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Author: Alan Creedy

How I Learned To Stop Pushing Strings Uphill

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary, Leadership. 7 Comments on How I Learned To Stop Pushing Strings Uphill

Breaking The Cycle

DeathCare is in its 13th year of declining profitability.  Last year is reported as our worst year ever and it’s beginning to tell.   Answer these questions:

___Do you sometimes feel trapped?

___Do you sometimes dread going to work?

___Is it easier to do it yourself than tell someone how to do it?

___Do you resent the pressure you feel?

___Do you resent others in your life?

___Do you find yourself whining?

___Do you wonder if you will ever be able to get out?

___Do you wonder if there is any point in all your efforts?

Most of us feel these things occasionally but if it has become a large part of your emotional life there are two things you need to keep in mind:  1) You are far from alone; and 2) You may be contributing to your own problems.   This article gives you some direction in breaking the cycle.  But first a couple of stories that will help you better understand what I am going to share with you. 

Sisyphus was a legendary Greek king who angered the gods and, as punishment, was condemned to push a large boulder up hill for eternity.  As soon as he got to the top of the hill the boulder would roll down the other side and he would have to push it up again.   Eternity is a long time.

There are days we all feel like Sysiphus… trapped in a never ending cycle without meaningful results.  All alone we try to plot our course, take the risks and try with all our might to motivate staff, gain market share, improve profitability and, most important, improve customer satisfaction.  But, more often than not we seem to always find ourselves back where we started.  Worse yet, if we are honest, we are often behind where we started.

Years ago an individual was brave enough to say something to me that broke this cycle, although, at the time, it made me very angry.  He did it intentionally, knowing it would have that result.  Once I calmed down, the truth of what he said motivated me beyond anything else he could have done.  I made a plaque out of it and it stands on my desk to this day:

“We Are Where We Are…Because That Is Where We Want To Be.”

A biblical story provides an excellent frame of reference:  We all know (or should know) the story of Jesus healing the blind man and how, once healed, he jumped and cavorted around the temple in his excitement at being able to see.  There are many, many lessons in this tale but for me the most profound one is rarely explored.

To see ourselves in this story we must look beyond the miracle of his healing.   His obsession had been: “If only I could see.”  He didn’t realize that his healing would create an entirely new problem.  Think about what it would have been like for the blind man the next day, after the excitement and public attention had died down and he was left to himself.  He had a whole new reality to come to terms with.  He knew how to be blind.  Now he had to learn to function with sight.  Remember all his relationships were based on being blind.  His livelihood was dependent on being blind…he knew how to function in a blind world.   In many ways it must have been frightening.  Everything that was familiar to him had changed dramatically.  Suddenly, he was forced into a new reality and, for him, there was no turning back.

The point is: some of us have learned how to be Sisyphus.  In fact, we have come to like it.  We know how to function in our dysfunction.   Like the blind man, it has come to define us.  Our friends are others who feel trapped just like us.  Our collective whining is a form of release that shields us from facing the fact that we are where we are…because that is where we want to be.  It enables us to create excuses by blaming others.  Being Sisyphus is part of our comfort zone and as appealing as ending the meaningless cycle may be, our behavior tells us we really don’t want a new reality to cope with.   By accepting responsibility for our circumstances we take a giant step towards a new and better reality.  By accepting responsibility we begin to see that we have many more options than we thought.  Our epiphany is that it doesn’t have to be like this.  But there is a catch, it means that the key is no longer that others change their behavior but that we change ours.

One of the most rewarding times of my business coaching practice is when I help someone reach the point where they realize they have many more options than they thought they had.  This is often a true “Ah Ha!” experience and is always accompanied by renewed energy and enthusiasm.  My part is simply helping them stand back from the trees just enought to see the forest.

Personally, when I decided that I didn’t want to be my own victim any longer, I found ways to break the cycle. For me,  one of the most important of these was realizing that there are no perfect people.  Everyone has their own dysfunction.  Some hide it better than others.  Many dysfunctions are socially acceptable anyway.  (Think whining at DeathCare conventions) Still everyone, in one way or another, is limited by their own self perception. 

But the first step…and the most important step…is to choose to take personal responsibility for oneself and stop seeing yourself as a victim.  It is absolutely awesome what you can do when you make that choice…or should I say commitment.

