Nothing new in Taunus: thunderstorms all around Jarltech's headquarters in Usingen. There was thunder and lightning non-stop and this had to happen at some point: lightning struck not far away and all companies of the neighbourhood were knocked-out, internet-wise.
It quickly became clear that the loss of our fibre optic internet connection must somehow be connected to the lightning strike. With a night-time call at Telekom, we learned that there was a problem with the lines, but that there were no need to worry and that we could go home, everything would be operational again shortly. Not so, unfortunately. And Telekom were not at top form either. Note that we are not talking about a standard DSL line here, we are talking about our fibre optic lifeline.
As the internet was gone overnight, a technician came at 8 AM the next morning and confirmed that our internet was gone. However, the fibre optic cable to Frankfurt was intact. Everything is fine, I thought, the problem will be fixed soon then.
That is what I thought ... until the technician packed up, saying: "I am only in charge of the fibre optic network availability. The problem here seems to be the router and that's not my responsibility. A local colleague will contact you shortly." Unfortunately, it was impossible to call this colleague, so we started our emergency procedures to secure our shipping capability. At least, that worked like a charm -- no wonder, as it is not Telekom who make our deliveries. Well, there is nothing to be done about. Not until noon finally the second Telekom guy arrived, checked the router and made his diagnosis: "The router is probably defective; it reacts neither to internal nor to external requests and needs to be replaced." We already knew that. Just give us a replacement router! Telekom answers: "We don't have one, only in Hanover." Great. Not only do we have contracts with courier services, we could also go and get it within the hour with Jarltech's jet. The commiserate employee of the T-Club tried to explain us why it would unfortunately not be possible to conciliate this with their own processes and stated that the router may only be delivered by Telekom's own courier service. Additionally, it must also stop over in Gießen to be configured, which ate up even more precious time. They could e-mail and upload it, but no way, the configuration is "secret".
Our administrator's offers to support the Telekom guys with getting the router from the specialist shop around the corner or to fly the T-Com router in from Hanover, or even to configure it ourselves via Telekom's phone support were all refused. That is disappointing, especially as this line alone yearly costs us a five digit sum. And all assertions as to when which problem would be solved were just so short every time that it would not have been worth it to switch to our backup line from Arcor.
At last, there was a happy ending when a very friendly Telekom employee finally showed up at 8 PM, bringing us the last Cisco module available in Germany, which was found to be the cause of the failure. The module was then replaced within 5 minutes by his trainee and placed back into the rack. After exactly 15 minutes and a call with Telekom central support, internet was available again. This should have happened much faster! What upsets me is that you are powerless, because you cannot call anyone at Telekom. All the technicians hide their phone numbers. They are all very friendly and competent, but they hide themselves. We thought only the CIA would hide their caller number nowadays.
Of course, we also must hold ourselves accountable. While we have a couple of internet providers for emergencies, as well as a replacement for every in-house router and server, this one, mysterious Telekom router was the weak spot, with no backup. This cannot be -- I wonder if it is possible to get another one from Telekom, because if we had one, we would also have that top secret configuration twice. It would even be sufficient if Telekom were to stock one fibre optic router in the Frankfurt area.
A router that costs as much as a second-hand medium-sized car obviously is not helpful as long as its configuration is locked away at Telekom. Only them, and probably the NSA, know these ultra-secret data.
Dear Telekom, there is room for improvement!
Complaining – the national pastime of the Germans
Let’s be honest, we Germans love to complain – about the weather, football, the economy, politics, etc....
Let’s be honest, we Germans love to complain – about the weather, football, the economy, politics, etc. This unites us all – regardless of our social class or political affiliation. Complaining is a national pastime in Germany. We love to grumble about high prices, the shortage of skilled workers and the weakening economy, while at the same time discussing our next holiday or the four-day week. Please don’t get me wrong, I am all for everyone taking a lot of time off and having a good rest – the only thing that bothers me is the fact that we love to see everything in such a gloomy light! We have to start working together to find solutions, because what we forget amidst all the moaning are our own abilities.
