Comments on Seattle's Best/Borders Rewards Program Policy

I'm currently a bit sick, and felt a bit lonely after a long day at home reading papers. So, I decided to stop by my local Borders Cafe and drink some hot tea. I go to the Borders Cafe in the Pyramid Mall, where I am enough of a regular that most of the baristas know me by name and disposition.

During this trip, I found out an interesting change in store policy. Apparently, Borders is enforcing a 55% Borders Rewards scan rate among its staff. This is a stronger way of enforcing the policy that the staff ask customers for their Borders Rewards card, then offer to sign them up for one. I do not know if this policy is codified, but it apparently comes up from somewhere in the ranks of Borders management/executives.

All of this is interesting in it of itself, and deserves a long, separate post. But I find it interesting that the company found it prudent to explicitly mandate that cashiers will be rated on whether or not they make a quota of 55% Borders Rewards scans. So, I'm going to flex my neophyte business policy muscles and analyze this policy. I'm doing this on admittedly little info, so if you have more information on the specifics, I'd be glad to hear it.

It's a tad long, so I'm going to outline my thoughts in an "executive summary" of sorts, which, knowing my luck, won't be read by any executive other than my immediate boss, who will wonder what the hell I'm doing wasting time on rather bland commentary of corporate policies.

----Summary------

Policy: Cashiers need to maintain at least a 55% Borders Rewards scan rate among customers.

Relevant characteristics of policy/other store policies:
- Percentages depend upon region - for example, Oregon has a policy of 35%.
- Failure to do so will result in being written up.
- Three write-ups, and you're out (fired).
- Customers should spend more than 5 minutes from the time they get in line to the time they are finished.

Why?
1. These tags track purchases. Better consumer demographics will help advertising/marketing divisions better design promotional campaigns targeted at the customer.
2. These data also help evaluate stores and profitability, and in particular, managers and regional directors that might be seeking advancement in the corporate hierarchy.

Potential Problems With Policy:

1. Write-up threat
Demoralizing
Punitive
2. Incentive to sign up individuals leads to longer lines
Contrary to policy of efficiency
3. Odd measure of productivity

Why it will be effective
Seattle's Best can get away from this, because many of its entry-level employees are not seeking a career - they are seeking a way to make pocket money during college.
Common enemy can, paradoxically, improve group cohesion
Innovation regarding application processing

-----End Summary------


First, let's ask the question:
Why would Borders want to implement this policy?

1. These tags track purchases. Better consumer demographics will help advertising/marketing divisions better design promotional campaigns targeted at the customer.

---details of above point, skip if lazy/rushed---

I've always been fascinated by these little membership cards. A long, long time ago, a company could only use aggregate sales, perhaps on a store basis, perhaps by depending upon regional accounting, on what consumer behavior looked like. With the advent of the UPC symbol (1974) and scanning technology, this process became incredibly efficient, but remained limited to per-store behavior melded with local demographics.

As recently as a few years ago, it would be possible to shop in major supermarkets that lacked a membership card. Today, however, nearly every retailer makes use of membership cards (and their handy miniaturized companions, keytags) to record purchases by consumer. For the first time in history, it might be possible to gather timely, specific information on the consumption of a large fraction of the customer base. Granted, I don't know whether Gmail shares my specific profile with Borders (Asian, 24 years old, United Methodist, etc.). Google in general probably has enough information on me (and most everyone in America) that they know me better than I know myself.

But even without that information, Borders can compile the number of customers per store, same-store visits, correlations between cafe use and book purchases, etc.

---END details of above point, skip if lazy/rushed---

2. These data also help evaluate stores and profitability, and in particular, managers and regional directors that might be seeking advancement in the corporate hierarchy.

This point is rather obvious - headquarters wants to promote the individuals with the best potential to extend their effectiveness to a larger number of stores at the regional or national level. The best way to do this is to measure whether they are, in fact, helping the company.

Potential Problems With Policy:

1. Write-up threat

By most measures, this is a pretty stupid way to get 1/3 fired. Whether or not a person signs up for the card depends on many factors - whether they expect to be back, whether they mind toting around a little tag with marginal benefits, whether they appreciate hauling out their existing membership out of their pocket, etc. Little, if any of this, has to do with the given cashier.

The fairly punitive nature of the penalty for not making a quota on something that, technically, does not improve the company's profits is pretty demoralizing. Never mind that "the enemy" (another SB) is already highly ranked as one of the 100 best companies to work for. If Borders wants its employees to feel like a "family" or at least a minimally Hobbesian contest of profit and power, then it needs to do a better job of not handing down policies that most employees would find mean and stupid.