Among the more powerful benefits is:  You start spending more time with people who would rather happen to life than have life happen to them.  This will increase your own optimism and energy.   One of the things I am sure our blind man found himself doing was hanging out with a different crowd:  metaphorically “People with vision”

So, here is an action item:  Find people who don’t whine.  Deliberately step away from negative conversations and avoid people who dwell on negative things.  To change your situation the best place to start is to change your environment.  Maybe you can’t take a month off.  But you can sure choose the people you interact with.  Find a mentor who can hold you accountable.  Attitude is often 90% of the solution.

The best way to change is not because you have to or even because you want to…but because you have found a better way.        

Where are you?     Is that really where you want to be?

How “Best Purpose” Trumps “Best Practice”

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary, Practitioner Forum: Insights and Ideas. 2 Comments on How “Best Purpose” Trumps “Best Practice”

How a part time hostess taught me the most valuable lesson.

It was late 1989.  Rachel was then in her mid 70’s.  A retired school teacher, she had worked for us for about 6 or 7 years.  She was a quiet, unassuming and gracious woman who had that gift of always making you feel welcome.  As a part time hostess she was stationed by the front door of our main facility during public hours…often during visitations.  I was President of the nation’s oldest and among its most prestigious independently owned funeral homes.  We served 850 families and operated two cemeteries and a crematory.   Rachel always received more positive comments on our Family Surveys than any other employee full or part time. 

The funeral home was widely respected and even admired by both the public we served and professional colleagues for its high standards of service.  We believed our 70% + market share was a direct result of those high standards.  Certainly, they were a large part of our success.

But Rachel taught me an important lesson about an even more powerful market driver: Best Purpose.

Part of the reason that company was so admired for its high standard of service was a very rigid and unyielding set of employee expectations.  We all had a clear understanding of the “musts” and “must-nots” of our daily behavior and routine.   Mistakes were typically only made once, if they were made at all.  But lest you think this was some closely watched and supervised culture, I should be clear.  The resulting quality and superior performance created a level of “Esprit De Corps” that made the behaviors more or less “self sustaining.”  The problem was not in the performance but in the unrecognized limitation on “above and beyond” initiative that it unconsciously imposed.

Rachel, independently and without permission, deviated from one of our “cast-in-stone” rules and I was delegated to tell her not to do it again. 

Raleigh, NC, where I live, continues to this day to prefer receiving lines over mingling.   We discovered that about half way through visitations Rachel was taking the initiative to bring a glass of water to the widow or widower.   Food and beverage of any kind was strictly forbidden in any of the public areas of our buildings.  It was this act of kindness that I was told to stop.  Now, lest you be too harsh, this was the 1980’s and this type of courtesy was not so obvious back then.  And besides, this story is not about rules (good or bad) it is about purpose which we had but did not emphasize.

I  began my conversation reminding Rachel of the rules and asking her why she was doing it.  She responding so graciously that I still remember it.  She said, “Mr. Creedy, I understand the rule.  But when you buried my husband I remember standing in that same line and thinking I would kill for a glass of water.  So, I try to make their life a little easier by bringing it to them.”  I remember answering: “Rachel, you just forget that we had this conversation and continue what you are doing.”  I went back to the owner and told him that Rachel was doing the right thing and we all needed to be thinking like Rachel. 

The lesson is this:   Maybe the company was successful because of its high standards but Rachel was more successful because she had a higher purpose. 

What is your purpose?  If I asked you without warning, could you tell me in less than 60 seconds without thinking?  Could your staff?

Simon Cooper, President and COO of Ritz Carlton Hotels, strives for “Scriptless Service.”  This means that employees must be able to think, anticipate and act without being told.  They must have the ability and latitude to take initiative when they see an opportunity to help a guest.

Rachel taught me that the highest of standards and expectations without clarity of purpose can cause us to miss the most important things.

How people behave is what they believe.  Does the behavior of your staff indicate they have high standards and high purpose?  Does your behavior?

 

You may reprint this article by including the following on your publication:

 “reprinted with permission, Creedy & Company, www.creedycomments.wordpress.com all rights reserved 2010”

Why Are We Here?

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 1 Comment on Why Are We Here?

