Eye Witness to a Grand Slam

Recently, I called Memorial Herman Hospital Northeast in Houston to schedule an x-ray.  I was surprised and doubtful about what they told me.  "You don't need an appointment you can come anytime during business hours."  I inquired about when was the best time to come.  "Anytime we are open is the best time to come."  I thought, sure, right, been there, done that.  

Once I signed in I was given a beeper and told it should be less than 10 minutes before I am called.  And it was.  The lady at registration was pleasant, efficiently took all the necessary information, had a warm smile and knew how to build rapport.  Next, she introduced me to her colleague who was charged with taking me to the waiting area.

My escort introduced herself then gave me an index card with a password posted on it. She wrote her name on the back underneath the name of the lady at registration and asked me if I would please stop at a small computer on a pedestal we passed before I left to give my feedback about my experience.  I am thinking-- are you kidding me?  

After I changed into the gown, my friendly and engaging escort took me to a private waiting cubicle with a recliner and a TV.  She offered me a warm blanket and something to drink.  Then she explained, "I will go see how long David will be."  One sip of my bottled water and she is back.  "He will come for you in less than 15 minutes."

David shows up sooner than expected.  Extends his hand, smiles and says follow me. The simple procedure was over before I knew it.  David walks me back to the waiting area, adds his name to the card and reminds me about my password and to feel free to mention by name anyone I had contact with today. I wanted to break into a run to get to that computer to enter these customer service major leaguers names!

How did Memorial Herman pull this off?  They didn't skip a step in making this an awesome customer service experience.  They have high expectations, must have impressive training and no doubt they have in place a key best practice...they inspect what they expect.  

If what Memorial Herman Northeast has going on here is contagious it could put someone like me out of business.  

Still learning, 

Honey

A Glance at the Teller Window

Like many other people throughout America, I drive to the bank routinely to conduct my personal and business transactions.  As I am greeted by the bank teller I make judgments about how they interact with me, how they do their jobs and sometimes think “what is taking so long?”

I started my career as a teller and I will never forget how initially overwhelmed I was with the expectations for a teller.  A short list included treat everyone fairly, acting friendly to all – no matter how they might act or even smell, remember all the policies and regulations and keep all the money in check so you’ll balance.  Then there were tasks and duties from working up the mail to verifying cash shipments to learning the latest changes to the teller platform system.

Today during the course of a day the teller wears many hats and the bar has been raised even higher.  Many of the actions and decisions a teller makes carry a significant risk with them.  The risk associated with entering data incorrectly, violating confidentiality, issuing cashier’s checks and identifying counterfeit instruments or ID.

The role requires the teller to not only meet and greet customers but emphasis is on recognizing their faces and knowing many of their names.  Customers sometimes are offended when they are not immediately recognized and that is where the teller must jump into recovery mode.  A teller is expected to be quick and efficient working up sometimes numerous and complicated transactions with people who are in a hurry or running late.  Tellers are encouraged to introduce and promote products to the customer in the course of transactions while at the same time remembering a list of passwords, applications, forms and menus to complete work error free.

A teller is personally responsible for handling serious amounts of cash each day.  He or she is given a cash drawer for which they are exclusively accountable for at the end of the day.  During the course of the day, having conducted numerous and many times complicated transactions, the work taken in and what is in that drawer must balance. The teller has to be keenly aware of behaviors of people going through the line, always on the lookout for the one hoping to get a free ride through the bank by scams and other devious actions.  Adding to the stresses just mentioned a teller must also be knowledgeable about strict banking procedures and federal regulations which change on a daily basis. Violation of some of these procedures or regulations could cost the teller their job or the bank to be fined.  Then there is the awful potential someone toting a gun  could be the next customer.

The bottom line is this - at a glance the job of a teller may look simple, but it clearly is not.

The next time you encounter your teller let them know how just much respect you have for what they do! 


Still learning,


Honey

Retiring Women

It would seem reasonable that since the bra burning and Gloria Steinem activism of the 60’s that women’s issues, especially financial, would have improved significantly by the year 2011.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  Women now, instead of earning 67 cents for every dollar earned by men have only risen to 77 cents.  For baby boomer women facing retirement, the news is not good.

The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement reported that more than one in 10 women in retirement live on less than $10,000 a year.  The reasons are obvious.  Traditionally women earn less and live longer than their male counterparts.  Most baby boomer moms chose to stay home and raise their children, thus giving up careers, foregoing 401k’s and surrendered accumulating Social Security.  For some of these women having children meant work wasn’t an affordable option.  After daycare and other work related expense it would be fruitless to work.  The result is many of these women are dependent on their husband’s pension or choose to live with their children to survive.   Some live in deplorable poverty.

