I bet if I asked any of the recent Counter Professionals of the Year what’s the best part about being awarded the honor, they wouldn’t say it’s the free hotels. Yes, CPOTY recipients and their spouses get to stay in some of the nicest hotels in Las Vegas. They probably wouldn’t say it’s the spending money. Or the free meals.
But what I’ve seen first-hand in Las Vegas has something to do with recognition and respect. Out in Las Vegas, CPOTY recipients get to step away from the counter, put down the phone, get out of the warehouse and in front of people for recognition of what they do, every day. All those hours memorizing part numbers through osmosis, all those catalog lookups, all those countless calls to find a part for a customer — it all gets recognized.
I’ve seen numerous people approach the Counter Professional of the Year and shake their hand or take a photo with them. And each time it happens, I know recipients are thinking the same thing: What I do matters. What I do has value.
This will be the 28th year Counterman magazine has named its Counter Professional of the Year, sponsored by Affinia Group Inc., Raybestos Chassis and WIX Filters.
Nominations are being accepted until July 1, 2013.
Nominate yourself or someone else. Or, several people who you feel are deserving of the honor.
For more information go to www.counterman.com/CPOTY.aspx to fill out a nomination.
If You’re On Social Media, Be On Social Media
If it seems like everybody is talking about Twitter and Facebook, it’s because everybody’s talking about Twitter and Facebook. I’ve struggled and can’t come up with a good reason your business shouldn’t be on social media.
There are a lot of warehouses, chains and jobber stores on social media. And they’re all sending out updates on a range of topics, including sales, rebates, promotions of staff, etc. I have but one word of advice: If you’re on social media, then be on social media.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen on Twitter complain about a particular service or product with absolutely no response from the company being named.
A study done by Maritz Research a little over a year ago found that a stunning two-thirds of tweets were ignored by companies. Nearly half of the 1,298 people who took part in the research said they expected a response from a company. For the roughly 428 who received a response from the company, 83 percent of those people said they liked or loved hearing from the company, according to Maritz Research. Of those who didn’t get a follow-up message, 86 percent said they would have liked or loved one.
Interestingly enough, as the age of the person using Twitter went up, so did their expectations a company would respond.
For some people, Twitter is the new 1-800 complaint line.
