72 Hours Before

Opening a new school year is a unique moment in the school year characterized by a mixture of calm and anxiousness. My staff arrives refreshed, even though they prefer summer vacation. The students come back refreshed, though they prefer summer vacation. My support staff and I have everything ready, even though we prefer summer vacation too.

At the beginning of the week, I got an email informing me that one of our technology vendors has changed the process that educators are adding to their system and how they can add their students. Who makes changes 72 hours before opening day? Poor planning. This email was the first I heard of the changes—Poor Communication. We count on this technology from day 1. The changes were extensive, and our opening day professional development plan would have to be reconfigured to provide our staff with the training and time needed to implement the technology on day 1 successfully. At this point, I realize the sales rep who checks in with me regularly has not reached out to me for a few months—Smart on her part. 

No whining! 

We are not the victim. 

Let’s get going. 

The instructions, on paper, were rudimentary. In reality, the instructions only skimmed the surface of what we had to do. One of my team members took it upon herself to figure out all the “fine” points left out of the instruction packet, which took her hours. It will take our staff the same time to learn the “new” system and implement the program meaningfully.

With the amount of money we pay for services, it is incredible how companies get away with such awful service. If they gave us a warning, say at the end of last school year, I would be more understanding. It is unforgivable to spring this on my staff 72 hours before they open a new school year. The fact that we have the same price for the product but have to invest so much time to implement the product and not receive a discount for our efforts is unethical. At a minimum, the company should have provided the appropriate PD for my staff at no cost and paid for my staff’s time to attend the workshop so we could pay to use their product.

Treat your customers with respect. Communicate with them and not only when you want to ensure you will make a sale. Have your team write clear and thorough instructions and provide your customers with the best support possible. If you can do this, I want to work with you.

Just Be Better

Stay Strong, Stay Healthy