lance cashion: remote control

A Lesson in Intimidation Tactics by Kathleen Sebelius

For SHAME!!!!

In the spirit of the 1st Amendment, I submit that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius is employing Eastern European intimidation tactics (Circa 1938) by issuing an ‘official’ letter to Karen Ignagni (AHIP). Read the letter for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Download Sebelius-Karen-Ignagni

SHAME on YOU Ms. Sebelius! First, we live in the United States of America. We have laws. If Ms. Ignagni has broken the law, take legal action. Your position as Secretary of HHS (questionable if you are qualified), does not allow you to usurp law. I’m sorry Fraulein Sebelius, but you’ll have to play by the rules.Here we go… 

Lesson 1: Misrepresent Your Target’s Position
“….sending letters to their enrollees falsely blaming premium increases for 2011 on the Patient Protections in the Affordable Care Act.” – Kathleen Sebelius

Question: Is Fraulein Sebelius an actuary? I don’t think so. Does she have a firm understanding of how insurance works? No. She is a career politician who slid down the A-list from a possible VP nomination to her present position at HHS. Currently sitting bench on the junior varsity squad, but believes she carries the ‘big stick’, therefore wielding her limited power to make up for career shortcomings.

Lesson 2: Issue Veiled Threat disguised as a ‘Warning’
“I urge you to inform your members that there will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases.” – Kathleen Sebelius

Let’s call this what it is… a Threat. Please note; there are two threats contained in the letter.

Lesson 3: Parrot Official Propaganda (repeat it often)
Most of the letter is the official “re-sale” of Obamacare. I guess Fraulein Sebelius has never ‘worked’ in sales.

I stop here to give a piece of advice that an old wise man told me when I was younger.

“A turd is a turd, you can’t polish a turd." Obamacare is a turd and everyone knows it. You can wrap it in a pretty box with pretty ribbon and a little bow, but it still stinks! All of the repackaging and remarketing of the product ‘Obamacare’ is not going to change what it really is.

The ‘primary’ design of PPACA (Obamacare) was to change the relationship between the electorate and the elected through creating/increasing dependency on the Federal Government. That is the truth. Paint it whatever color you want. Wrap it in a security blanket and sell it. As we say down here… “That dog won’t hunt!”

“Health insurance companies do not control the cost of healthcare. Health insurance is expensive because HEALTH CARE is expensive. Instead of tackling real problems, you decide to muddy the waters to push your ideals. I get it. But, I don’t buy it.”

Finally, I submit that Fraulein Sebelius is a holier-than-thou bureaucrat, an ideologue with an ax to grind, and a Planned Parenthood operative. (Did I miss anything?)  I am not attacking her personally, I'm attacking her behavior and actions (measurable outcomes of past behavior).

Ms Sebelius,
I welcome you climb down from your ivory tower and join me in the trenches of reality.

To mirror the language that you used in regard to Ms Ignagni; "I urge you to inform your party that there will be zero tolerance for this type of intimidation and veiled threats". The END of your political career begins on November 2nd! I suggest you correct your current course or get packing.

Join the tribe on our crusade to change Washington DC by purchasing an “OVER Nov 2nd” bumper sticker!

Thanks
Lance Cashion

Cut the BS: People Demand Honesty!

I've been on a customer service and No BS tear as of late. I won't apologize because I'm sick of people being treated like idiots by sales people and companies who want our money but don't want to deliver value or service. So, the saga continues with another story of stupidity.

Back Story:

I was having a conversation with my wife this morning (who is a fantastic Realtor). She was reading a description of a home for sale here in Fort Worth. The language used by the listing agent (I won’t use their real name) describing the home painted a picture of a lovely home that was cared for and completely updated. The agent used words like “oasis” and other whimsical language to describe this home. Come to find out, the place is a complete dump. This particular agent has a habit of doing this. Why?

I mean, what does this listing agent have to gain by misrepresenting the property and wasting people’s time? It’s stupid to think that you are going to pull the wool over people’s eyes. I mean, the place is nothing like you describe it.

The agent and consumer would be better served if the agent had said;

• This home is in a great neighborhood (True)
• This home has a lot of potential (True)
• Buyers interested in updating and showing some love to a great old home (True)
• Located in an exemplary school district (True)
• This home is the perfect way to get into a great neighborhood at a discount (True)

You get the picture.

