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| Clues Are Everywhere |
This film production crew was in town setting up a schedule to shoot a series of Audi and Porsche commercials. (I am not hear to bash these companies, my wife owns an Audi A6.) These film production companies like the appearance of the old country roads with their narrow 'switch-backs' and 'turns' that roll back and forth through the wheat fields in the area. The film production crew sent their representative into the community ahead of schedule to make the necessary arrangements to come in and 'use' the facilities they needed to make this set of commercials. Their representative came into our business and was interested in using a large portion of our 'open space' to park their equipment, crews and automobiles for temporary staging. Our location was one of the largest spaces available in the area for them to use. She came into our retail store to discuss the possibilities.
My boss heard about their searching efforts and asked me to work with them and try to see if we could charge them $500 for the rental of our commercial properties. The lady they sent to do the negotiations was very good at what she does. She said all of the right things in all of the right ways. She was not a rookie at securing properties to perform their work.
Before we move on with this story, I must confess some things. First of all, when I lived in Sacramento, California the company I worked for did a lot of 'staging' work for some commercial media production companies. I have worked a lot with their production teams and their management staff. I am fully aware of how much they budget for properties and ancillary costs for each production project they contract to perform. I have also seen how they produce line item billing sheets for properties they never paid for but charged off as a cost to the customers they produce commercials for by contract. Property rental costs are a common line item charge. It is included on all of the line item bills those companies forwarded to their clients. I have worked with them enough to be able to see the billing process. Property rental costs are a common line item charge sent to the customer. Every bill I witnessed had included a charge for property rental costs. It is common in the production industry. The customer accepts this portion in their commercial production expenses. This is the first confession I must share before we move on with this story.
The second confession I must share is that I have worked enough with media production companies to know that they are not performing 'charity' work. They are a 'for-profit' organization and do very well at it. I enjoyed working with them because they did very well, financially. They are able to produce their work with some very strong charges to pass on to their clients. Their work does not come cheaply. If you work for one of these companies you are likely a member of a strong teamster organization and 'prevailing wages' are a very common standard in the industry. The lady who came to make the commercial arrangements had her teamster local number printed on her business card. This is a common process. They are a profitable industry. They are not a 'non-profit' affair.
The third confession I must share is that the industry is littered with dishonesty. The representatives they send out into these small communities are not honest in what they promise to deliver. They are good at what they do because they accomplish their work in a quick and effective fashion. They lead the scheduling and facility uses with precision. They are great organizers. They are not great promise keepers. They are great salespeople and facilitators, not necessarily honest in what they promised to deliver to the people they meet and need to 'use' in their work process. I have worked with many crews in the past who have this nature deeply embedded into their habit systems. Monkeys eat bananas, giraffes have long necks to eat tall trees. The media commercial business has its habit patterns deeply rooted.
Now that I have come clean with my previous experiences with these type of production companies and their customary habits, I can finish the story. This is a post about keeping your word. It is also a post on how we forget to respect someones word because it has become so rare. Nobody notices when we violate our word anymore because it has become so prevalent that it looks normal. Someone bumps into us on the street and invites us to a neighborhood barbecue and we agree to come. We do not show up nor do we call to let them know we changed our mind. It means absolutely nothing to anyone. We expect it. Keeping our word is no longer an important element in life to perform. Nobody cares anyway.
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| Work Your Integrity By Expecting It |
This lady introduced herself to me and handed me her card. Her name was Beth. I gave her my name. too. She described how much equipment she needed to park and what the equipment would need to be used for on the parking lot they were planning to use. Some truck and trailer space was needed, each 60 feet long. Some space was needed for the five 'box' vans that would carry the production and film equipment. Some vans would be parked that carry the production staff and crews. Some space was needed to provide the catering crew that will be here to feed the staff and crew. Beth and I discussed several options that would work on open portions of our lot. Once we were done sharing ideas and options she said she needed to go work on a lot of other arrangements in town and would come back soon to wrap up her final decisions. We split with a very friendly series of general talk. She was a very good salesperson. I know, I have been one all of my life.
