Knowing where to hit it
This is me giving my colleague Thomas Wagner a small gift to mark the fact that he has worked for FB in Austria and Germany for over 25 years.
Thomas is a chain man through and through and in recent years has produced an amazing training manual to ensure that all FB staff can access all the knowledge that he has built up over his long service. In an age where people look to the internet to answer all their questions, we feel it is even more important that we ensure that our staff have the next level of in-depth knowledge.
I was told the following story a few years ago and I think it sums it up.
A man heard a strange rattle coming from his car engine. He visited the main dealer 3 or 4 times but it could not be fixed. They got the whizz kid from the manufacturer with his laptop in but he still heard the rattle. The man took his car to all the local garages but frustratingly none of them could stop the rattle. Getting desperate a man in the pub told him that there was an old mechanic called Bob working in an old farm building some miles away who could fix anything.
“He’s not on email or Facebook but I can give you the directions as to how you can find him,” the man in the pub told him.
The next day after driving for an hour with his rattle the man arrived at a rundown old farm. Bob appeared from a shed and said “That’s a nasty rattle.”
“Yes” said the man, “and I would pay anything if you could stop it!”
“Let me take a look at the engine,” said Bob “while I listen, tell me why this rattle is such a problem and when the rattle is worst.”
After listening to the rattle and the man’s story Bob said, “I can tell that finding a solution to this is very important to you. I can fix it but it will cost you £1000.”
The man said “Great, shall I leave the car with you?”
“No,” said Bob, “but you promise to pay me £1000 if I fix it?”
“Yes,” said the man.
Bob called to a young lad working in the shed, he listened to the rattle with Bob, received some instructions, then took a small hammer from his pocket, lent into the engine and gave something a short sharp tap.
The rattle stop immediately.
Flabbergasted the man said, “You want £1000 for getting that kid to hit something with a hammer?”
“No,” said Bob, “you’re paying me for many years experience and knowledge to know where to hit it and I’m paying an apprentice, passing on my knowledge, so that when someone like you turns up in 10 years’ time he also knows what to hit.”
We put a lot of effort into training our sales teams, we do not expect them to know everything but we are lucky enough to have a few “Bobs” in the FB group who are very knowledgeable in the niche markets that we focus on.
If you have a problem with chain application, why not give us a call, you’ll be pleased you did!
