And we wonder why we have no credibility?

It's not just me! I have recently spoken with many other SERIOUS business women who are becoming more and more dis-illusioned with how women conduct themselves in the business arena. I have been quite disgusted with Belinda Stronach and her actions over the last several years - displaying no loyalty and in fact behaving in ways we criticize men for! Where is the integrity? Recently, I ran a women's business meeting where I openly promoted a female politician - and in fact congratulated her for stepping up to the plate to run for a leadership position. At the end of the meeting I asked other women to support her by purchasing a membership through her. The next morning I awoke to news reports indicating she had pulled from the race. Now I can assure you she did not decide this in 8 shourt hours. In fact it was reported everywhere that she had made the decision a week before. She sat through the entire meeting - letting me promote her - not once letting me know quietly that she was not going continue in the leadership race - knowing full well that people would be buying memberships to support her efforts. Now that lacks integrity. I would have expected her to tell me privately before the meeting and ask that I keep the information to myself. Instead I encouraged people to support her. Further to that I recently offered a premium service to a woman in the financial services industry. She wanted to sign a contract for advertising - and I asked her to wait a few days and ensure that it was what she really wanted. She called back several times indicating she wanted her 'spot' reserved and faxed a signed contract to me as well as a promise to courier a cheque to me. To save her the cost of the courier - I knew I would be seeing her in several days - I offered to get the cheque when I saw her. In the meantime I advised all other competitors the spot she took was taken. Well you guessed it. She sent a brief email a week later saying the advertising would not be permitted by head office. So, yes, I checked. They had approved the advertising. After confronting her with this she admitted she had changed her mind. Well ladies - after you sign a contract - changing your mind is not an option. These behaviours are becoming more and more prevalent within the business world - but I certainly did not expect to see women - who claim they bring their morals to work with them - display this type of behaviour. Add to these actions - women saying they will do something - and not doing it. Or not finishing what they start. Or arriving late with no regard for others. Or expecting priviledges because they are a woman. No wonder we have no credibility! Here is how the best get better - and keep their integrtiy: 1) Be on time 2) Do what you say you will do 3) Finish what you start 4) Tell the truth 5) Say please and thank you. If we did these few things - imagine it - people might believe us when we say something. Hey and maybe we would even gain a few more friends and customers who respect us.

Separating the 'Women' from the 'Girls'

If there is one thing I have noticed about women in business is that they can be very petty. In fact it is often what separates the women from the girls - and the ones who treat their businesses professionally vs the ones who feel that gossip and involving others in disputes is necessary. Unfortunately some of the petty behaviours that some women display when angry about a situation in business are what harms how men view us in the business world. It makes all of us look bad. As a leader of a large organization of business women, over the years I have been privy to disputes that I should never have been made aware of. Petty disagreements, cries of unfair business practices and statements meant to discredit other business people and their practices have been brought to my attention over and over. In every one of these situations, poor communication has been the catalyst to many disagreements and the poor behaviour that follows. Starting and running one’s own business is stressful and requires a level head. I have often spoken of the value of having passion about what it is that you do – and injecting passion into your business, however passion of the negative sort does not belong in a business communications and the work environment. In fact if anything, passion and emotion often clouds ones decision making ability. This is the difference between how professional people handle disputes and unprofessional people fuel the fires of vindictive behaviours, name calling and slanderous and malicious comments. I am amazed at how some small minded business owners will seek to discredit the actions of others instead of thinking about their own paths - where they are headed -chasing their own dreams and doing positive things to get to where they want to go in their businesses. As a former Police Officer I watch with disbelief and they point fingers at others actions - judging them and blaming others for their own lack of success. And unfortunately it is more prevalent among women - How embarrassing! Recently I heard of a disgruntled business owner who allowed their anger about a situation to take control of their emotions. Instead of dealing directly with the problem and the perceived people involved – this business owner began visiting other businesses and involving them in the dispute – asking them to take sides. It became very uncomfortable for everyone. In the end the disgruntled business owner had spoken to no less than five people about the issue and still had not yet approached the person that they had the problem with. Unfortunately this has caused hard feelings amongst several people. The actions in fact appeared to be rather childish. In their vindictive comments they may not realize that spreading their opinion about the actions of others can be deemed to be 'defaming' in nature and the laws that surround these actions are pretty clear. Whether or not the person making the comments intends to or not- should they name a person or business in any comments that result in loss of business for the named business- they can seek remedy for this loss of business. But even more troubling - it is unprofessional. Grow up ladies. If you have a problem with another business - speak with the business owner - not everyone else. If you feel you have been wronged in any way there are government and non-governmental agencies that are set up to mediate such disputes. Spreading how you feel and engaging others in your smear campaign will only hurt yourself and how others view you.