2. Incentive to sign up individuals leads to longer lines

Contrary to a stated policy (and good business sense) of efficiency, signing up for a Borders Rewards card leads to an additional wait. This is absolutely deadly with long lines. (This cafe, I am told, is the second busiest in the state, making this a particularly relevant point.) As someone who spent about 15 minutes of precious Christmas break time trying (unsuccessfully) to get a Blockbuster membership in West LA, I can say that it's infuriating to be the person putting up with the application. My friends Jake and Ed can tell you that it's doubly annoying to be the person waiting for the person waiting for the form.

A customer cradling a book in line will be more likely to wait in line, in part because of the endowment effect. (See behavioral economics.) It's not clear to me that customer waiting in line for coffee or food experiences less of an endowment effect, since they don't have to physically give up an object they've had in their possession (in fact if not in deed). This may be offset by the fact that consumables might pose more immediate utility than durable objects (like books) - depending on how much the customer seeks immediate gratification, they may or may not be more likely to wait in line for a drink than a book.

In any event, filling out the form not only decreases efficiency, but also may lead to a net loss in sales if people are fed up and leave.


3. Odd measure of productivity

There is, of course, the question as to whether or not this should be a good measure of productivity. What Borders is doing is measuring the effectiveness of its employees in getting people to sign up such that Borders HQ can measure the effectiveness of their employees/stores.


What?


That's right. In the obsession for quantitative measure of progress, Borders may in fact be using a handy number as a proxy for effectiveness. Yes, there are tangible benefits for maximal participation in Borders Rewards. Yes, there is a component of effort on the part of the individual employee, and this is a way of measuring it. But seriously, some manager is going to be worrying about whether or not the change in the percentage of employee Borders Rewards numbers on the right side of the quota is positive and of sufficient magnitude. You're talking about a one-two-three-fourth order separation from the actual job of selling stuff.

In physics, the first derivative of position is velocity. The second derivative of position is acceleration. Few people know the technical name of the third derivative of position (rate of change in acceleration), because it is not relevant for most applications. The third derivative of position is known, properly, as jerk.

I'd say the analogy couldn't be more appropriate.

But all sniping aside, the point is that anything that doesn't directly contribute to profits - including employee satisfaction (reduces turnover), customer satisfaction (increases market), and efficiency (decreases per unit costs) - probably doesn't belong in a good business.

Why it will be effective

Seattle's Best can get away from this, because many of its entry-level employees are not seeking a career - they are seeking a way to make pocket money during college. Seattle's Best can get away from this, because many of its entry-level employees are not seeking a career - they are seeking a way to make pocket money during college. If people get fired or leave because of this policy, there will be plenty of other young, cheerful baristas-in-waiting who are waiting for their chance.

It's not pretty, but it works.

There are some positive benefits to this, of course. Borders Rewards numbers will go up. Hatred of dumb management policies will lead to added group cohesion - by defining the other as the amorphous and distant "headquarters", it's possible to exploit in-group/out-group dynamics and create a better, closer team. This is also true because success for any one individual depends in large part upon getting enough regulars to sign up - that is, for all cashiers to do their best.

And in the end, this policy might spur innovative ways of improving the system to make it more effective. It doesn't take brilliance to conceive of keeping a Rewards Card handy to scan customers that don't have one, and then direct them down to an empty spot on the counter to fill out the application. This uses the obligation that has been created by "doing the customer a favor" by scanning the standby card and creating a situation where, in order to be self-consistent with prior commitments, the customer should move down the counter and fill out the info while their drink is being made.

Conclusion

In the end, the reason why this policy exists has as much to do with a principle of management/governance/leadership that is as old as time...

To be a prince, one must always be able to point to something that has been done to serve the body politic, though often doing nothing is more effective and desired than any possible policy.
- ME

A mid-level manager probably came up with this policy, which was stolen by his upper-management boss and pushed as a way to prove value to the company. Yay for leadership.

Anyway, I'm still sick. But I'll drink to Borders - not the company, but the people. Even on a down day, these folks are some of my favorites in the world.

On Volunteer Organizations (letter to MMAD)

1. Introduction

One of my biggest regrets at Mudd is not devoting the time, thought, and energy needed to really set up MMAD with more infrastructure. I am very happy that the coordinator positions are work-study - I think this is an important way for students who are concerned for society to be able to do good work without having to choose between work and volunteering. To clarify my thoughts, and to maybe pass along the experience and thoughts I should have before I left, I've decided to draft this memo. I don't know of an existing handbook for volunteering, but all social organizations operate according to a few basic principles, most of which I have tried to incorporate into this memo.

2. Summary

I've separated them in terms of strategic, operational, and tactical lessons.