Film production companies have a wonderful marketing advantage when they come into smaller communities. They intrigue the locals greatly. They do not come around but maybe once in a decade. They bring really cool equipment the locals have never seen before. The sight of seeing huge cameras that are mounted on log booms, resting on top of a fancy high class vehicle are not an everyday occurrence to the locals trying to make ends meet with their meager lifestyles. Hollywood expressions are very exciting to see for the very first time. The locals become 'star-struck' and will gather around to see what is 'happening.' The media production crews know this process and work it to their financial advantage, very carefully, however. They are seasoned veterans at working the crowd. Remember, I used to do a lot of business with some of these production companies. I have seen them from the inside out. Beth does not know that fact. Media production companies have learned how to fully exploit their marketing advantage they receive from the 'star-struck' public. It is routine work.
Beth returned later. She came into our store and said she was ready to make some final arrangements. This time, she brought along one of the key figures of the local community. She met one of our regular 'shakers and movers' of this local community and has convinced him into parading her around town so she can efficiently do her work. He was obviously 'star-struck' well and began describing how good their short-term presence would be in this small community. I told you she was good. He used descriptions like, they will pay for catering, they will buy boots and food at the restaurant as well as use 'our' gas. She mentioned some of the name brand products we carry and said a couple of her film crew members cannot resist buying some of this stuff in every town they work. I now remember how she walked over to the boot area in our store on her first visit when she was waiting to meet us originally. She is very good at this stuff. She is a seasoned veteran.
The good ones 'play' their market very well. They are not going to spend the money they promise they will spend. However, they will bill their client as if they spent those funds. They want to 'use' the facilities for free. They will 'play' the role as if they are a charity project and the card they will hang closely to is the 'star-struck' card. Remember, Beth does not know I have been on the inside looking out. I figure two can play this game. The match is on.
Beth, myself and her local supporter head out to the parking lots we own to see what we can arrange. When we get out into the parking lot, strangely, she becomes very naive. She describes how she is always put up to this task by her husband who runs the production company and she knows nothing about how much a 60 foot truck and trailer needs for parking area. She continues to share how much she does not know about where to park the equipment trucks, the crews and the vans. She does not know where to arrange for the catering, as well. All of the sudden I sense she is a beginner at this stuff. Her local supporter steps up to the plate and begins to define where each piece of equipment can park logically and suggests that we move some of our equipment and outdoor storage items to help accommodate for better use that will serve the production crew more effectively. I play along with the two of them and agree. I call he by her name, Beth, several times. I notice she does not know my name. However, she uses her local supporters name a lot during the discussions about the final arrangements. I accommodate completely with their final requests, friendly and very willing. As we were wrapping up, I asked Beth, "How much do you have budgeted for the use of these local properties? I want to be fair with you guys." Her eyes almost popped out. My local supporter stepped back a little bit.
She immediately shifted gears. She became very smart all of the sudden. In fact, she actually stepped forward a tiny bit to slightly move in front of her local supporter. She apparently did not want him to interfere with her work. She now recognizes that she left a small door open. She is going back to work. She mentions her husband again and what he expects her to do with these arrangements. After she finished her stories, I ask her again, "What did you budget for the rental on this lot?" You could hear a pin drop. After a brief moment of silence, she said, "$750." I said, "Is that what you are going to bill the auto companies for your production services?" My local supporter looked surprised. It was obvious that it just became apparent to him that her production company was planning to make money on using our properties. She said, "We budgeted to bill them $750 for the use of all local properties on this project." I replied, "I will help you out. My boss wants $500 to cover our costs but I will do it for $400 so you have some money left for other properties in the region you may need to use. How's that work for you?" She said, "Fine." She said, "It's a deal." "What was your name, again?", she asked. I said, "Terry." She reached out to shake my hand and said, "We have a deal, Terry. We will come by on Friday to rope off the area we agreed you will clear out and the crews will begin to arrive mid-afternoon on Friday. You are welcomed to come to the catering event late that night after production is completed. Thank you very much." All three of us parted our ways and my local supporter looked completely stunned at what just took place.