The Real Deal:

I submit that people today are looking for complete honesty and transparency. Be honest! Don’t think you can get away with misrepresenting the truth with me. I’ll research you, the home, the neighborhood, gas leases, soil content, crime rate, previous owners and your real estate company before we even shake hands. I’ll probably know more than you will. So, stop trying to fool people.

You are missing the mark with your marketing strategy, pissing people off and ruining your reputation. Buyers exist that would love to purchase this home but, you are not marketing to them. So, Stop.

Rant over!
Lance Cashion

Do you have any experiences with this type of crap?

TXU Energy Billing and Customer Service Run Around

Have you ever dealt with these people?  I’d love to hear about it!   Leave a comment on my blog and TXU will hear about it!  TXU FAIL imo.  You can contact TXU here.

TXU Energy Billing and Customer Service Run Around

Dear TXU Energy Executive Team,
The electricity in my home is provided by TXU Energy.  I have been a loyal customer for several years.

People who know me don’t hear me complain much unless I absolutely mean it.  I love awesome and genuine customer service when I purchase a product or service.  I have sent thank you letters and emails for great customer service folks at huge corporations who really take care of me. 

Treating others (customers) how you would want to be treated is not TXU’s MO.  On my TXU Energy Bill page 2, you will see TXU’s stated goal.  It is as follows;

“Our goal is to provide outstanding customer service to you and resolve all customer issues through our (800) XXX-XXXX customer service number”.

Here’s the back ground.  I received my electric bill for June 2010 and it was 58% more than May 2010.  For reference my June 2010 bill was 35% more than August of 2009 (the month where we consumed the most energy).  The bill states that I have used more 45% more electricity in June 2010 than May 2010.  Our consumption habits have not changed in a month and Oncore (TXU provider) came to our home in April to provide a complimentary energy service/inspection of our home that promised to make our home more efficient.  So, you can see that I MAY want to speak with someone at TXU Energy regarding this increase in our bill.

Call 1: It took me 2.5 mins to navigate their automated “customer service” line to get a live human.  When I did, the human I was connected to was in the Philippines and barely spoke English.  I kindly asked if I could be transferred to someone in the US to discuss my bill.  The operator said that they could not transfer calls out.  I said, “thank you” and hung up.

Call 2: It took me a little over 3 minutes to navigate the automation where I was placed on hold for the next available “customer service” representative.  After being on hold for about 20 seconds, the line went dead.

Call 3:  A charm right?  Not quite.  I spent nearly 3 minutes getting back to a human (located in the Philippines).  I told the operator that I had a question about my bill.  She informed me that their system was down and to call back in about an hour.  I asked if there was a number I could call Stateside where I could speak with someone about my bill.  She said, “yes” and proceeded to give me the SAME number I called in the first place.  To this, I said that it was the same number I just used and she replied that I would just need to call back in an hour then. 

TXU Energy has never been known for their “customer service” and should not make a goal statement like the one mentioned above.  It comes across as a snow job to customers and angers us more when we are given the run around.  I’d rather TXU and others companies who operate like them not mention “customer service” at all instead of using it as a sales pitch.  I submit that TXU Energy’s “customer service” is nonexistent. 

BTW, I’m still waiting for Oncore or TXU Energy (whoever) to cut the large tree limbs that are lying across the power lines in our neighborhood.  We reported this dangerous situation in February 2010. 

My clients will attest to the customer service I provide.  Can yours?

Regards
Lance Cashion

• Have you ever had similar situations with so-called “customer service”?
• Does my story make you think twice about the service you provide your people?
• Does TXU have the humility, brains or stones to answer my charges and defend their brand?

Entreleadership 1-Day event take away

I took my team leaders to Dave Ramsey's Entreleadership 1 day event in Dallas Thursday.  I was a bit apprehensive about their reactions to Dave and the material when I decided to invite them to join me at the event.  I ended up asking them to buy their own tickets.  This added more pressure but they now had a vested interest in getting their money's worth.  I believe in the material and Dave's delivery always get's the point across.

