High Turnover and the Inventory Dream

You sit in your office, wondering, waiting.

The mess on your shelves is a never ending doom of dust and debris.

You fight with yourself trying to figure out when it will sell or when it should be scrapped.

Aircraft component surplus is a common problem. A costly problem.

It’s a marriage problem.

Often times people feel married, dedicated to the parts.

A few years ago, more like 7, we decided to move to another location.

We had old Rolls-Royce engine nacelles lining the wall, several hundred feet of wings and struts hanging and consuming the outside perimeter of the warehouse.

Prior to the move I walked into the warehouse, with a deep sigh, and thought, what a bunch of junk.

The material had sat in the warehouse for over a decade and was deemed useless and costly to continue to sit. So we decided to scrap it.

Now, as an airline you have the option to consign the material to someone like Skylink but for us, at this time, scrapping was in our best interest.

For you, creating a strategy where you have high inventory turnover may seem impractical, but it may not be a so far from being just a dream.

Inventory turnover

Inventory turnover is defined as how many times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. This is a valid definition for someone like Skylink.

For you, inventory turnover is defined as the liquidation of unnecessary components to reduce cost and fund profit generating activities.

High inventory levels are unhealthy because they represent an investment with a rate of return of zero. It also opens you up to trouble should prices begin to fall. Another very big issue we see.

Often times airline surplus is still expected to get the same return from pricing 10 years old. Unrealistic and hard to achieve.

The best option to avoid this is to consign your assets to a trusted partner who specializes in the resale of aircraft spares. And it’s for this reason we have our Asset Management program.

By utilizing a skilled partner who does this day in and day you will ensure a higher inventory turnover than you experience now, it will cost you less to staff and facilitate sales, and reduce your overhead expenditure.

An asset management program is an excellent tool if you see your inventory levels rising and dust beginning to collect.

If you're interested in such an asset management program, Click here

Problem Resolution: A True Testament To Vendor Relationships

We've all been there. In the office, palms sweating, heart racing on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Last week we had an international air force AOG for a scarce, nonexistent yoke. No, not the egg kind.

Now envision a drill sergeant yelling at you if you screw anything up.

The order was planned, distribution was set. A week later the OEM advised us they had changed their “policies.” Meaning our order isn’t a priority and there’s now an additional lead time.

Thank you corporate structure governed by an aggressive union.

No calls to advise us on status, 10 emails left ignored and a careless attitude because of internal politics and simply not giving a ****.

Companies are horrible at communicating and resolving problems.

This is true for 95% of the industry, big OEM or small, 2 person distributor.

Identify the problem & fix it

Identifying problems and issues is a three step process.

Most people over-complicate the first step and then kick and scream eventually giving up and leaving the customer high and dry.

First step: Identify

This is where you dig down and find the real issue. Most of the time the problem is rarely the real issue. Dig deep to find the cause.

For us we recently had a fire-bottle that needed to go to Uganda on an AOG basis. Every day the freight kept getting bumped and we narrowed it down to the 1.4S HAZMAT classification.

With the real issue identified we could begin discussing resolutions.

Second step: Discuss

In an open and honest environment everyone must share their thoughts, ideas, concerns and possible solutions regarding the issue. After discussing and debating with the greater good in mind, the solution is always simple, though not always easy and sometimes very hard.

For the fire bottle our client and VP discussed and debated collaboratively. No rock was left unturned, no email went unanswered. We were on a mission to get it resolved.  A few carriers were crossed out, a bonded warehouse was found and the end destination was possibly going to be changed.

Step 3: Solve

Once a solution has been stated and agreed upon it’s time to take immediate action. Put it on the person who owned it’s to-do list and confirm completion.

We eventually decided that the fire bottle was best to be transported to S. Africa to a bonded warehouse in Johannesburg. Then our clients could take receipt of the goods and install it. A decision was made to redirect the material and that's exactly what happened.

An effective problem resolution strategy is best in conjunction with effective communication.

Once people begin only thinking about themselves and not in a collaborative, team environment, more unnecessary problems will surface.

Do you have issues resolving problems? Or do you deal with vendors who do? Comment below.

5 Ways To Be Cheap And Profit

Let’s face it you want to be cheap.

This isn’t always true through procurement since quality comes at a higher price. Getting a WalMart “Everyday Low Price” is a scary thought for a $50,000 avionic.

But operationally you want to be cheap without sacrificing efficiency. This is why we are a huge proponent of Lean Six Sigma.