An Easy, Practical Way to Engage Staff

In an aprocryphal story a “burned out” Russian Priest takes a sabbatical in a wilderness retreat hoping for renewal and reenergizing.  Depressed and discouraged, he takes a walk in the nearby woods and stumbles on a military encampment.  Immediately, he is challenged by the sentry: “Halt, who are you and why are you here?”  The priest responds, “What did you say?”  The sentry repeats his challenge: “Who are you and why are you here?”  Now the priest asks his own question: “What do they pay you?”  Startled, the sentry responds, “What does that have to do with anything?”  To which the priest replies: “Because I will pay you that for the rest of my life to ask me those two questions every day!”

Who are we and why are we here?

The answer to these two questions is one of the secrets to engagement.  We talk a lot about motivating employees.  But what we really want is engaged employees.  Employees who see meaning and purpose in their work.  Employees who see their job not as a task but as a responsibility.  Connecting meaning and purpose is the way to do that.

Zig Ziglar talks about his “Wall of Gratitude” where he keeps photos of people who have meant something to him.  I don’t have a wall but I do have a “Book of Gratitude“.   When I look at it I am often renewed. 

Maybe one thing we could do is take a wall in a non public part of our building and put a sign over it that says: “Why We Are Here” and then put photos of those we have been privileged to serve over the past year.   Maybe some of those pictures could include pictures of people hugging our staff.  I am told that happens every once in a while.  Then on those bad days we could go stand in front of that wall and remember “Who We Are and Why We Are Here.”   Yes it will take some work, but not much, and my bet is you will start to become even more creative and add pictures of folks I haven’t mentioned here that give meaning and purpose to what you do. 

 

 

 

The Warning Signs of Becoming Irrelevant

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 3 Comments on The Warning Signs of Becoming Irrelevant

Wise words from Coach Nick Saban, Football Coach, University of Alabama

Are you in danger of becoming irrelevant?  It’s easy, you know?  Countless organizations have achieved this dubious distinction.

Here are the warning signs:

  • Facilities are outdated and tired looking
  • Staff are disengaged, marking time and unmotivated
  • More time is spent whining than doing
  • Customers just aren’t like they used to be
  • Preoccupation with the past
  • No time spent on the future
  • Expectation that tomorrow will be just like today…and it is
  • No one exploring the big issues like:
    • Where do we need to be?
    • What do we need to do?
    • How do we change?
    • How can we be better?
  • Feeling of being trapped
  • Absentee ownership

Recently, I heard Nick Saban share one of the ways he motivates his Alabama Football Team, “We didn’t come here to be irrelevant!” he tells them.

 It’s a wake up call.  I don’t know about you but I didn’t come here to be irrelevant and I don’t think you did either.

Admittedly, things in DeathCare have been trending negatively for several years now,  but when I listen to a lot of us it sounds like we think it’s hopeless.  I vigorously disagree.  Nothing is ever so bad you can’t do something.  Maybe it’s time to sell.  But…maybe it’s time to decide you don’t want to sell.  Maybe it’s time to admit you aren’t a great leader and find a mentor to help you learn to be a better one.   There are lot’s of things we can do but the first step is to:

LOOK BEYOND YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES

You see, if you only look at your circumstances, your circumstances are in control.  The burden of the present is simply too much.  Research shows that those who candidly face reality but never stop believing that the future can be better have a much better chance of succeeding than those who give up.  Kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?  When we look beyond our circumstances we start seeing things as they could be instead of the way they are.    We gain a sense that it isn’t the beginning of the end… but only the end of the beginning.

Here’s the take-away: Dying is one thing that will never go out of style.  People will always die.  How they choose to interact with that event or process is the only thing in play.  Right now we have the “Home Court Advantage”.  What will we do with it?  So far not much.  But that can change.  And if history is any indicator it will.  Stand up, get back in the fight, learn to think for yourself and stay away from depressing people…you can’t afford to let them bring you down.

Should Packages Be Discounted?

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 5 Comments on Should Packages Be Discounted?

5 insights to packaging funerals

Numerous funeral homes are implementing and experimenting with package pricing with excellent success.  But little is known about the principles of packaging (elsewhere known as bundling) outside of the fact that fast food and car dealerships have been doing it for years.   Those that have adopted package plans find it has helped them in two ways.  First, it has improved their average overall sale and second, it has improved the arrangement process for their clients by making it easier.

