Advice

Let me start by making a confession. In the 5 years I have been working in the flooring department at Lowe's, I have laid less than 100 square feet of flooring total. Tile, laminate, wood... total. But on the other hand, I have attended a couple of classes which have provided hands-on training on how to install most types of flooring. I also know a couple of people who can offer insights as to how to do a particular job. But by golly, I put on the red vest and I am an expert. Honest to gosh. I know what I'm talking about and customers hang on my every word.

Or not.

Tuesday night, a fellow comes into the department with a problem. He had already settled on a solution to his problem and took 45 minutes of my time rationalizing his decision and asking my approval of what he was going to do. His problem called for a slightly different solution to the one he had proposed and I advised him of the better solution. Eventually, he talked himself into doing what he intended to do in the first place and had decided to install laminate on a section of tile floor which had been coming apart.

As I was loading him up with his product, I advised him that the product had to acclimate for 48 hours (at least) prior to installation. No ifs, no ands, no buts. Period. The manufacturer recommended, nay, insisted on acclimation and every installer worth his pay would have stated the same thing. Thus armed, the customer made his purchase and was on his merry way.

Wednesday night, phone rings. The customer from the night before was wanting advice on what needed to be done on a particular point of the installation process. In the background I heard the power saw of his "casual installer" installing in less than 24 hours what needed to wait another 24 hours before installing.

"You want my advice on a flooring matter after ignoring my advice from the previous evening?"

Excuse me. There's some sort of a disconnect here.

To you, I will admit my inexperience. Whatever the status of my experience, though, I have found that the advice I have given customers usually works to their advantage. Feedback tells me that the advice I give is about 90% accurate. Not a bad percentage, but I do have a trick. My father taught it to me.

Apparently, my father did some magic on the side when he was in school. He kept his skills and would occasionally share a trick with us. When asked how a trick was done, he would bounce back the statement "How would you do it?". That started a thinking process which would take him off the hook in as far as a magician's "code" of not revealing how a trick was done.

So, when a customer comes in and asks how something can be done, I bounce back the statement "How would you do it?", and the follow up "Here's what I would try..." and voila! I give advice without giving advice! That's why I'm so accurate. I read the instructions, I listen to those who actually work in the field, then I merely distill the information that my customer wants into a form he or she can understand.

I carefully guard my reputation by being selective about where in the store I give advice. Problem is that our customers see a red vest and they instantly assume a red vested person to be an expert wherever the red vested person happens to be. If I am standing next to the left-handed widget nuts, I am an expert in the field of left-hand widget nuts, or so it is thought. So, to protect my reputation, I search out a different "expert" to help in whatever area. Regardless of that person's experience.

I don't give advice solely on flooring matters, or on appliances (8 years experience), or on any other of the endeavors in which I had been involved. Nor do I give (or take) advice from people exclusively at work. Much of what I do give is based on life experience:
*Don't start smoking. If you do, quit and do it "cold turkey".
*If someone addresses you as "My Friend", chances are that he or she probably isn't.
*If you are going to walk out of a job, make sure that you have another definitely lined up first.
*Everyone should have a dog in their care at least once.
*And at least try to DWYSYWD - Do what you say you will do.

That's just part of what I have learned in the past 55, almost 56 years.

Oh, and one other thing. Advice can be of great value, but only if taken properly and in the right frame of mind.

I'm glad to give it, glad to take it.

Be Seeing You!