I had the opportunity to discuss this very topic with an airline executive.

We entered the coffee shop and a fresh aromatic smell entered our noses. You know the smell I’m talking about.

We ordered our coffee and discussed the war stories we each had encountered in the aviation industry. Both witnessing tragic endeavors for nearly 2 decades in different parts of the aviation industry, we had a lot to talk about.

Finally our names were yelled as though we were at a fair. Our coffee was ready and with scorching hot cups we proceeded to sit.

I bluntly asked the gentlemen, how he precluded to ensure operational efficiency.

His answer was, do everything ourselves.

I about fainted and blurted out WRONG.

Operational Efficiency

Operational efficiency is defined as the “...ratio between the input to run a business operation and the output gained from the business. When improving operational efficiency, the output to input ratio improves. Inputs would typically be money (cost), people (headcount) or time/effort. Outputs would typically be money (revenue, margin, cash), new customers, customer loyalty, market differentiation, headcount productivity, innovation, quality, speed & agility, complexity or opportunities.”

I will cut to the point to avoid any sudden onslaught of boredom.

For any airline operational efficiency is when you operate to maximize your revenue generating activities and minimize your expenses. Easy I know. I’m no Albert Einstein when I define this.

The problem with my airline friend's response in the beginning story is that he relies too much on internal pressures where certain activities could be outsourced.

Managing inventory, aircraft asset remarketing, and surplus inventory and sales is not his strong suit. He’s adding additional expense and taking away from their core focus, keeping the fleet in the air and reducing cost.

How to be cheap and profit

We all want to reduce cost, it’s the best way to expand the bottom line. As long as you aren't cutting back where operational efficiency will suffer.

I have 5 ways you can save, generate more money and become more profitable by utilizing an aircraft asset management partner.

Reduce cost of money: Nobody likes holding cost. Lets say you have $5M worth of inventory in which you're more than likely sitting on a credit line. What if you could reduce that inventory to $4M? I’m sure you could use the additional $1M in increased cash flow rather quickly, for better uses. This cost is typically seen at 15% of your average inventory.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $750,000

Reduce storage cost: No matter if you own or lease you’re paying for warehouse space. The more inventory you have, the more warehouse you need. From computers, to racks, mezzanines to boxes the list can go on. What could you do with a smaller space? Storage cost adds 4% to your carrying cost.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $200,000

Reduce Taxes: Ronald Reagan once said, “Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.” Your inventory is always moving so whether you like it or not the government will more than likely tax it depending on where you're located. From an accounting standpoint, an increase in inventory is shown as a profit and will be taxed as such. Taxes will typically add 2.5% to your annual carrying cost.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $125,000

Reduce waste: Let’s face no matter how much you plan waste will always follow inventory. You cannot plan the market 100% of the time. From overbought gaskets whose shelf life has been reached, an outdated TCAS system, or excess expendables waste is on your shelf. It can be safe to say that most of these won't be going anywhere any time soon. Waste can usually add 1% to your annual carrying cost.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $50,000

Reduce shrinkage and spoilage: Dan Kiefer explains this best when he says “...This category should not be confused with obsolescence.  This category includes inventory that came into the warehouse and should have been sold but can’t and won’t be.  Where as obsolescence and spoilage have to do with purchasing and the market demand, pilferage and damage can often be attributed to human behavior in your warehouse.  Although this  cost can vary greatly from one warehouse to the next, and can often be controlled and reduced, it can never really be eliminated.  Whether a forklift hits a pallet, a jar gets dropped during handling, or someone gets overzealous with a box cutter, damaged products in a warehouse are a fact of life and must  be accounted for.   The longer something sits in your warehouse, the greater the risk of it being damaged or disappearing.”  The typical cost associated with shrinkage and damage is 1%.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $50,000

Reduce insurance: Your insurance company is charging you based on the average amount of inventory you have on your shelf. If not, please refer me to your insurance company as I’ll change policies immediately. The cost is not huge but it’s still an unnecessary cost for unwanted, unused material. Insurance costs are typically .5%.

Cost on $5M of inventory = $25,000

For a $5M inventory your annual carrying costs are $1,200,000. WOW!

You can solve this by taking advantage of an asset management program.

Whether it’s an aircraft ending its life or surplus inventory sitting on the shelf the right partner can market your assets at an attractive price to liquidate and generate revenue.

You will immediately reduce carrying costs and operate within operational efficiency.

We have just the program for you. Click here to show your interest.