Later that same day that local supporter came into the store to ask me some questions. He wanted to know how I knew they charged their clients for the use of our properties. All I said was this, "Don't get so 'star-struck.' They are not a non-profit organization. They will promise to spend all of their 'donated' money with the local businesses and do none of that when they arrive. They will try to pocket the most they can and move on to the next gig, period." He said, "Wow. You have a skeptical view!" I replied, "Not really. My view is seasoned with a lot of bloody-nose experiences. I have had the opportunity to be on the inside of those kind of deals, looking out. I have been burned before. They are just another business model looking for a 'freebee' they can use to their advantage."
Before he left, after some small discussion, I asked him to make sure he hangs out with the crew on the lot when they complete their filming project on Friday. I told him I had something to prove to him. He said, "I'll be there." He walked out saying, "I am sure it will be interesting."
Later that day Beth re-appeared alone. She came to inform me that they would not be using our properties after all. She found a neighboring one that the owner was willing to remove all of his equipment to another location, including a combine, hay-swather and some old vehicles, and it would then be large enough to house all of their equipment and crew for the filming event on Friday. She said he was amazing to do all of this for nothing! She completely forgot that we hand shook on a deal she designed to honor. Nobody noticed, not even herself. That is how our world operates. Our word is no longer our bond. What's worse, not only does nobody notice it anymore...nobody cares. I did not bring it up or mention it to anyone else. I quietly let it slide. She did what she was sent to do. We no longer had a deal and her hand shake and offer was fake. She has done it for so many times she no longer sees it as something wrong to do. What she does not know, I have used production company services like hers in my recent business marketing past, she will not be one I will call if that need were to arise. She lost a perfectly good potential customer, and does not even know it. She will likely blame the economy, a subject we have been beating to death in previous posts! If you own a business model, you better get this one down real well.
Friday afternoon came. The film production crew finished about 4 P.M. and began filling the vacant lot next door with all of their equipment. A lot of locals were standing by watching the scene. I went over to the area and spotted Beth directing traffic with all of the crew and staff. She was obviously the head person in charge of this project. I could see her still in action. I found my local supporter standing in the foreground taking all of this action in. I walked up to him and said, "Come with me. I promised to give you a good show." He smiled and followed. We walked up to Beth and I said, "Hello, Beth." She replied with a big smile and was extremely cordial. I said, "I would like to meet your husband, the one who ones this production company." I said it loud enough to make sure all of her nearby co-workers could hear what I said. Several heads turned immediately with some very distinct 'deer-in-the-headlights' expressions on them. You could hear a pin drop. I quietly turned to look at my local supporter with my stoic expression. As I turned and walked away, I said, "I rest my case." I left them all standing there to spend the next few moments explaining what just took place. The truth remained, there was no husband at all. It was one of Beth's techniques to selling. Busted.
Nobody noticed, until then. So who cares anyway? I do. She wasted my valuable time without consciousness or respect. She wasted my time knowing full well I had no benefit from offering free property to her. If you are practicing similar techniques in your own business model, cease them. You will not ever win the parasite game. Quit it immediately. It is bad for your business and you may not even know it. Just believe it and quit it. Get on with adding more integrity to your business model. When I returned back to our store, several of our employees asked what just happened. I told them. I also said, "If I ever treat you guys as disrespectful as she did us, you do the same thing to me that I just did to her. None of you hard working people need to be treated that way. You are not 'dumb locals' living behind the times." I walked away quietly to go get some more work done.
Learn how to keep your word and learn how to expect someone else to keep their word. I am sure Beth will be a bit more careful when she lies to the next set of providers she plans to use for her profit practices. Just because it has become so prevalent in practice does not mean we should continue to accept it. Clean up the litter before integrity is all gone.
Your business is waiting for you to step up to the plate and fill the voids of integrity. Get it done and your volume will follow.
The next day my local supporter came in and asked, "How did you know her husband did not own that production company?" I did not tell him that the owners name of the production company was also on her business card she gave me. His name and address was in another city different from hers. Sometimes all we need to do is read a little bit when someone hands us a business card. I am sure she remembers my name now, and I do not even own a business card.
Until next time...
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