Nearly 48 hours later, I have had an opportunity to get feedback from each team member.  I found that each of them got something completely different from the lessons.  One of our top managers, who is in a leadership position said that the goal setting and section on business plan basics resonated with him.  In fact, we had a 20 minute discussion about how we all need to sit down and write our small business plans and KRAs (Key Results Area).  This also led to an important discussion about goal setting and the importance team members' personal budgets.  Our team is on commission, if we partner with them in their personal financial walk, we can help them avoid financial crisis that would affect their production.

During the live lesson, I noticed our head recruiter and director of marketing was making notes like a madman on the Delegation and Time Management sections.  We've since sat down to discuss strategy modifications going forward.  These are minor course corrections in the process we currently employ.  We both agree that some people need to "get off the bus". 

Another of our team who is one of our top managers and in-house team motivator is tweaking our current goal-setting process.  He noticed the significance that Dave placed on goal-setting while I was reminded that goal-setting is essential to winning. 

I believe our next leadership meeting will be extremely productive.

At the end of the day, Entreleadership 1 Day event is a solid product (as is the Master Series).  Similar to when the iphone was introduced, I promote great products that improve lives.  I like buying great products.  When I was a DJ, I sought out quality music and introduced it to the masses.  When I sell insurance, I make sure it is the highest quality and I make sure to sell it to as many people as possible.  When I build a team, only the best will do.  That is why I brought them to Entre 1 Day Event.  I care about improving their lives and that of my the folks in my organization. 

You can read about my experience at Entreleadership Cancun (6 Day Event) here...

It's a culture thing.

Lance Cashion

True currency: the hand written 'Thank You'

I'll be the first to say, I love the convenience of email.  It's an easy and quick way to communicate.  It's a pretty lousy way to say "Thank You" to someone who really went out of their way to serve or help you.

The hand written "Thank You" note is an artifact of a time past when our grandparents would take the time to sit down and write something meaningful on a piece of paper and mail it to someone.  It takes discipline, humility and will-power (not much of that around today).

How powerful is the intentional action of writing the words "Dear Friend, Thank you so much for your help with this or that" in our current age?  Our culture is numb.

In my daily schedule, I set aside 15 minutes per day to write a heart felt expression of Thanks to 2 people.  They are never very long, just a sentence or two.  Emails have value, don't get me wrong.  But a hand written expression of Thanks is the gold standard of communication.  A currency that stands alone in a wash of communication forms.

When I receive a hand written "thank you", it communicates to me that this person thinks of me highly enough to expend their valuable time and energy write something meaningful, put it in an envelope and mail it.  This says something about their character.  At one point in my life, I did not send "thank yous" to anyone.  Now, I do.

Hand written communication is worth more than 100,000 emails or Facebook messages.

Endeavor to be better than you were yesterday, every day.  One day you will wake up a better person who your old self would envy. 

Try it, you'll feel different after writing a few thank yous.

Lance Cashion

“Sane” and “intelligent” will insure their homes and cars but not their health?

Why is it that people who are considered “sane” and “intelligent” will insure their homes and cars but not their health?

Don’t they know that a catastrophic illness or accident could jeopardize their home and cars?  Not to mention ruining the lives of their families?  There is nothing “sane” or “intelligent” about that!  My wife would kill me if I did not have health insurance.  And she would have good reason.  First, by not having protection in place I’m communicating to her that she and my son are not important.  Second, killing me is a better alternative to a $500,000 medical bill LOL!  Talk about a massive FAIL on my part!

Be responsible folks!  And don’t be foolish and pretend that the Federal Government’s MO is to take care of your individual health care.

Lance Cashion

Character Trumps Talent

What has happened in our culture?  What has happened to character?  Integrity and personal accountability have taken a back seat to winning at all costs and compromised values.  Has humanity sunk so low into selfish self-preservation that our true value as humans has been thrown away and replaced with short lived fame and materialism? 

“Selfishness, faithlessness, and deceit have no place in a person who wants to develop character”- unknown

Look in the mirror.  Are you a person of great Character?

Look around you.  Are the people you live with, work with and associate with people of good Character? 

Sure, talent is very valuable, but good Character is worth its weight in gold in the long run. 

Want to stand out in a sea of humanity?  Possess good character and you set yourself apart in the world around you.  You can be counted on and relied upon when the tempests come.

Lance Cashion