The busy season. Construction is at its peak, you’ve booked multiple special events every weekend and more during the week. You and your crews will be rushing around from pre-dawn to past dusk. Before you become immersed in the worst of this year’s rush, come up for air and check if there are ways to make it a little less crazy.
SET THE STAGE
Remind your family and friends if they want to see you in the next couple of months, they’d better take a picture of you. Explain to your spouse and kids that easing up on the home schedule for a few months will help you retain your sanity. Have a talk with your kids so they understand your hectic summer pays the bills for much of the rest of the year and you might have to miss a few dinners and outings because you’ll either be working or exhausted from working. Assure the family you’ll make up for it when things are slow. Commit now to a winter weekend away with your spouse, or promise to take your kids skiing, to a hockey game, or to other winter activities they are interested in.
If you have tweens or teens, hire them to take over some home duties for the summer to ease your load a bit. Coming home to a freshly mowed lawn at the end of a 12-hour workday would make you a much more cheerful parent, wouldn’t it? And they’ll like having a bit of cash in their pockets.
Lay out the busy season scenario to employees too, especially those who haven’t been through one with your company. Explain their role and your expectations. As workloads increase, so will problems. Define priorities. Let employees know what tasks can be postponed when you are super busy and what tasks are non-negotiable. Be honest about the hours they will be required to put in. Asking employees to work extra hours is received more positively if the possibility was raised in advance.
Work as a team
Stress levels go up during busy times and people may become irritated with each other. But arguing, complaining and competing will make things harder for everyone. Strive to get everyone working as a team. Have a “we’re all in this together” approach. Don’t ask some people to make sacrifices you and others aren’t making. Make your company philosophy, “it takes a team” rather than “take one for the team.”
And be liberal with the positive feedback. Start the week by telling the crew they did a great job tearing down after Sunday’s art fair before going over the itinerary for the week.
Stay healthy
When you’re busy, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of poor eating and not enough sleep. When there’s no time for a lunch break, fast food on the road is often the fallback plan. Staying out too late after a long day of work means not getting enough sleep. The result is feeling bad the next day, drinking caffeinated beverages to the point of being jittery, and then having trouble sleeping. It can snowball until a person feels run down and gets sick.
By taking care of yourself during the busy season, you’ll have more energy to take on the challenges. Eat as healthy as possible. This might mean packing a lunch and keeping a stash of healthy snacks available to eat on the road. Get enough sleep … or as close to enough as you can get. And drink lots of water. It’s easy to become dehydrated, especially when working outside in the summer, and dehydration can sap your energy and cause headaches. Colas and caffeinated beverages are dehydrating, so stick to water as much as possible.
Keep track of everything
You might assume you don’t have time to keep detailed records during the busy season, but in reality, this is when it is most important. Take notes on how things were done and what went right and wrong at each event. If you keep track of each job, during the slow season you can look at the data you gathered and find ways to make the busy season go more smoothly next year. Maybe you’ll realize efficient routing would have saved you some time or under-ordering supplies cost you a premium when you had to restock last minute.
Service with a smile
Customer service is as important during the busy season as it is any other time, even though it seems like you don’t have time for it. Customer X may be one of many customers to you, but you are their only restroom provider. That’s important to keep in mind. They don’t know your truck is stuck in traffic and you’ll be there a half hour late. They only know you are not there when you said you would be. A friendly phone call will ease their worries and make them feel like their business is a priority to you. And don’t lower your standards of cleanliness when you’re busy. Maintain your standards to maintain your reputation and your customers.
And yes, you’re crazy busy and it’s hot out and you’re missing your son’s Little League game, but the customer is still always right and you should deliver service with a smile anyway. You may not see a particular customer again until you bid on their job next year. Don’t leave a bad image in this decision maker’s mind. If you don’t make customer service a priority during the busy season this year, you may not have a busy season next year. And, stressful as it is, you don’t really want to give it up, do you?
