Scene ? A small business somewhere in the middle of your town, perhaps in the middle of America. It?s the middle of the week, in the middle of the day. The owner of the business is in the middle of something that appears to be business-like.
A middle-aged customer has taken time out of the middle of her day to visit this business to purchase some items for her home in a rather middle-class neighborhood.
She enters and stands right in the middle of the store, by the middle of the check out counter, waiting to get the attention of the store owner.
Customer: Ahem.
Owner: Yes? Would you like to purchase something?
Customer: Well, I?m not really sure. I had a few questions about a few items.
Owner: Oh, I?m sorry, I can?t help you right now. You see I?m quite busy. If you want to purchase something, I can certainly help you, but questions are a very different matter.
Customer: Um?I can?t purchase anything until I get the answers to my questions. Now, this item here?does it require batteries, or is it solar powered?
Owner: I can?t help you with that right now. If you have a question, you?ll have to come back at 3 p.m., and then I?ll be more than happy to help you. Otherwise, you can purchase the item you want, and if it isn?t what you want, you can always return it.
Customer: Well that would be a waste of your time and mine. I just need a simple answer to a simple question? Batteries or solar powered?
Owner: Look, it?s 1 o?clock. I?m already wasting a lot of time on this conversation when I have other things planned. If you can just come back in two hours I?d be more than happy to answer your question. I only answer questions between 3 and 4 p.m. each day.
Customer: You?what?
Owner: It?s a time management thing. I find it more effective for me if I allocate all customer service to one hour each day. Otherwise I have customers breathing down my neck all the time and I can never get anything done! Like right now, I?m doing inventory, and you?re making me lose count.
Customer: Only one hour a day?? Wow, I think I?ll?
Phone rings
And rings. And rings.
Customer: Uh?aren?t you going to answer that?
Owner: Answer what?
Customer: Your phone. It?s been ringing for some time.
Owner: Oh, that! Ha. I didn?t even hear it. No, I only answer the phone between 10 and 11 a.m. each day. Saves time and headaches.
Customer: Oh. I see?and what if it?s something important? What if a potential customer has a question?
Owner: Well, they can always leave a message and I?ll get to it tomorrow.
Customer: But it never went to an answering machine.
Owner: Oh, well, I don?t have an answering machine. I pay someone to answer my phone for me. Kind of like an answering service.
Customer: But, I don?t think they picked up. It just rang and rang. Where are they?
Owner: Well, they only answer at certain times, when they can. I pay them good money for that. I guess they aren?t available right now. But they do a good job. They can answer any questions for me. I think they?re located out in the middle of nowhere, or somewhere. I always forget. But they?re good!
Customer: Well, I called yesterday, and asked them if you had some things in stock, and they told me you did. Only?I don?t see those items here. And I?ve looked everywhere.
Owner: Oh, well they were probably telling you what you wanted to here. They?re good at that! Saves me a lot of time, though. I don?t know what I?d do if I had to respond to every little phone call all throughout the day. But, if you don?t see it, I probably don?t have it.
Customer: But what if they don?t know the answer to a question a customer has? They just make something up?
Owner: They make do. Sometimes they have to contact me for the answer, but only between 10 and 11 a.m. Otherwise I won?t even take their call. It would mess up my schedule and be a waste of my time. Time is money, you know!
Customer: Yes, I know, and I seem to be wasting a lot of my own time here?
Owner: Well, if you come back at 3 I?ll make sure I take care of anything you need. I?m actually quite a people person and I love interacting with my customers. But at 3; not now. I?m already way behind on this inventory. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to tell all your friends about us!
Customer: Oh, you can be sure I will be telling everyone I know?
Customer leaves the store, never to darken that doorway again. Owner goes back to doing whatever he was in the middle of doing, and not surprisingly, has since had more than enough time to take care of things like inventory and balancing the books, which, also not surprisingly, have become increasingly less time consuming.
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