This article first appeared on October 3rd, 2012.
It saddens me to say this, but last week Taskmaster Enterprises lost perhaps its most experienced worker. A humble old soul who well and truly earned the nickname “old reliable”.
“Old reliable” was an original 1970s-era vintage Rank Arena TV that used to sit in the reception at Taskmaster Towers. No one remembers how long it’s been there – it was there when we took over the lease. They certainly don’t build appliances like that anymore.
Year after year, that humble old cathode ray tube in a faux-wood grain box dutifully sat in a corner showing daytime soaps, American talk shows and infomercials without complaint. If only most employees were as reliable.
Eventually, though, the tube burnt out, so it was replaced by a new flat screen LCD TV. Our resident Gen-Y Techmaster was given the task of setting up the new set.
“Uhh boss, I’ve got some bad news. The manufacturer just packed the telly, a manual and a power cord. But they didn’t include an antenna cable. In fact, they didn’t include any cable to hook this telly up to anything else,” says the young Techmaster upon opening the box.
With the words “no signal” flickering on the otherwise blank screen, my blood boiled.
Sure, I’ll forgive the manufacturer for shipping a $2,000 TV without a $5 cable. That’s just business.
What is unforgivable is, knowing their set didn’t come with an essential part, the salespeople at the store didn’t even attempt to cross-sell or upsell it.
The moral of the story is simple. If you don’t include the essential cable, at least make an effort to sell it to the customer. Who knows – they might even thank you later.
Get it done – today!
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
