Before working in the ad agency software field, I had a lot of anxiety. It got so bad sometimes that I was probably qualified for Guinness Book of Records. Not a healthy situation for me but not so bad for the clients I served. My insecurity consistently drove me to promise a client whatever necessary to make them happy.
So, when a client called me one day and said, “My son is having a birthday in two weeks and we’re having a party for him. Can you get me an elephant? Price is no object.” He was rich, but I was poor – and devoid of both confidence and wisdom. Nevertheless, I said, “Sure Kenny. What’s the date and place?”
How does one get an elephant? One calls the zoo, of course. I called six zoos – spoke to trainers, keepers, public relations people, administrative people, even a CEO. Might as well go where elephants live, I figured.
The first five inquiries were very similar. The calls were brief and there was a lot of laughing on the other end of the line. Either all of them had well trained laughing hyenas, or I was acting like an entertaining idiot. Sadly, I think it was the latter.
I was disappointed, confused, scared to tell Kenny the truth that I never should have trained him to expect me to do things like that. I was also scared to call the CEO of the sixth zoo. My middle initial is S and it must have stood for scared in those days. After all, I was married with a child. I needed my job and I needed that client.
I eventually got through to the CEO who taught me a lot. He seemed to concentrate on Kenny’s words, “…money is no object.” He taught me to keep trying and taught me the power of money when he said, “I think we can make this happen if a baby elephant will be OK.”
In the end it was okay, the CEO made it happen. The party was a grand success – every kid got a ride on the baby elephant. I was offered the opportunity but declined. Luckily, the elephant had a keeper so I wasn’t expected to be the cleanup; but it was a source of considerable anxiety before the ice cream and cake were served.
We kept the client. I matured a bit. Two years later, Kenny had another request. He wanted a real railroad engine on his back lot. He was ready to buy it along with an old fashioned Pullman car “for guests.” (In those days, most people knew that a Pullman car was a sleeping car on long distant trains.)
I hadn’t matured enough to tell him that his request wasn’t part of an ad agency’s service, but I was smart enough to simply say I’d explore the possibilities. I suspected that I’d have an ally in the township where Kenny’s home was situated. I was right about that. There were zoning restrictions.
Is there ever too much service? Certainly not. Can ill conceived service overcome low self-esteem? No there as well. Good service is restricted by limitations that sometimes are insurmountable.
Ad agency project management software could have helped me, but honesty would have even more. Be forthcoming with your clients about what is possible – both of you will be happier in the long run.
Allan Kalish is co-founder and Chairman of Workzone, LLC, a provider of web-based project management software and collaboration tools for ad agencies, marketing departments and any organization needing to manage projects more effectively.
