When Tragedy Hit, He Called...
After a week on vacation, a client of mine returned to hundreds of orders to fill, and a crashed computer. The data for his order processing system was recovered off his drive at a geek center. Without the skillset to rebuild software components on a new system, I’ll be heading to Arizona in the next few weeks to help him restructure the business end. But what was he to do in the interim?
Fortunately, John does have another computer - a MAC. The PC was used solely for the purposes of running the order processing and fulfillment software. In past emergencies I’ve setup a profile on my systems and processed his orders, uploading him PDF files of all packing slips, invoices and shipping labels, as well as import files for his mailing service. This time, however, without a working system, and with his somewhat non-automated way of knowing how line items get readjusted on specific orders, it was going to mean endless hours on the phone as we discussed each order at length. He’d need to access his shopping cart’s admin area to peruse the batched orders and tell me what to do with each.
I like to think outside of the box, and as John waited for a few hours I retrieved his backed up data via a secure protocol, and dedicated a machine in my office to mimic his now-crippled PC. When finished I gave him access via GoToMeeting and he was able to work on his orders, having me batch process PDF files every 50 or so. While the process took longer (we had to rely on internet connections from both ends) he was able to get the job done, without relying on my normal working hours.
The entire process wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for two, very important, factors. John didn’t go into panic mode, thinking it would be impossible to work around the problem. He didn’t keep the news to himself and work on long, tedious methods, thus delaying the processing of orders beyond an acceptable timeframe. He also had made sure over the years to share his business procedures with me, so that when tragedy hit, I had an understanding of his needs.
Too many times we come up with our own way of doing things. We never document it, never worry if someone else understands the process or not. That means when things go wrong, we waste too much time either trying to figure out a way to fix it ourselves, or explaining an illogical process to someone else. John’s snafu is a perfect example as to why it makes sense to try to follow streamlined patterns when performing tasks that are vital to our business. I’m all for personalizing the business and customizing aspects that make our jobs easier. But if we do it to the point that we are the ones who are indispensable, how will our businesses survive should we have to take a leave of absence?
There’s another moral to John’s story; it’s a common one for me. It’s about working on building relationships with people you can turn to when things go awry. Sure, it takes more time out of our lives. Sure, it might cost us a few extra bucks over time. But when tragedy hits, it makes recovery that much less time consuming, less expensive, and definitely more bearable.
I, myself, have a developer, troubleshooter, or advisor on standby for each piece of software we use, along with every other aspect of the business. When I got married three years ago, I was able to turn over the keys for a week, trusting that the person I put in charge knew what to do in most any case. My cell phone didn’t ring once.
