Don Desrosiers

In the world of writing columns for monthly trade publications, one thing is certain. You aren’t going to be the reporter that gets the hottest scoop. You aren’t going to be writing about what happened this morning, or last week. That’s because I’m writing this in December and you’re seeing it in print in April (or even later if you let this hang around on your desk for a while.)

Writing many months in advance is my choice. I write my columns during idle time. If the industry — and my clients — are going to regard me as an “efficiency expert,” I had best be efficient.

Towards that end, I write these columns in airplanes as I travel because I consider that to be effective, efficient use of my time. On the airplane, I take my laptop, a clear head, and the eagerness to share my thoughts (and sometimes I even bring writer’s block along for the ride.) It is important to tell you about all this today because I want to tell you about the Boston Red Sox who, as I write this, are still far from Spring Training. This is as close as a trade publication columnist can be to being a sportswriter.

Everything about loving or hating the Red Sox is rooted in anticipation, expectation, perceived value and customer satisfaction.

In this “mother of all seg-ways <grin>” I will show you how the Red Sox are just like what you want to be.

I hope that you’re reading this wondering how I knew, months in advance, that this would be the year to write about the Red Sox because they are expected to make it to the World Series. Maybe acquisitions and spring training have made this clear to all. I, of course, have no idea as I type this. I hope that I reread this with a sparkle in my eye.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, I am a true Fenway faithful. I have followed the Boston Red Sox since 1967 and have been to Fenway Park about 100 times. It is truly a grand old park, as full of history as anything else I can think of. In some ways it is old and decrepit, but mostly it is rich in charm and antiquity.

The people that work there are always changing, except for a few mainstays. There are those who have become part of the ambience — almost part of the structure, and conversely, there are those who, when viewing the big picture, are around for such a short time that they surely are (metaphorically speaking), the reason for the wear on the turnstile gates — they are in and out as fast as the revolving door can turn.

Whenever I go to the park, I always seem to recognize somebody. It might be the old gentleman behind the ticket booth. It’s a ticket booth that clichés are made of, with the vertical bars across the window. It may be the guy that sells “Peanuts! Pistachios! Cashews! Hot Pretzels!”

Equally obvious though, are those that aren’t familiar at all. Especially on the playing field, there are players who weren’t there last month or last year. Perhaps they weren’t good enough until now. Or maybe, they worked for someone else before; maybe a competitor. It may be that a year ago they worked for (or played for) that other franchise — the one in the Bronx. The employee who used to be the enemy is now our friend.

We hear about how much these players get paid. Just like in any other profession, no one seems to be paid just right. They are either over-paid or under-paid. The over-achievers aren’t paid enough and the under-achievers simply shouldn’t be getting that much money.

Fenway Park is the most expensive ballpark to visit. It costs the typical family of four, making the typical purchases, over $200 to attend a ballgame there, assuming that you pay only face value for the tickets, which isn’t always possible. They almost always sell-out the ballpark, though. Last year, all but a couple of games were at capacity. They often raise prices, but it discourages few. In fact, they always seem to be experiencing record sales and the simple reason is that they deliver what is expected — an extraordinary entertainment experience.

Even if you are not a baseball fan and know little about the Red Sox, I think that I can confidently say that when they win the World Series, you and everybody else will know about it (and perhaps become a Red Sox fan) because it will be an event that will rock the world. Everybody will know when the Red Sox finally make it. You see, the Red Sox have never been the best of the best, at least not during the past 83 years. But they have never stopped trying.

It could have been that because they have remained profitable for decades, they didn’t need to continue to invest in their team. That probably isn’t completely true. After all, a baseball team is a business. It’s about selling tickets and other rights to view the entertainment that they provide. They succeed at these things.

The mother of all seg-ways <grin>.

As owners and operators of drycleaning and laundry plants, we are very much like the Boston Red Sox and, whether the Red Sox win or lose, we want to remain just like them for a multitude of reasons.

Many of us occupy an “old ball field” in that our plants, and the equipment in them, are not everything that we hope for. Like the Red Sox, we always have an eye on a problem and another on its solution, but that solution has, for many years eluded us for monetary, practical or logistical reasons.

We feel that someday we will build a new plant or buy a new drycleaning machine or trade in the shirt unit. In the meantime, we cherish and maintain what we do have because we know that it fuels our businesses, satisfies our customers and allows us to continue to give them what they come to us for.

Most important, we never stop trying. The Red Sox have never been number-one during the thirty-some years that I’ve followed them, but they were almost always contenders. They have never stopped trying. Often, they played second fiddle to that competitor not too far away, maybe just like you do. That team always seemed to be just a little bit more skilled, managed just a hair more effectively and they were always just a little bit better at this and that.