No, Germany is not falling apart! Germany still has a lot of untapped potential. We have people with great ideas, curious and inquisitive people (yes, even among Gen Z), a high average level of education, a high degree of legal certainty, a consistently strong industry, very good research ... and yes, we also have the capital. But we have to stop complaining and focus on our strengths. We are capable of innovation, we can be or remain market leaders in many areas, but, at the same time, we have to be open-minded. Even if one area collapses, we can successfully develop and expand a subsequent one. These are our strengths. However, we have to accept the challenge – be it in society, in politics or in the economy. Burying our heads in the sand won’t help us.
We are once again facing enormous opportunities for our future – whether in medical research, industry, the energy sector or, of course, across the board in the field of AI. And that’s just what comes to mind. There is, of course, much more. Let’s work together to develop new ideas that will advance us not only as a society, but also as a business location. There is potential out there, it just needs to be tapped! And by the way, we’ll have less reason to complain!
The road to success: do we really have to get worse at everything?
Last week I had a conversation with a customer that left me speechless....
Last week I had a conversation with a customer that left me speechless. Our sales department asked me to speak to a customer on the phone who doesn’t buy from us because we supposedly supply end customers.
No problem, I thought. I called and explained that this is exactly what we don’t do, and that this is a key promise to our dealers. There are extremely rare exceptions – only if a vendor forces us to or a retailer explicitly asks us to. But that almost never happens.
Then it turned out that there was a misunderstanding: the customer said that we also supply small retailers. My answer: »Yes, we do and we have to, based on our contracts with the vendors. Our competitors do that too.«
»All correct«, I hear, but then it got exciting: »Your large competitors are not interested in small customers, so they are poorly served. At Jarltech, small dealers feel comfortable because you provide great service.«
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry ... A customer doesn’t buy from us because our service is too good? I hadn’t expected that.
But don’t worry, contrary to the headline: We will continue to endeavour to offer every customer the best service we can!
Why is good service so important again?
I'm writing to you today from China. Here I have learnt once again why good service is so important....
I'm writing to you today from China. Here I have learnt once again why good service is so important. If you want a customer to pay more than elsewhere, then you have to make the difference! You have to know what they like and anticipate their wishes.
Here in Shenzhen is the Grand Hyatt Hotel – I was here at least six times a year before Corona – and even stored some luggage in Shenzhen, so that I only had to fly with hand luggage. Liquids and such ... that was difficult on the plane.
It’s been over three years since I was last here, and I arrived to be greeted by an armada of hotel staff. My beloved Coke Zero was waiting for me in the car outside the airport. My luggage, which I hadn’t expected to see again, had been stored for three years and completely cleaned for my new stay. Everything was hanging in the wardrobe and the bathroom was neat and tidy. My razor was charged and my chargers stood on the desk. Of course, the fridge was full of Coke Zero and the white wine I had last drunk three years ago. Even the room service knew what I liked to eat.
That’s what hospitality really is. And we have to do the same at Jarltech. Always write down what our customers want and like. And when I go out to dine with a customer, I need to know whether they are vegan or if they don’t like pork, for example. Some customers want to be called and courted on a weekly basis, whereas others find this rather annoying. Some still prefer paper catalogues, others believe it’s environmental pollution. And all the better if a customer returns after three years, and I still have it all written down somewhere. Jarltech may not be a hotel, but we are a service provider that has to differentiate itself The difference is always in the details.
The world's smallest chef gives a guest performance in Usingen
It's finally back on: Our 3D projection dinner show »Le Petit Chef« will be back in our restaurant »Uwe and Uli« (www.uwe-uli.de) from the 11th of October...
It's finally back on: Our 3D projection dinner show »Le Petit Chef« will be back in our restaurant »Uwe and Uli« (www.uwe-uli.de) from the 11th of October 2023 to the 30th of April 2024. Personally, I always have fun enjoying delicious food with a bit of a show. Come by sometime – it's also great for Christmas parties with up to 20 people. And if you're a customer of ours, why not have your sales contact invite you next time you visit Jarltech? 😊
Have fun with the little chef!