For those of us retiree hopefuls who are still in the workforce, we don’t have to sit idly by.  Saving and investing are still options.  It’s a fact that women are more conservative investors and that is a good thing.  Putting away a little every month is an important option – so much better than doing nothing.  And I believe we should pass this savory advice on to our daughters who really don’t want us living with them. 

Having been a witness, a pioneer and an advocate for the quest to right size women’s pay I can say I have seen a remarkable change in the work world.  It’s no longer shocking to meet a woman doctor, commercial airline pilot or lawyer.  It’s no longer a confidence crisis to learn your homebuilder is a woman or that knock on the door to install your phone isn’t a man.  NASCAR has gotten in the race for equality along with broadcast news.  The military academies have opened their doors to women but still there are many unspoken issues in the work world that go unchanged, pay being one.  While a few women continue to knock out the glass ceiling many others struggle to get into the door of opportunity.

Maybe the most important appointment I have ever had with a professional was 15 years ago when I met with a financial planner.  I left depressed and in tears after she gently stated the facts.  “You will need to work a long time or live a short life.  You have not planned and prepared to provide for yourself in retirement.”  After the shock was over, I created a plan and have been honest about living within my means and working at sticking to a budget.   

Maybe one of these days I will choose to become a retiring woman!  Between now and when that happens I will continue to carry the torch for women, encouraging them to raise their expectations, enhance their abilities, take responsibility for themselves, knock loudly on the door of opportunity and expect to get in!

Still learning,

Honey

Reinventing Yourself

Adversity can be a friend or foe depending on how you deal with it. The recent recession has placed wealthy and poor alike without jobs, some loosing their homes. Many Americans are struggling to make a comeback. Finding a job in these challenging times may seem like the impossible dream. Others have taken a difficult situation and turned it into a reinvention moment. This could be a defining moment of reexamination and self inventory perhaps even paving the way to unrealized dreams.

Stories of reinvention have been documented by Jane Pauley, now working with AARP and NBC. She covers stories of baby boomers taking courageous leaps and following their hearts by taking a different fork in the road. In one of her stories she tells of a couple who once ran a marine business on the east coast that is now happily transplanted raising alpacas in Oregon. She wrote another story about a woman who lost her corporate job and is now sharing her passion by teaching knitting on a cruise ship line.

Starting over takes courage, the courage to reset priorities and get real about what really matters. Looking at options outside the box sometimes makes us squirm. Squirming can be a good thing.  Sort of like the caterpillar that squirms his way to becoming a butterfly. Without the struggle the butterfly wouldn’t end up strong enough to fly and survive. Reinvention can feel like working your way through a cocoon.

With careful reflection and planning we can live happier, more peaceful lives. Knowledge of your gifts, talents and beliefs may lead you to a career more suited than the secure job you had but really didn’t like.

If reinvention is something you may be considering, here is what some of the experts have to offer.

• Discovering your passion is the most important part of this process

• As with any successful endeavor, planning is key

• Rewrite your resume reflecting your talents, gifts and accomplishments

• Follow your passion and research the field that seems to be calling you

• Volunteer or get a part time job in the area you find interesting

• Take a class – it may or may not lead to a career but it will get the creative juices flowing, making you feel better about yourself

It’s a possibility that your income will be impacted when you follow your passion. It could go up, it could go down. But making adjustments to doing what you feel called to do is a part of your reinvention plan. The goal is to have a richer life by doing what makes you fulfilled. Those with rich lives aren’t necessarily in high income brackets. Just like those in high income brackets aren’t guaranteed a rich life.

Still learning,

Honey

The Ultimate Reality Show

Remember the days when the TV Guide consisted of variety shows, dramas and sitcoms?  “Those were the Days” sung by Archie and Edith Bunker in the popular sitcom, All In the Family, well-written and funny as it was tended to be more a reality show than a sitcom.  Time, however, marches on and our viewing culture has moved full tilt to reality mode. Survivor, Desperate Housewives, The Bachelor, The Kardashians and Jersey Shore, just to name a few have replaced Mary Tyler Moore and Little House on the Prairie.

The newest and most interesting reality show recently was the “Government Budget (or Shutdown)” show.  It gave Cable News one more chance to hammer their totally biased views as the networks wrestled with limited time slots to tell their side.

The goal of this endeavor was to come up with a budget that would allow the government to pay bills and keep operating. Millions of Americans tuned in to this drama on an hourly basis to check progress as the clock ticked to the midnight April 8 deadline. A potential shutdown was imminent and would have negatively affected many lives, including our Armed Forces.  It couldn’t have been better scripted.  This was the ultimate reality task, requiring elected officials with differing opinions the job of setting aside political agendas to achieve what many of us ordinary citizens have been forced to do…live within our means. 