Why package?

Packaging provides two advantages:  First it is a convenience for families.  Most families find the task of selecting from the laundry list of items required by the FTC rule to be onerous if not confusing.  By synthesizing this information into simplified packages it is easier for them to make choices that please them.  So, a primary factor is the emotional convenience and customer friendly nature of simplification.  Second, by pulling together the various elements of a given service type into a single price, value perception is enhanced as people accept services that are “already paid for”.  The key in any pricing strategy is to help people feel they are getting a little more than they are paying for and packaging is the best way to accomplish that.

Packaging do’s and don’ts

Many people bungle packaging by thinking they have to cram a lot of extra items into it that people don’t really want.  Ask yourself this question:  is your purpose in packaging to somehow magically persuade people to pay you more?  If so, don’t expect the consumer to be fooled.  If, instead, the items included in a package are there because they make sense to your funeral arrangers then it is likely to be perceived as value to the consumer as well.  

Keep it simple.  Studies consistently show that when making complex decisions people feel most comfortable if you break their choices down into groups of three:  burial, cremation or mausoleum entombment for instance.  For this reason, all of the better programs we have seen offer a good, better best package and these are presented in two sets:  packages for burial and packages for cremation.   A package should be presentable on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.   Most find it easier to design the best package and then simply reduce it for the remaining two categories. 

Don’t let people unbundle your package.  The packages are offered for the convenience of the customer.  If they want to delete items to lower the price then gently and respectfully take it away and suggest you go back to the itemized price list.  Keep your discipline.  The first one to flinch loses.

To Discount or not to discount?

The prevailing wisdom among professional pricing strategists is that the cumulative price of the individual items included in the package should be greater than the package price.  They also believe the resulting discount should be in the neighborhood of 10%.  In funeral service we believe this is debatable.  Given that it is a true convenience factor in the arrangement process, discounting may or may not be necessary.  That being said, it is our belief that most funeral directors err on the side of giving too much discount and that discounts should be more in the neighborhood of 5% on traditional burial and perhaps 7.5% (splitting the difference between 5 and 10%) for cremation.  Our reasoning is that discounts of more than that could have the unpleasant effect of sending a signal that you have too much margin in your prices.  Our research supports this as pricing strategists warn bundlers that they should be careful not to discount too deeply.  Enough to encourage people to take the package not so much that you are sending a signal that will backfire on you.  Finally, if you do discount, the amount of the discount should be prominently displayed on your presentation material and also on your statement of goods and services.

Presentation:

The Federal Trade Commission Rule requires you to present every arranger with an itemized General Price List.  But it does not require you to go over it in detail.   We recommend you present it immediately by saying “we are required to give you a copy of our general price list and you should take this with you when you leave.”  Then lay it on the table for them and immediately say, “Many of the families we serve prefer, however, to review our package plans in order to simplify the process of making decisions.  Let’s talk a little bit about what kind of service you were thinking about.”    

Of course, you need to come up with a script that you are comfortable with.  

When someone making arrangements suggests deleting an item to cut the cost we recommend you say something on the order of:  “Well, that is included at no extra charge in the package price.  But if you prefer we can build a custom service using our itemized price list.”  Then stop talking. 

Including Merchandise

There is some debate as to whether to include merchandise in your packages.  Most successful programs do include at least caskets and urns.  Vaults may be more difficult to include as they may not be used in 100% of the services you perform.   The number of choices within a package should be limited compared to an average selection room and quality should fit the package level.

To Guarantee or Not Guarantee

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 5 Comments on To Guarantee or Not Guarantee

To Guarantee or Not Guarantee
That is the question

Pardon my poetic license with Shakespeare. It is morning and I am feeling a little perkier than usual. And, no, I am not going to address the nobility of preneed.
The question of guaranteeing or “freezing” the price has always been a concern among DeathCare professionals. This is especially so when it comes to discussions of shortfall. In my opinion there is only one answer to the question of whether or not you as an individual firm should guarantee that has any real integrity:

“It depends.”