Why Your Material Assets Eat Away At Your Bottom Line

Not long ago having a lot of inventory common. It was "smart", right and the industry norm. You had something when you needed it...if you ever needed it.

Aircraft Asset Management.jpg

I used to think this way as well.

I'd wake up every morning, sip on my coffee, and wonder how I was going to keep plenty of stock. Always. But then one morning I woke up and the coffee smacked me clear across the face.

We opened up various airline and MRO client financials and calculated furiously, Albert Einstein style. I tend to think him and I as one of the same, but anyway...

The financials argued against everything that was industry norm. Insurance premiums continued to soar, warehousing and distribution costs were at an all-time high, and overhead was out of control.

Carrying costs were clearly not in the best interest of our airline and MRO clients. 

Are you losing your ass-ets?

Inventory is necessary but excess is a sin.

Excess is overspent, unwanted surplus that you have no control over. It’s a blood sucking insect that is more of a pain than it is a benefit.

According to "Production Spare Parts: Optimizing the MRO Inventory Asset" they state some sobering facts:

• In a typical production plant, about 30 percent of the spare parts sitting on shelves are unnecessary.
• More than 60 percent of all stocked spare parts have not been used in three years.
• About 35 percent of all spare parts are critical to operations and not easily attainable with short lead time.
• Between 10 and 20 percent of the parts account for 80 percent of the total inventory value.
• Annual carrying costs associated with spare parts is between 20 and 25 percent, meaning the cost to a company of every spare part stocked doubles in four to five years.

Manage your assets the right way

Finding ways to avoid carrying costs is easy, but implementing them is a chore. 

It takes a planned strategy and proper support.

Here are a few ways we recommend for you to manage your aircraft assets and bottom line:

1) Streamlined Distribution: Procurement for aircraft checks will encounter bottlenecks. Talk with your trusted material advisers during this process and organize maintenance check material distribution strategy.

2) Vendor Managed Inventory: The JIT strategy benefits are low inventory, low wastage, high-quality production, and increased up-time. It reduces carrying costs and the effort into having to repurchase common material.

3) Repair management: Recycling your inventory through MROs is mandatory but dealing with the mess having to manage MROs is another story. A repair management program will do all the work for you. It'll save you a lot of money on freight and processing costs. 

4) Asset management: Whether you have surplus or you're slowly building the unwanted dust an asset management program will help you liquidate your surplus material. You'll recapture the lost capital tied up into your inventory. Or if you have an end of life aircraft consign it to a reliable party so they can tear it down and sell the assets. You'll have thousands of profitable spare parts generating revenue for you while keeping a depreciable asset.

Focus on stocking enough for minimum requirements and adopting new strategies for streamlined distribution. You owe it to your  bottom line. And stop losing your ass-ets. 

Need to sell your surplus? 

How To Avoid Fatigue In Aviation

Do you feel drowsy and just roll out of bed? You're tired, sleepy and working is the last thing on your mind.

Once you get to work, you painfully manage to get through the day but at a great cost.

According to the FAA defining fatigue in humans is extremely difficult due to the large variability of causes. Causes of fatigue can range from boredom to circadian rhythm disruption to heavy physical exertion. In layman's terms, fatigue can simply be defined as weariness. However, from an operational standpoint a more accurate definition might be: “Fatigue is a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or capacity to respond to stimulation, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness.”

Problems of fatigue in aviation

A long day of mental stimulation can be taxing. Studies have shown that studying for an examination or processing data can be as fatiguing as manual labor. Manual labor and mental fatigue may appear different but the end result is the same, an inability to function normally.

In the FAAs Pilots Safety Brochure,  fatigue leads to a decrease in your ability to carry out tasks. Several studies have demonstrated significant impairment in a person’s ability to carry out tasks that require manual dexterity, concentration, and higher-order intellectual processing. Fatigue may happen acutely, which is to say in a relatively short time (hours) after some significant physical or mental activity. Or, it may occur gradually over several days or weeks. Typically, this situation occurs with someone who does not get sufficient sleep over a prolonged period of time (as with sleep apnea, jet lag, or shift work) or someone who is involved in ongoing physical or mental activity with insufficient rest.

Fatigue in aviation has been a major cause of several aircraft accidents. It has been estimated to contribute to 20-30% of all transport accidents and 70% of all fatal accidents in commercial aviation are related to human error.

The math is substantial and the effect is dramatic.

Whether you're a pilot, technician, or a procurement professional fatigue is real.

