WINTER 2014

182 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

182 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK OVERLOOKED SOCIAL CHANGES continued from page 181 The Rise of Too Much Information and the Demise of Privacy Over the last 20 years a new paradigm of sharing has emerged along with voluntarily surrendering privacy. FaceBook, Twitter, “security cameras,” medical records, affinity/club cards and a host of other tracking systems have emerged as a seemingly natural phenomenon. The reality is that everyone has had their buying habits, photos, lives and thoughts opened up to the public. This is especially true of the latest generations. Even my 6 year old grandchildren are up on FaceBook…frequently. A recent search for a medical practitioner was a real wake up call. This individual received only 2 stars out of 5 and the extensive comments were quite verbose in conveying the precise reasons for the low ratings. If your customers or employees are similarly explicit and negative the company can go under in an astonishingly short period. By the time you find out what is going on it will be too late. The first step in avoiding this situation is to regularly search on your company and yourself. Visit the various web sites that a potential customer might see and read the comments. This isn’t just a good habit, it’s vital. Then act on the information to reinvent processes that are working against successful relationships. Taking this to a higher level involves some serious ethical questions. Viewing the online history and information posted by customers, friends and employees will depend on your own upbringing and beliefs. For many of us this is not an easy decision because it’s too much like “spying” or “stalking,” yet the insights gained may be invaluable. One answer is that individuals who use open social media to announce themselves are fair game for observation. Many companies have taken this approach and there are numerous cases where an employee was dismissed based on their own postings. An individual who boasts about success selling at flea markets or at the casino may just be lucky…or they selling merchandise stolen from you/using company money as their own, etc. While it is fairly rare that a criminal posts their exploits there are often hints and clues worth following up. Similarly a disgruntled employee who expresses their discontent with the company or management is going to have this attitude The customer’s scorecard used to evaluate your service is now both obsolete and rigged. taint their workplace efforts…or customer relationships. Even bragging about success in a sensitive project can open the door to intellectual property theft. The World War II phrase, “Loose lips sink ships.” has never been more true and the lips reach around the world in an instant. There is way too much out there and online for any individual to monitor, but the profiling information provided in the last two articles “Security Considerations Part I and Part II” (Link Magazine, Spring and Summer 2013) can help focus your efforts. Those who are most at risk will frequently identify themselves through overt behavior. Taking a look at their online posting may make it far easier to remove them from your operation especially if they convict themselves. Time Theft The most valuable commodity is time. No one is making any more of it and once spent it is gone forever. We have all become addicted to using cell phone and computers for personal reasons during the business day. Texting, web searches, cell phone conversations and social media keep us connected with friends and family regardless of whether or not this is necessary. Time spent on personal business during working hours comes at the expense of time that could have been spent on more productive things. This is very difficult to deal with because it is often at the heart of maintaining good morale. Rules that are too restrictive can be counter productive, but there should be some limitations. For example, online ordering is now quick, easy and open 24/7 but customer service phone lines are not. A call to an 800 number at a particular time could be vital to the employee or totally superfluous. Asking people to make these calls during breaks and lunch is not unreasonable, but keep the guidelines flexible to accommodate medical appointment scheduling and other emergencies. Similarly personal online ordering can be done quickly but if the goods are delivered to your premises to accommodate the buyer’s schedule other people are involved. Someone will need to sign for the item, decide where it goes and deliver it within your walls. This might take five minutes, but if it happens just once a day, every day those minutes add up to over 21 hours in a year. please turn to page 186

THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK 183 Lee Spring has expanded their HEFTY Die Spring product range to include longer free lengths up to 12”. These round wire springs are ideal for applications beyond those of traditional die springs and are well suited for any high stress, heavy load applications such as aircraft mechanisms, farm machinery, industrial equipment, brakes and clutches. HEFTY Springs are identified in five colorcoded series, based on Load rating and designed to fit standard diameters. They are powder coated and manufactured in chrome silicon or music wire. The entire HEFTY range, including the new longer free lengths, are available on leespring.com; they will be added to the 2014 Lee Spring print catalog, distributed in January 2014. Lee Spring is an ISO 9001 Certified manufacturer of stock and custom mechanical springs and allied parts, servicing diverse manufacturing markets in the United States and throughout the world. In addition to country-specific catalogs, Lee Spring has a comprehensive, educational and ecommerce friendly website. Lee Spring is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY USA and has multiple locations in the United States, as well as locations in Mexico, Europe, China and India. For more information about Lee Spring or their products, contact them at 140 58th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Call them toll-free: 1-888-SPRINGS (1-888-777-4647), by Fax: 1-888.426.6655, by Email:sales@leespring.com or visit their website at www.leespring.com. Akro-Mils, a North American leader in storage, organization and transport products, announces the expansion of its line of Akro-Tubs and Cross-Stack Akro-Tubs with the addition of cross-stack model 34305 (25” L x 16” W x 8.5” H). The new tub’s lid, model 34005, also is available to protect contents. This new tub size, which comes in colors Grey, Blue or Natural, has a capacity of 9.75 gallons and 1.25 cu. ft. Akro-Mils’ Cross-Stack Akro-Tubs are made from FDA-sanctioned materials and are ideal for both food service and industrial applications. Cross-Stack Akro-Tubs feature stacking grooves that allow stable, 90-degree stacks of tubs. Tubs nest when empty to conserve storage space. Sturdy molded-in handles provide comfortable lifting. Extra-thick walls offer superior strength. These plastic tubs are compatible with standard 36” shelving units and conveyor systems. For more information or to request a catalog, contact Akro-Mils at 1-800-253-2467, Fax 330-761- 6348, or visit the company’s award-winning website at www.akro-mils.com.