Frankly, I think most practitioners are aware that the answer cannot be a simple: “Don’t do it.” or “You must do it.” or there wouldn’t be an ongoing debate…a debate that seems to be occupying a greater part of our industry dialogue than ever before. So, my purpose in this commentary is not to give you a “pat” answer but to open the issues that must be considered if one is going to make the best decision for their individual circumstances.

No one else does it.

We often hear various pundits and practitioners declare by rhetorical question: “What other business sells something today and guarantees delivery tomorrow at today’s price?” The inference is that we have been hoodwinked by a sinister “them” (usually the insurance companies) into something that is bad for us. And, further, that we are somehow fools for perpetuating the practice. Having been there when preneed became popular on the funeral side (it’s been around for millennia) I have to respond that I don’t remember it that way. But that is a side comment not germane to our discussion.
The inference that no other business would be stupid enough to sell a product or service with a locked in price is simply not true. In fact, a whole multibillion dollar industry is built on it. It is what selling Futures is all about and the Futures market offers a singular and helpful metaphor for a fundamental philosophical concept. To reduce a highly sophisticated and technically complex industry to a single idea I look at the sale of futures this way:
If I believe prices and profits will go up in the future I want to buy. If I believe prices and profits will go down in the future I want to sell. And this, in a nutshell, is why I am pro preneed.

The following chart adapted from Federated Funeral Directors shows funeral home profits since 1978 projected out over the next ten years:

Now I don’t really believe the entire industry will go into the red. But it isn’t a happy picture either. So, if I were trading futures what would I do? I think I would sell. (By the way, there are other products and services I can think of that are sold in advance. But that’s not my point) The parallel with selling futures is a fairly good argument for selling preneed but it has some holes relative to guaranteeing the price. Although I haven’t yet addressed the guarantee issue, you should know that if the trend in prices and profitability turns the other way you can expect me to step over to the other side and be opposed to preneed selling.
I think the real questions people are asking (and if I have this wrong I truly beg you to let me know and get it right) is whether guaranteeing the price is too much risk and if you have to do it at all. Again, the answer is: “it depends.”

Shortfalls

The first issue of risk relates to shortfalls. A few years ago I developed a “Shortfall Calculator” which I use with audiences to gauge the true impact. I project the worksheet on the screen and the audience collaborates to fill in the data with realistic averages. I make no attempt to influence their numbers. When it comes to shortfalls the answers are surprisingly consistent across the country. Always there are individual anecdotes about $1,000 or even $2,000 shortfalls. But the consensus among literally dozens of audiences is that shortfalls average about $300. This is their number not mine. We then go on to quantify all the other financial factors affecting a firm over the past ten years. This includes the decline in family loyalty, the tendency toward choosing lesser quality, the growth in cremation etc. Without exception the numbers bear out that you are better off suffering the shortfall for exactly the same reason you want to sell futures.
Since this is usually the first time an audience has ever quantified the impact of preneed combined with the impact of shortfalls, I challenge them to check the conclusion by going home and comparing the preneeds they are serving today with the at needs they are selling today. Here are the responses I get when they do. “Of the 3 copper caskets we used last year 2 were sold preneed.” “My preneed conversion average is almost $1,000 higher than my at need average even with the shortfall.” and so on. It’s an easy test. You can do it yourself.

Competitive Factors

Part of my personal frustration in this debate is that it tends to hide what I think is the most important issue and that is:
Market Share

On the funeral side the industry averages a variable unit margin of a whopping 83%! That means that for every dollar of revenue you generate above your breakeven point 83 cents goes crashing to the bottom line. So the fastest remedy to your profit and cash flow woes is to control increasing amounts of market share. Yet, as a profession very few people really focus on gaining market share. I haven’t understood this except to wonder if two things are in play:

1. Funeral Directors already have all the business they want. No, really, I think this is part of why busi nesses are so static. And ,
2. The very long sales cycle has everyone convinced you really can’t shift market share.

Again, not germane to the discussion at hand, but if you can explain this industry-wide delusion to me I would be interested.
The competitive question really requires you to think about several factors among which are:

1. What will my competition do? Or its corollary, I have no competition so why am I doing this?
2. Do I really need to guarantee to maintain an ad vantage?
3. If I stop will they stop?
4. Do consumers really care?
5. Will I be able to keep my sales people or will sales drop off?