Maybe you bought the wrong $50,000 part, or installed the wrong component on your turbine engine. There may be measures to catch these mistakes but not all mistakes get noticed.

Fatigue alters your mood, cognitive function and is a pain to deal with.

Fatigue is easily mitigated

Fatigue in aviation can easily be reduced, unless you're a pilot with strict demands and an unalterable schedule. For the majority of us, fatigue is reduced by making a few minor life changes.

One of the best ways to eliminate fatigue is by getting at least 7 - 8 hours of sleep. [TWEET THIS]

Do not...

• Consume alcohol 4 hours before going to bed.
• Take work to bed.
• Watch TV while in bed.
• Use sleeping pills.
• Eat a heavy meal right before bed.

You should…

• Keep a sleeping pattern. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
• Create a sleep sanctuary. Block out all noises, eliminate any light and keep your room cool.
• Get active. Being sedentary will affect the way you sleep. Do something physical during the day.
• Reduce stress. No one goes to bed easily when stressed. Find ways to reduce this.
• Get all your thoughts out onto paper. When your mind is racing it’s hard to relax and fall asleep. Write all your thoughts down and address them in the morning.

Fatigue in aviation is real.

Find ways to minimize this and you’ll see a noticeable effect on your mood, your work and your life.

How has fatigue affected you? Comment below.

Quality & Human Factors Interview with Zoe Holmes

We had the pleasure of interviewing our good friend Zoe Holmes. She serves as Quality Assurance Executive at Berjaya Air, Malaysia. Her primary focus is auditing internal and external aviation organizations and conducting Human Factor training course. She is not one to mess with and knows what she's doing. Here is our conversation.

Enjoy.

1. What is your definition of Quality?

Response:

Quality refers to the engineering activities implemented in a quality system so that requirements for a product or service will be fulfilled. Quality also is the systematic measurement, comparison with a standard, monitoring of processes and an associated feedback loop that confers error prevention. Quality assurance includes management of the quality of products, services and inspection process.

2. What are your biggest frustrations when it comes to quality assurance?

Response:

There are many activities involve ensuring the aircraft, technical personnel and engineering compliance with company standards and Aviation authority Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia regulations. Personnel did not follow the procedure and do not take the job task seriously are the biggest frustrations when it comes to quality assurance.

o Is it difficult to adapt to these situations?

Response:

It is such a hassle when these situations happened and it is taking a lot of paperwork to submit to the aviation authority (Department Civil Aviation a.k.a DCA).

o How could your vendor’s and partner’s best service you during these problems?

Response:

Cooperation and assistance from the vendor and partners are the best service during these problems.

3. What’s one strategy you couldn't live without to keep your quality process running smoothly?

Response:

QA must understand the job functions of department or vendors before running the audit and prepare the checklist. So the audit checklist based on the job functions is one strategy to facilitate the audit process.

4. Now let’s talk about Human Factors:

o What is Human Factors?

Response:

Human factor is very broad field and when refer to the aviation maintenance, human factor is multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations in the workplace. And apply that information to equipment, system, facilities, procedure, jobs, environment, training and personnel management for safety and efficiency as objectives.

o What are the key strategies in deploying Human Factors to your maintenance personnel?

Response:

The training section which is under Quality Assurance Department provide the human factor initial training to all certified aviation maintenance engineers (AME) and aviation maintenance technicians (AMT) who have had no previous training. The recurrent training or sometimes called “continuation” is taken after the initial training to refresh them every year.

o How do they respond to Human Factors?

Response:

Most of aviation maintenance personnel have positive feedback when they know the safety is their responsibility and they feel they are encouraged to speak up and take necessary actions to prevent unsafe conditions.

o What’s one thing you see the most problems with in the Human Factor field?

Response:

The most problems I see are complacency. Some engineers may specialize in a certain aspect of maintenance whereby the engineer may skip steps or fail to give attention to steps in a procedure due to the repetitive maintenance task. There is a list of the most common sources of problem or errors in aviation maintenance. This list is known as “The Dirty Dozen” and it has been widely acknowledged in the aviation maintenance community. They are lack of communication, complacency, lack of knowledge, distraction, lack of team work, fatigue, lack of resource, pressure, lack of assertiveness, stress, lack of awareness and norms.

o Is there a way to mitigate this problem?

Response:

We can’t avoid the error but we can minimize the error by evaluating, investigating, observing the aviation organizations with questionnaires or opinionnaires so that the organizations can identify whether they are working in ergonomic society and safety culture.

