Sing along with me, now: "My bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." Yup, I am going on a much deserved vacation: a week-long cruise (by the time you read this, it will have been turned into a happy thought in the back of my mind). It's been a year and a half since we had a real vacation β and we deserve one, dang it!
You may or may not be familiar with the cruise concept. Everything for one price, with dozens of exemptions (cabin upgrades, adult beverages, land excursions, special dining, and tipping, it seems, every last member of the crew), including internet, available only at a not-insignificant cost.
I'm sure all distributors take a vacation now and then (I wonder what the average time between non-work-related vacations is: every 10 years?) and many probably prefer to be within cellphone/laptop reach of every one of their customers β or at least the office.
But there are those, I bet, who dare to travel overseas or perhaps island-hop by way of a big boat (Oops, first mistake: ship. I am cruising on a ship.) Where contact with your office and customers is iffy and emergency calls to the ship for you have to literally be about life and death (that's why I am having my doggy day care to post photos of my dog every single day.)
But, I am prepared. I spent the last two weeks working non-stop, with an 8 p.m. dinner break, to ensure anything that can go wrong with a customer or an order will not. (Haha!) I even drew a five-week calendar that included two weeks prior to vacation and the two weeks following, writing down every last bit of information that needed to be done, ordered, checked on, followed-up, and confirmed. And a foot-high pile of paperwork/orders for our assistant to take care of while I'm away. Hopefully!
It's an interesting exercise to formulate a plan that includes all of the proverbial "what ifs?" (Okay, I didnβt include possible strikes by delivery service workers, Halloween factory shut downs, earthquakes or other natural disasters.) I know the customers with whom I am working two weeks out, moving them along to decision making, order placing, and proof approval. They are the easy ones.
Then there are the few who, from past experience, need hand holding through the entire process: which product to select, which color to choose, how many to order, how large the logo should be (second-guessing my suggestion), how they should be packaged at the vendor, and which location(s) they should be delivered by which date (very important!). Time consuming, but that's why all the hours put in prior to leaving on my jet plane (to the port of embarkment). Fortunately, I can work by cellphone and laptop up until we ship out, which means I can spend the first entire travel day of my vacation in touch.
What I have found really tricky, however, are those few customers who constantly change their mind through the process, leading to phone calls back and forth to the customer and the vendor (who is weary of hearing from me), with new proofs, late or no approvals, and orders that will be entered (after calling the customer for proof approval) by the previously mentioned assistant. Once out to sea, one or more of the costly internet email/phone call interactions will be to connect with her to check off what she has accomplished on her to-do list.
On my one-by-two-foot five-week calendar, I have written the drop dead delivery dates (usually a couple days before the customer really needs them), and of course, if the assistant is doing her job using the wonderful tools we have access to, she will know tracking numbers to pass along to customers, should the need arise, when someone has signed for the delivery and the person who needs it has no idea where the signee has stashed it.
This has become particularly important for the customer who has brought calamity to my work life recently: calling up with orders that needed to be in-hand the next week, logos that don't fit on the item he wants, colors that are not available, and items that normally take 14-days to process (no 24-hour rush on what he chooses!) β let alone deliver β for an event he probably knew about several months ago.
Several of those orders are among those the assistant has to keep a very close watch on while I am away. Ah, the angst it has caused me!
So my bag is indeed packed (because we have to leave so darn early in the morning for the airport with a stop to drop off the dog for her vacation!), I can't stuff anything more in the rolling suitcase (wish I thought of a suitcase that rolls on four wheels), and I'll take a final look at my email tonight β after the football game. And yes, I packed my lucky rabbit's foot.
Annette Kurman, an award-winning writer, holds bachelor degrees in journalism and nursing, an MBA, and Accreditation in Public Relations. She has been a newspaper reporter, director of public relations at several non-profits, a senior living administrator, and is a registered nurse. She recently joined Allstates Business Solutions and is learning - and living - the life of a distributor. She can be reached at akurman@allstatesbs.com.