The answers to these and other questions are obviously situational. For instance, at first blush, if I have no competition then it might make sense for me to not offer a guarantee. But if my sales average is declining and guaranteeing offers a strong buying incentive maybe I want to keep on doing it. For Example, an increasing number of practitioners are telling me that families in their areas are buying cremation because they can’t afford burial. I wonder if these same practitioners aren’t wishing they had been more aggressive in preneed ten years ago. Here’s another thought: “what if I want to make my monopoly more secure by tying up as much business as I can thus discouraging anyone who might want to come into my market?”
What if I have competitors? Right now there is at least one practitioner loudly and proudly telling practitioners that they quit guaranteeing and it has had no effect on their business. Because this issue is so situational, I think they do a disservice.
People hire me to help them develop transitional and strategic market strategies. If the competitors to the afore-mentioned practitioners were to hire me here is what I would do: I would be quiet long enough for them to take enough rope and solidly position themselves in the “We don’t guarantee” niche. Then I would hire an aggressive advertising company and a successful third party marketer even if I had to borrow the money. I would tell them both that they had one mission: My firm must OWN the guarantee concept. I would want consumers to think guarantee every time they thought about prearrangement. More than that, I would want them to think of me as the inventor and owner of the concept. Then, I would want families that had prearranged at my friend’s firm to wonder if maybe he hadn’t taken advantage of them. Would I do this because I wanted more guaranteed funerals? No, I would do it because I want the 83% margin on each incremental call I take from him. If that sounds ruthless I wish I could say I am sorry but people pay me to help them win.

Preneed sales are typically lower

This is an argument that simply doesn’t hold water. There are only two reasons someone might have a preneed sales average lower than the current at need average:

• They don’t believe in funerals
o There is no cure for this. You need to help them find an alternative future.
• They are improperly trained
o This is an easy cure. The best and fastest way is for an experienced agent to go out with them, find the issues and retrain them.
Typically, Preneed averages can and should run several hundred dollars (excluding cash advances) higher than at need.

Baby Boomers
I am going out on a limb here because I know some pundits are telling you differently. But I strongly believe Boomers (I am one myself) are into planning and, therefore, attracted to preplanning and prepaying. What I don’t believe is that we have our message right. Selling features and benefits is out. Threats of unpleasant consequences for not planning are particularly rejected. In my opinion Boomers represent the single greatest opportunity for prearrangement and prepayment we have ever been presented. I just hope we figure it out before others do.

A Compromise
Hopefully, I have given you some good food for thought on the subject. Again, I think you see that the final answer for each of you “Depends” on your situation.
Here is a compromise that may help some of you who feel caught “betwixt and between”. A friend of mine made this suggestion:
“Why don’t we guarantee only those services (burial and cremation) that are at or above our targeted average? This would give people a value reason to buy in that range and it would also create a value perception to the guarantee. If families at the lower end still want to hedge the future price we could sell them a separate policy to cover, but not guarantee, anticipated inflation.”

I like this idea. It makes sense.

Note to my readers:
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Respectfully Submitted

Alan Creedy

The One Question You Need To Ask

Written by Alan Creedy on . Posted in The Creedy Commentary. No Comments on The One Question You Need To Ask

Is it too much to ask for a simple, easy to understand customer survey that is accurate and corresponds directly with repeat business and profitability? Something you can understand and follow through on at a glance?

Turns out it is not. A few years ago a Bain and Company Executive published a book entitled “The Ultimate Question” about a project which led to the optimal and simplest way to measure effectiveness. Since its discovery and execution the “Net Promoter” Score (NPS) has been adopted by many major companies, many of them global. A short list would include GE, Southwest Airlines, USAA insurance, and Ebay. NPS is a measurement of promoters Vs. detractors among your customer base. Over the last decade it has proven it is directly corellated with revenue growth and profitability.

A couple of years ago I encouraged some of my funeral director friends to adopt this simple measurement tool. They have found it is simple, easy to understand and, best of all, very inexpensive. and, yes, it is a truer indicator of performance than any other measure.

Famously, in the movie “City Slickers” Jack Palance tells us to focus on One Thing and turns out that if you focus on your NPS everything else will follow.

The question: “On a scale of 0-10 how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or relative?” I recommend an open-ended followup question: “why did you rate us this way?”

Click below to see what the survey looks like.

lohman card

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