5. If you could give one recommendation to other airline professionals in terms of Quality and Human Factors what would that be?

Response:

Since the human factor training is required by FAA and EASA regulations in aviation organization, I recommend that airline professionals should establish and implement the quality and internal human factor program by understanding the human factor concept, principle and methods as human error prevention to avoid accident and incidents.

Did you enjoy this Q&A Respond to this email, we would like to hear from you.

Maintaining Leased Engines Through Their Entire Life Cycle

Maintaining leased engines can be stressful, confusing and will ruin a relationship faster than you can say relationship. It’s not just your interests at play.

From MROs, OEMs, airlines and lessors a lot of people have their hands in the aircraft engine lease arena.

Communication is paramount and strong relationships are far from a prerequisite, they're a necessity. [TWEET THIS]

But that’s only the beginning.

Lessors and Lessees have different agendas

Although the names sound similar, you know as much as I do they're two totally different operations.

A lessor will look at the life time of the engine in its portfolio and think of it based on its residual value.

All the while a lessee will only consider the lease period and the bare minimum return conditions. They're not concerned about the asset value at the end of the lease term.

This creates problems.

One, the lessor is focused on maintaining a healthy engine through its entire life, while the other, the lessee, is trying to get through maintaining the engine at the lowest cost to them.

Build relationships

When 2 parties are joined through an aircraft engine lease and each has different objectives, things get messy.

This is why lessors need to build a long-term approach with MROs and aftermarket suppliers to ensure quality service. Having consecutive shop visits MROs and suppliers are able to balance the lessor and lessee interests. They build history and experience working on an engine they've seen through its entire life-cycle.

By retaining a single MRO and supplier for an aircraft engine throughout multiple lessees, the engine will have better value preservation.

From life limited parts planning and used material to customized workshop planning and end-of-life ownership solutions. There are many influences that effect marketability of an engine.

When utilizing single sources, value is created for the lessor because there's no redundant activities or separate maintenance practices and policies.

Do you use single sources for maintaining your aircraft engine lease? Comment below.

Optimizing Boeing Maintenance Intervals

The more often your fleet of aircraft is on the ground, the less profitable you are. It doesn't take an engineer or genius to realize this.

When your system isn't optimized it’s leaking efficiency, just like an oxygen mask with a hole. [TWEET THIS]

Dangerous.

The trick is to structure your Boeing maintenance intervals to reduce downtime and increase up-time.

How do you go about this? What you're doing might be “working” but are you optimizing the system to take advantage of your Boeing maintenance intervals?

Where you are now

Line and base maintenance for your fleet is a standard practice. Each airline is different so I’ll spare you the additional reading.

When your fleet of aircraft is parked for their scheduled checks you pay for man hours, parts, and lost revenue potential.

On average it costs you $15.12 per flight hour for an A check, $32.92 for a C check and $22.87 for a D check.

In a typical 24 year life cycle you will accrue 24 D checks, 67.2 C checks and 48.7 A checks.

We’ll use the C check as a base line here. A C check interval is 6,000 FHRS, that’s $197,520 for every C check, per aircraft.

When your aircraft arrives early you incur unnecessary costs for no faults found, but when it arrives too late there's a high probability for unscheduled maintenance.

Optimizing the maintenance interval ensures you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck. Increased utilization.

Where you want to be

Your Boeing maintenance strategy is one that will continually need improvement.

We've talked about lean six sigma before.

However, the road to get there isn't always easy or straightforward. Statistical analysis is great but other factors are always welcome. The Bottom-Up and the Top-Down Approach, Maintenance Task Packages, and Boeing Maintenance Checks can be grouped into maintenance clusters.

By utilizing this simulation you fulfill 4  purposes:

1) You simulate the aircraft utilization 2) You calculate when a maintenance item turns due 3) You will fit each Boeing maintenance item into clusters 4) You generate maintenance clusters

Clustering is one of hundreds of optimization strategies you can be taking advantage of.

Whatever strategy you take, optimizing it to reduce your total cost of maintenance is the goal. There's no room for complacency.

According to Boeing SASMO application, through optimization you can save $500,000 over a 10 year period.

Now, I don't know about you but I would start optimizing your Boeing maintenance intervals today.

Want more information on your Boeing maintenance checks? Click here.

Stop Losing Money To Freight Forwarders

You have an urgent requirement for an over-sized shipment. You need it shipped urgently but over-sized freight doesn't move like small parcel.

