. Also received the wrong slat wall accessories.

  3. Doors did not have handle holes in them.

  4. Internal installers not calling customers with ETAs.

  5. Gap left between cabinets in the blind corner. Need filler or larger doors. Checking with project manager.

  6. Customer told installer that the cabinets he ordered are white and not gray. So installer left. His contract says Gray.

  7. You just completed the installation. When I went into the garage the day after we had lots of rain last week, there was a large pool of water on the floor of the garage. I need someone to come out to figure out where the water is coming from and how this problem can be corrected so it will not happen again.

  8. Wrong measurement sent to Manufacturing from operations. Customer needs 24" Deep Drawer cabinet instead of 14". Cabinet: 233. Customer requesting to rebuild and to increase height by 4".

  9. lines 17 through 21 and line 29 are incorrect in the PAR price list - they need to be removed

  10. According to CRM - Customer cancelled on Jan 17. Customer wants to cancel as they have family moving in and cannot use the garage. Only deposit payment is taken $500. Pre install visit complete and progress payment requested not paid. Cabinet order placed with DM. Matte white select base cabinets. Call. We did not cancel the order with DM and received the cabinets yesterday

  11. Waiting too long, wants to cancel.

  12. Installer stopped installation for customer as he has not been paid in a while. He wants to get paid today and he said he will go back tomorrow to install.

  13. Handles with the cabinets were not black.

  14. Ongoing issues with install - No screws to install cabinets on second time trying to install. Lack of communication. Self generated lead. Canceling referral to YMCA.

  15. Shelves sagging in cabinets

  16. See the text message. Customer expressed frustration with process and lack of communication.

  17. Antonio: Installer did not cut out one outlet. One box slatwall extra. need to bring back.

  18. Lack of communication

  19. Very frustrated. Customer called in and is very frustrated, stated he had an appointment scheduled to install the racks however no one showed up. He is requesting a call back now, he mentioned he saw good reviews but he is unhappy with the service.

  20. Missed hardware for delivery.

  21. Customer unhappy with final design. They are unable to place certain items within the garage.

  22. Did not have holes drilled for cabinet handles. Need to go back to have the handles done.

  23. One left side select tall Gloss Gray Door damaged during transport. Needs replacement

  24. Floor portion sticks out of the garage door

  25. One of his cabinets slides off the rail when fully closed. He needs someone to come out and adjust the top rail on his sliding cabinet (main garage)

  26. Continued delayed installation / lack of communication

  27. Upstairs garage needs reinstall because it isn't perfectly level. Carlos said if he takes it all off and starts again it will look good. Bottom garage drawers need face

  28. 42in shelf - bracket that goes into the slat broke off. He'll be sending an email

  29. Cancelled two cabinets, not reflected on estimate.

  30. Customer email expressing frustration with delays, lack of communication, and issues with installation. Asking for financial compensation.

  31. Non payment outside of our 20 day window to place a mechanic's lien

  32. Driver dropped a cabinet off forklift while loading truck. The tall cabinets can be wobbly on the fork lift. 1 person is needed to support it while going in/out of the warehouse over bumps

  33. Floor is too rough

  34. Delayed installation, confusing information. Was told a month ago her cabinets were here. Was told yesterday they are still a few weeks out. Please be clear in future communication. She is anxious and has been waiting almost 4 months. She is a candidate to cancel or leave a bad review.

  35. Not happy with different color cabinet boxes. Select cabinets. Wanted full Gloss white cabinets. The enclosure does not fit, concrete wall. Pre-install visit was not done as the customer was out of the country.

  36. Countertop was cut too short because of the lip on formica.

  37. Subject: No call, no show from one of your employees. External Inbox. Customer email expressing frustration that pre-inspection person did not show up for scheduled appointment.

  38. The customer wants plywood steps coated in epoxy. Designer said we can do it. The steps need new plywood installed. Floor guys cannot do it.

  39. Our floors are a liability...they are so slippery I’m so worried that when they are wet they become a major hazard. I wonder if the contractor forgot a sealant or coating that goes on top? We don’t have any accessories for the slat wall? Should they have come with it? The drawers in the cabinet don’t quite line up.

  40. Purchasing ordering the PC handles not the MS handles

  41. She does not want us to install the UltiMate cabinets, Says she was shown full white cabinets and UltiMate is not what she ordered. Box and Doors. She also wanted taller cabinets. Her ceiling is really high and needs a lot more slatwall than was quoted. Ceiling rack fit is TBD. At this point she is frustrated and asking to cancel.

  42. Shelves were not on the paperwork

  43. Cabinets dropped off. Customer was not contacted to schedule the install. Unsure of schedule.

  44. Sale made in October. Not happy that the cabinets are not ready.

  45. Salvador did the slatwall installation. The slatwall is already coming off the wall. They were not anchored to studs. All screws were not installed.

  46. From Carlos: there's Only Room for One 4x8 Ceiling Rack at Costello... so He's Pissed Off & said Not to install any...

  47. This is a post install issue. She may just need service call but a cabinet drawer collapsed and she then took notice of the damaged cabinet that we tried to cover up with a sharpie.

  48. Cabinet shelf fell off

  49. Both of the slat walls were installed upside down by the previous installers.

Looks like a blast, amiright?!

So, what did we do about it?

Got to work, and got GOOD at using:

  • Global Talent

  • Systems

  • Tech & Forms

  • Notion

  • Tight communication

  • Processes

What I write about here was 100% learned out of necessity.

I learned it (and now talk about it) because it HAD to be done.

“Be yourself, and if that doesn’t work - be someone else.”

This company needed a systems guy, so a systems guy I became - forged in the blazing fire of low bank balances, tough to manage employees, and project based revenue.

We don’t own that company anymore, but the skills I learned (just to make payroll) will help me for the rest of my life - and I hope to share them with you.

Jai Guru Deva,

Jon

P.S. - 1clickassistant.com . This might go away soon - but it also might not. So buy it if you want, or don’t.

Passage of the Week:

That is why to attain something desired is to discover how vain it is; and why, though we live all our lives in expectation of better things, we often at the same time long regretfully for what is past.

The present, on the other hand, is regarded as something quite temporary and serving only as the road to our goal.

That is why most men discover when they look back on their life that they have the whole time been living ad interim, and are surprised to see that which they let go by so unregarded and unenjoyed was precisely their life, was precisely that in expectation of which they lived.

Schopenhauer

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