As we are held accountable for our personal financial choices, so are the lawmakers we have elected to make the best decisions for our country’s budget. Just like us, they had to prioritize and make painful choices. It was time to set aside how this affects upcoming elections and PAC contributions and focus on the job at hand.

Fortunately, no one got booted off the island.  With 90 minutes left on the clock, the outcome of this reality show is that the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, can continue to pay bills.  Hopefully, we will not have a second season.  As gripping as this show was, our wish is that lessons are learned across the board.   I am for a consistent reality of setting aside personal differences to make our homes, communities, government and the world a more united place.    

Still learning,

Honey

An Unlikely Friendship

Former President Bill Clinton honored George H W Bush at a gala in Washington with an emotional tribute to a man who was once his biggest rival.  In the 80’s and 90s few would predict a friendship would evolve. By putting egos aside and working together not for politics, but for the greater good, a collaboration of purpose and a friendship was born.  A message of reconciliation and hope was spoken that night.

Americans were first introduced to the “Thousand Points of Light” challenge by President G H Walker Bush in 1989. It was his hope to inspire citizens to become part of  a solution to many needs across the world through volunteerism. Some embraced this, others on night time shows poked fun at the concept. 

Following a heated presidential campaign and losing to Bill Clinton in 1994, Bush departed the Oval Office with dignity and went on to support causes throughout the world.  Clinton stepped into the White House and it could be said that the two, although not enemies, weren’t considered best friends either. No one really expected they would be.

Who would have predicted that years later the points of light concept would bring Bush and Clinton together? The two Presidents teamed up following Katrina, Haiti and other disaster hotspots in the world, bringing relief and hope to many.

What great a great example of team work this is for all of us.  Checking our egos at the door and working together for something bigger than ourselves, makes our own lives and those who live in our neighborhood call the world a better place.

Still learning,

Honey

So What Would You Do?

Recently, seven New York state workers each pitched in $2 to buy a lottery ticket.  Little did they know at the time the true meaning of the phrase “lucky seven”.  Winning the lottery, they walked away collectively with $319 million – approximately $19 million each after taxes.  These co-workers, plus five others, regularly purchased tickets as a group.  The week the ticket was a winner, five of the regulars opted out.  Now the question being asked is “should the workers share their winnings with those who decided not to play?”

Some say out of respect and loyalty to fellow workers, the winners should share the wealth. Another perspective is that if you don’t buy in, you don’t cash in. The winners say they are still deciding what they will do.  It’s often difficult to reach a consensus with two people, much less (or more, seven).  Perhaps the best collective decision is to individually act on what you think is the right thing to do.

What people do with overnight financial windfalls is an interesting study in human nature.  Most people who have won lotteries have not made wise decisions and are back where they started.  Holding true to personal values seem key in this process. 

Wrestling with matters of the conscience can create sleepless nights.  Contemplating issues that have to do with sharing your millions might be a tough position to be in, few of us have any experience!  It would be easy to say what you would do if you aren’t faced with the choice! We, as armchair quarterbacks, make judgments but the truth is that we really don’t know what we would do.

Still learning,

Honey  

Planning vs. Wishing

Planning and wishing are often easily confused.  Planning indicates that there is a thoughtful process. When one plans, a strategy is laid out, and with some work, a successful outcome will occur.  Wishing, on the other hand, is blind hope that everything will turn out okay by the cross of one’s fingers.  Little thought or effort really goes into wishing.

How good it would be to “wish on a star”, buy a lottery ticket, blow out a candle and reach for the gold ring that is beyond our grasp.  Unfortunately, life rarely rewards those efforts.  To grab the gold ring on the carousel is a fantasy.  Many of us do this.  We buy Powerball tickets, we buy houses we cannot afford and then, the high dollar cars that have to don the driveway of the McMansion.  I think that many people in this American foreclosure mess are a result of wishing instead of planning.

Planning is an important and often painful step in moving forward.  Realizing that we don’t need a lot of the stuff we have can be a cathartic journey.  What we really need and want are two separate issues.  Getting real about what are necessities vs. what are essentials is an eye opening experience.  Real is playing Scrabble, Monopoly or Pictionary with our families instead of everyone individually glued to Smartphones or some other handheld gadgets.  Real is buying what we need and can afford.

               Wishing isn’t all bad. Wishers are dreamers who have inspired us to think outside the box. They make planners look at things from a different perspective.  Those who are wishers have inspiration. Planners also have visions and inspiration. They are methodical and keep an eye on the ball. Combining wishers and planners can be magic. We are all different and recognizing our differences can make us and the world better.

               Still learning,

Honey