But the faithful love the Red Sox. They try harder and they are always in contention. There is a great deal of satisfaction in visiting the old, but familiar grounds. There is a feeling of satisfaction and comfort there because everything is familiar — from the view to the faces to the expectations.

Sure, we could go elsewhere (or nowhere at all), but that wouldn’t feel right, unless of course they quit trying. We would feel rejected if we didn’t feel important enough to satisfy anymore. Just as your customers will feel rejected and discarded if we make them feel as though they are no longer important. A new shirt unit or a new All-Star pitcher may well be important, but satisfying the customer is the primary goal. Everything else is superfluous.

We have employees who have been around forever, but also we have a bunch who are rookies. We have our share of turnover. We even trade employees with our competitors sometimes. Maybe we outbid the other guy with the hopes that their star will become our star.

We have some veteran workers (or players) who have been around too long, have over-stayed their welcome and are getting paid too much given their productivity.

We have a group that is a bargain and a half. They are at the entry level pay scale and produce beyond our expectations — Rookie of the Year in the making.

No matter how complete our team is, there is always room for improvement. There are always one or two position players that are lacking something. It could be the shirt presser, the shortstop, the spotter or the center fielder — some of the necessary skills are absent. But we continue to try, with the hopes that we will, even if just for a short time, have the perfect combination of skill, talent, ambience and affordability that yield the desired result.

And the desired result is customer satisfaction, not being the best that there is.

After all, if you are constantly trying to be the best and you satisfy your customers as you do this, you never feel that there is no room for improvement. You look for areas that need improvement and you adjust accordingly.

Being certain that all others are below par when compared with you may have fleeting satisfaction, but I think that there are more favorable results, long term, when we always succeed in finding something that needs adjustment or improvement or somebody that needs more practice or re-training.

As I write this, I consider that the Red Sox not only will fail to win the World Series, but also will fail to get there and perhaps they will not even be in the final running.

If I suggest that you want to be like the Red Sox, is there a cruel joke here? No. Being the “best” is subjective. If you truly believe that you are the best at everything, then by definition you prove yourself wrong.

Unlike the baseball season, being the best in the drycleaning and laundry business, or any business, is not a destination, but rather a journey — and one that continues into perpetuity.

This column, this month, isn’t about the Red Sox. It is about customer satisfaction. Find out what it takes to satisfy your customers and then make it happen. If you don’t do this, you will fail in business.

We often react to customer complaints as a way to discover their wants. This is effective, but is akin to being a day late and a dollar short. I often speak of pro-active management. This ain’t it.

Furthermore, a customer complaint very often tells you things that you already knew. If a customer complains of a missing cuff button on his shirt, you learn that he/she doesn’t want shirts returned with missing buttons. No kidding. You knew that long before you were even in the business.

If we are aggressive and trend-setting, we often learn about our customers wants by “raising the bar” of service and/or quality and then measuring, or simply observing, the customer reactions. If you begin home-delivery, for instance, and scores of customers flock to the service, you learn that your customers want this service and you learn it long before they leave you for your competitor who does have it.

As Red Sox fans, it is important for us to win a World Championship and be second to none. It is a coveted goal because we’ve never been there. As “customers” of the Boston Red Sox, we may hate them when they fail and be angry when they lose. But the big picture is what is really important. Do they seek, obtain and retain paying customers? Yes, they do.

We must do the same, and the successful ones among us acquire more than we allow to slip away. The comparison that I’ve made with our industry and the Red Sox is certainly vague. I knew that when I came up with this idea.

With the Red Sox, it’s pass or fail. Win or lose. If they “pass” 100 times and “fail” 62 times, they may well win the World Series. If our percentage of “pass” and “fail” were similar, we would have lasted in this business less than one day.

The Red Sox, as well as the Arizona Diamondbacks (congratulations guys!) and every other baseball team, have this “side bet” with each other about who will be the last man standing. It isn’t about being the best and it certainly isn’t about who pleased the most customers. It is a sub-plot inside the big picture. Each team, on their own, cultivates a relationship with their customers.

Aside from that, there is a contest to see, not who is best at that, but who can be at the right place at the right time. The Red Sox are the best team in baseball because my subjective opinion is evaluating them. You want that subjective opinion about you from your customers as well.

The Red Sox epitomize stability, class and commitment. This is what you want for yourself and your company. I can look at them under a microscope and identify any number of things that they do incorrectly. But why would I do that? They already make me, the customer, very happy. If official recognition as being the “best” is that important, maybe I don’t trust my own viewpoint. I could abandon the Boston Red Sox in lieu of the Yankees, but my satisfaction with the Red Sox makes it clear to me that I would give up far more than I would gain.

The grand old park is the place where I feel comfortable. And the quality and service exceed my expectations. Strive to make your plant the place that your customers want to go. Strive to exceed your customers’ expectation. When you exceed them, you set a new standard — they will come to expect that in the future.

Next goal? Aim higher.



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