No Service - Full Service

Just when I thought customer service mattered at one of the places I shop I realized I had been duped! After all if a company has a good customer service policy you would think that at least at that location that all areas would practice the same stratgegy. I have touted the benefits of 'being somebody' at my local grocery store. Part of an established chain, this store has concentrated on customer service - and I have sang their praises as a result. I go in for bread- the baker knows the yeast free bread I am looking for- calls me by name and slices it without being asked. She mentions new products in the bakery and asks if I know anyone looking for part time work. I feel at home. At the checkout, I am reminded every time I leave that I can save 7 cents a litre on my gas if I use their gas bar. I have never until yesterday checked out the gas bar - but I was in a bit of a rush asnd needed gas - so I stopped at the full service bay of the gas bar. And waited. Looked. Waited some more. Got out and wandered around and saw one employee identified by a shirt with the store logo - smoking a cigarette nearby chatting with a young woman. They continued to chat and it appeared that they were enjoying their conversation. I got back in my vehicle and went to the we serve pumps where I had to go in and pre-pay for my gas. When I went in I asked if the 'we serve' was closed. The man behind the counter mumbled "No". When I explained that I had been waitng for gas he said he knew. So I further enquired why no one had served me he replied, "The attendant is on break" and nodded at the employee I had seen earlier. Frustrated I asked if the 'we serve' pumps were closed then. He repleid that no, they were open, but no one was on duty. When I suggested that perhaps he place a sign on the pumps saying closed temporarily, he replied - "we don't have a sign" As I left after paying for my gas, I noticed 3 vehicles parked in the 'we serve' area waiting for gas and the employee some 20 feet away still chatting and laughing with his friend - in full view of the patrons. All three finally left without purchasing gas. Hmm- I wonder hoew that affects the store's bottom line? It certainly left me wondering if I would ever return to buy gas there again.

What happened to "Have a nice day"?

I just came home from the famous big W store. You know the giant - rah-rah- we are the greatest privately owned super department store with happy faces posted on all of our price tags store. And when you leave- the greeter makes sure to tell you - "have a nice day". As I went to pay for my purchases, and was standing at the check out with several items that added up to just under one humdred dollars, there were two clerks standing there talking amongst themselves. Neither said hello as they scanned my goods - but continued talking about their life, their day at the store and what they were doing after work. Then one says to the other - "You are such a 'sl_t" and then starts to laugh. The other repeats the insult back to the first. This went on several times - in front of a customer! My question is- when did the customer spending hard earned money become the spectator to the crude comedy performance - and lose their status as the 'raison d'etre' for the company? Don't companies exist because there are customers? What happened to manners and acceptable speech? Since when did insults such as this become so common place that there is no longer a shock value to them? Do we stand by and watch, or do we demand a refund? Do we call the manager out and have the two repeat their perfomance? As long as we accept this kind of behaviour, we will continualy be subjected to poor manners, poor service, and leave the premises with a lot less than a "nice day". Conclusion? Yes I called out the manager and repeated the conversation. She was shocked at the behaviour - or at least appeared to be. For her the customer was right.

Tired of mousy attempts at business

Maybe it's just me, but I am tired of these half hearted, half assed attempts at running businesses. They say that women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, but my question is - if this is true - where are they? As a business owner, striving for excellence in what I do, I run into women daily who also have their own businesses. The problem is with many of them is that they do not take these businesses seriously. They claim that they want success, but their actions defy their words. "I can't make it - I have to take Billy to a birthday party". "Oh geeze, that is the night that the kids have soccer - I am going to have to pass on that meeting" I have never heard these comments come from a man who owns his own business. Women pride themselves on the ability to multitask, but I often wonder if this in the end will be cause for their demise in the entrepreneurial world. Trying to do it all, and be everything to everyone results in lack of focus. My father was a good - maybe not great - but good business man. I recall he was absent on business trips, and sometimes worked late. I accepted that for us to have food on the table, he sometimes could not be by my side at soccer games, recitals and other events. He sometimes was absent at the dinner table. But I knew he cared about me. Coming from a farming background, I also understood that there were times that work was more important than play. 'Make hay while the sun shines' was a common phrase in out family. Could it be that we are really playing at business and still relying on our spouses financial support? Would we be more committed if we had to balance the books and show a healthy profit every year? Would we miss that little league game a couple of times if our family's financial future depended on us attending a meeting or event? Perhaps it is time for women in business to recognize that to achieve success with their businesses it is going to require committment. That might mean that they need to have less guilt and more organization when it comes to missing family or community events. Missing a learning or networking opportunity for a soccer game or birthday party reveals the level of committment to success of the business. Try explaining that to your banker next time you need a business loan. For more articles like this please visit http://www.roaringwomen.com Mandie Crawford