Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepre

Dana Pigford, founder of Professionalism Matters, Inc., a professional development training and consulting service in Lithonia, GA, defines professionalism as “being responsible and accountable and treating people the way you would like to be treated.”

Though technological advancements and innovations have increased business efficiencies, Pigford says they create much more distance between people. Years ago, co-workers would talk to their neighbor in the next cubicle.

“Now we tend to go to Google or do a search,” she said. “Things like emailing and text messaging creates distance so you don’t tend to foster a lot of personal relationships.”

Where business owners are coming up short has to do with the lack of fundamentals. What ends up happening is professionalism can be either a competitive advantage or a point of differentiation.

“People like to do business with those that are responsible, fair and do what they say they’re going to do,” said Pigford.

Having to prove yourself

Certain industries that have been commodified such as the power and phone utilities have experienced problems coming out of deregulation because their company culture enjoyed a long-time monopoly and did not place a premium on professionalism. Now consumers want to switch to a carrier that’s more personalized.

Small businesses, Pigford asserted, have a much higher hurdle to leap because they have to assuage those fears and create the perception that professionalism is no longer a barrier.

“You kind of have to prove yourself through your image, your documents, your deliverables and your branding,” she said.

A former management consultant for IBM, Pigford now conducts workshops and training sessions to help companies address their deficiencies in professionalism. One area that consistently comes up lacking is email and voicemail etiquette.

“We’re finding more and more groups are being overloaded by this saying they’re not getting anything accomplished,” she said. “We need standardization in our emails and PowerPoint presentations. It’s like an octopus with eight different arms—everyone is doing it their own way.”

Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepren

“Now we tend to go to Google or do a search,” she said. “Things like emailing and text messaging creates distance so you don’t tend to foster a lot of personal relationships.”

Where business owners are coming up short has to do with the lack of fundamentals. What ends up happening is professionalism can be either a competitive advantage or a point of differentiation.

“People like to do business with those that are responsible, fair and do what they say they’re going to do,” said Pigford.

Having to prove yourself

Certain industries that have been commodified such as the power and phone utilities have experienced problems coming out of deregulation because their company culture enjoyed a long-time monopoly and did not place a premium on professionalism. Now consumers want to switch to a carrier that’s more personalized.

Small businesses, Pigford asserted, have a much higher hurdle to leap because they have to assuage those fears and create the perception that professionalism is no longer a barrier.

“You kind of have to prove yourself through your image, your documents, your deliverables and your branding,” she said.

A former management consultant for IBM, Pigford now conducts workshops and training sessions to help companies address their deficiencies in professionalism. One area that consistently comes up lacking is email and voicemail etiquette.

“We’re finding more and more groups are being overloaded by this saying they’re not getting anything accomplished,” she said. “We need standardization in our emails and PowerPoint presentations. It’s like an octopus with eight different arms—everyone is doing it their own way.”

Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepre

Having to prove yourself

Certain industries that have been commodified such as the power and phone utilities have experienced problems coming out of deregulation because their company culture enjoyed a long-time monopoly and did not place a premium on professionalism. Now consumers want to switch to a carrier that’s more personalized.

Small businesses, Pigford asserted, have a much higher hurdle to leap because they have to assuage those fears and create the perception that professionalism is no longer a barrier.

“You kind of have to prove yourself through your image, your documents, your deliverables and your branding,” she said.

A former management consultant for IBM, Pigford now conducts workshops and training sessions to help companies address their deficiencies in professionalism. One area that consistently comes up lacking is email and voicemail etiquette.

“We’re finding more and more groups are being overloaded by this saying they’re not getting anything accomplished,” she said. “We need standardization in our emails and PowerPoint presentations. It’s like an octopus with eight different arms—everyone is doing it their own way.”

Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepre

“You kind of have to prove yourself through your image, your documents, your deliverables and your branding,” she said.

A former management consultant for IBM, Pigford now conducts workshops and training sessions to help companies address their deficiencies in professionalism. One area that consistently comes up lacking is email and voicemail etiquette.

“We’re finding more and more groups are being overloaded by this saying they’re not getting anything accomplished,” she said. “We need standardization in our emails and PowerPoint presentations. It’s like an octopus with eight different arms—everyone is doing it their own way.”

Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepre

Survival of the fittest

Customer service and customer satisfaction are closely associated with the decline in professionalism, according to Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE).

“To some degree we have created our own monsters and allowed greed to take over,” said Fairbrother. “We have put incentives for greed to take the lead.”

When entrepreneurs emerge from the corporate arena and get in their own business it often becomes a survival of the fittest.

“They say ‘I may not be climbing the corporate ladder but I am the gazelle and I can run faster than the lion in order for me to survive,’ ” he said. As a result, “they are likely to do things that are not totally appropriate.”

To counter this attitude Fairbrother noted that more MBA programs are incorporating ethics courses into their curriculum. He says that until the entire business community decides to take a stand against this mindset, along with the chambers of commerce, Kiwanis Club and other business groups “it will continue to go this way.”

Running after the dollar

Sometimes customers don’t realize the extent that professionalism has declined until they receive some outstanding service that stands out because it’s so rare.

“That just tells you that the majority of people aren’t doing that,” said Roger Bierman, a franchise relations manager for Fiducial for Alaska, the Northeast, Northcentral and Northwest regions.

Years ago, it was common for small business owners to take the time to explain things to their clients. Now it’s a different story.

“Today it just seems that they’re just running after the dollar,” he said. “I see it all the time.”

Bierman finds that the more successful entrepreneurs have regular contact with their clients. But when clients are not getting the hands-on treatment they feel they deserve, they start considering their options.

“When the price is high and you still don’t get the service then it makes you wonder,” he said.

On a personal note, Bierman related that he asked his dentist for a quote on a crown but when he scheduled an appointment for having the work done eight months later the price had jumped an additional $800.

“Where’s professionalism gone in American business?” he asked. “I go back to the almighty dollar. Basically even your doctors, dentists and lawyers are all trying to milk the cow so fast and get so much out of it that they forgot about it [professionalism] and are handling way more clients then they should.”

The dilemma for major retailers, Bierman says, is that they’ve tried to stay in line with