A phone call is made to your freight forwarder.

It takes them 24 hours to get you a quote and when you decide to schedule for pick-up it takes another day to get the package.

Not to mention the SLI, power of attorney, invoices and the hundred other documents supposedly needed.

Dealing with Freight Forwarders is painful.

Full of excuses

90% of all freight forwarders are designed and raised to make excuses.

Trust me, I’ve dealt with all of them.

You may have had an experience like this:

We needed to arrange the transport of a life raft that was HAZMAT. It was AOG and our customer needed it NOW. We gave a Freight Forwarder the details that morning and they said, “not a problem, we can manage this. "

We provided all the documents and arranged the pick-up. At the end of the day they proceeded to call us and say “Sorry for the inconvenience but because this is HAZMAT we don’t want to arrange the transport.”

Wait, what? Because it involves a little more effort they didn't want to manage the transport?

Ridiculous, but very true.

Build a strong relationship

We've dated and broken up with at least 10 Freight Forwarders over the past 10 years. They lie, cheat, cancel and make excuses better than most.

But don’t be a heartbreaker and end things at the sign of trouble. If you feel you have a competent well established company on the other line, nurture the relationship.

Take advantage of these simple tips to ensure the relationship with your Freight Forwarder is maximized.

Tip #1: Make sure they have history transporting aircraft material.

Tip # 2: If they don’t know what AOG is, end the relationship.

Tip # 3: Signing documents doesn't have to take longer than the transport of your material. You don't have to sign your life away on every shipment.

Tip # 4: Ensure they have offices at origin and destination. This results in better communication during quoting and transport.

Tip # 5: Deal with one account manager. Build a relationship. They should know all about your needs and wants.

Tip # 6: Your account manager should be able to email you back after hours.

Tip # 7: They should be able to accommodate special services like HAZMAT & Engine transport.

Having a strong relationship with a Freight Forwarder or a vendor who has a strong relationship with a Freight Forwarder is crucial.

For large freight they are the connection between the material you need and the destination you need it at.

They are the link between you and the world.

 Do you have a strong relationship with a freight forwarder? Or maybe you’ve had a bad experience. Comment

5 Reasons Your Phone Etiquette Is Terrible

Whether it’s you, an aircraft parts vendor, an MRO or someone entirely different,  having good phone skills is crucial in an international environment.

But sadly this is far from what we experience in the aviation industry. It’s tragic.

When I approach a vendor for procurement purposes, my eyes are set on the end result; a successful purchase in time for my requisition requirements.

But sadly I end up making contact with someone that has as much energy as a snail. Slow moving and couldn't care less about my needs.

When I reach a sales manager often times I’ll get the “I’ll call you back in an hour.”  When that hour arrives and I don’t hear from them, I call them back. You would be surprised how often I get, “He’s out to lunch for an hour, can I take a message?”

First who takes an hour lunch and second who tells someone they’ll call them back during the time they know they're going to lunch?

It makes no sense.

Or how about this one. People ask you to email them and they never acknowledge, respond or cater toward your email. So why did they tell you to email them in the first place?

Bad phone etiquette

There are some fundamental truths when talking on the phone. One is  to greet the other person with respect. “Good afternoon Skylink” or “It was nice talking with you ___, take care.”  Simple yet respectful.

The next fundamental truth is to follow up on your commitments. If you tell someone you're going to do something, then do it. Plain and simple. If I tell you I’m going to email you in an hour, I’m going to email you in an hour. If I don’t, I’m going to tell you why my email is going to be delayed.

It’s about communication fundamentals.

If you make these 5 mistakes, your phone etiquette is terrible:

• You say, I’ll call you back in 15 minutes and never do.
• You say, send me an email and never do anything when the email is received.
• You yell something to your coworker, or even worse, you have a full conversation with them.
• You answer, “HELLO."
• You’re monotone.

Follow these 5 rules instead to make sure you're doing it right:

1. Greet with energy - nobody wants to talk to a sourpuss.
2. Do what you say you're going to do - don’t say one thing and do another.
3. Avoid the hold button - people hate being put on hold.
4. Listen and learn - don’t interrupt or talk to your co-worker.
5. Smile - don't’ be so serious or dry.

Practicing good phone etiquette should be on everyone's mind. I don’t care if you're an airline, MRO, supplier or freight forwarder.

Having good communication skills is a necessity to build lasting relationships that you can count on. [TWEET THIS]

Have you had an experience where the person on the other line was disconnected? Comment below.