Strategic lessons relate to long-term planning and agenda setting - usually things that happen once a semester, once a year, or even over the lifetime of MMAD. (planning)

Operational lessons relate to the mechanics of getting things done - logistics, planning, and execution of events. (doing things)

Tactical lessons relate to the techniques you actually use to recruit volunteers for events and keep people informed. (keeping people happy and interested)

The chief lessons learned:
Strategic
1. Decide each year whether energy and mission will be focused on outreach, volunteering, or activism, or a combination of these.
2. Be realistic as far as what to expect from HMC and its students, realistic but not pessimistic.
3. Volunteering can be fun, personally rewarding, and eye-opening - it does not have to be all of these, but there should be an opportunity for each.
4. Good relationships with the administrators and ASHMC are incredibly important in order to get things done.

Operational
1. Ego destroys more organizations and clubs than anything else - the cause, whatever it is, must be bigger than any one person.
2. Get help if you need it.
3. Everyone needs a clear idea of what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and who needs to do it.
4. Money is important in order to get things done - make sure that the funding is available for every project. If it's not, don't be shy to go out and get it.
5. Learn how to negotiate with the administration and other stakeholders.
6. Professors, the administration, and staff have long-term connections with the community, and are a great source of contacts. Existing contacts should be maintained and transferred between years.
7. Talk about what worked and what didn't for each event.

Tactical
1. You get more flies with honey than vinegar - focus on the positive.
2. Provide a range of commitment/participation levels to make it as easy as possible for people to volunteer.
3. Know how to table and flier effectively.
4. Make use of digital media, like websites, electronic calendars, and listservs to get opportunities out.

Most of these seem obvious, but it's sometimes a bit challenging to keep all of these in mind when one has finals/jobs/personal life to worry about. I'll cover each point listed in more detail below.

3. Strategic
(1) Decide each year whether energy and mission will be focused on outreach, volunteering, or activism, or a combination of these.

When I was a MMAD volunteer coordinator, we focused on volunteering. We decided to do this because other organizations - like Upward Bound and the education course led by Professors Dodds (CS) and Yong (Math) - were working on outreach. Furthermore, outreach is done in different ways by research groups, in part because the National Science Foundation requires all recipients of grants to demonstrate a broader impact to society. Activism was avoided because it can be tricky - it is frequently political, often confrontational with the administration and other students, and highly dependent upon the personal values of the Mudd coordinators. This became a big issue during Spring 2004, when a cross-burning and various racial incidents led to the creation of a number of aggressive student activist organizations.

Both activism and outreach can be a part of MMAD, but should be recognized as different from MMAD's historical mission - to provide Mudders with the opportunity to volunteer with members of the 5-C community in the Inland Valley area.

Whatever the mission, make sure it is specific. It should be able to be articulated in a single, relatively uncomplicated sentence.


(2) Be realistic as far as what to expect from HMC and its students, realistic but not pessimistic.

This was something that took a very, very long time to drill into my thick skull. I'd wonder, why don't Mudders care about things like poverty, homelessness, or bad public schools? Are we just soulless scientists or spoiled college kids?

The problem, of course, was not the Mudd community, but my expectations of what should be. Mudd students have a sense of never having enough time, of always being busy, of always being overworked. At first, I thought we really did work harder than everyone else - now that I've visited a few schools and been at Cornell for a few years, I realize that most students feel this way. Mudd is different from some schools in that it is

(1) small
(2) focused on math, science, and engineering, which are hard
(3) an expensive school.

I didn't consider those three factors, which made it hard for me to realize why it would be harder to recruit volunteers here than at, say, Berkeley.

It is small - this means that everyone knows everyone else, and so you might be trying to convince friends instead of complete strangers to go feed the homeless on Saturdays. However, this also means that, all other things being equal, there are a smaller number of students who will see value in volunteering. Now, based on my experience with Oxfam donations, Mudders might in fact be far more generous than students at the other 4-C with their meals going toward international hunger relief. But the fact remains that with only 800 people, it's hard to believe that there will be an army of people who agree with your worldview.

It is focused on math, science and engineering. These things are hard. They require a lot of time, energy, patience, and training to become good at. There is a time pressure, and it's important to acknowledge it.

Mudd is also an expensive school. A lot of students can't afford to take time away from work and school to go volunteer. I was lucky in that I didn't have to work as much as some of my friends to pay the bills. During my frosh orientation, someone made the comment that "No one at Mudd has parents who make cardboard boxes for a living." I'm not quite sure if that's true - there are a lot of students who needed lots of aid, lots of work-study, and still had to take out a lot of loans to continue to go to school. This reality prompted Deans Sundberg, Noda and myself in 2004 to make MMAD coordinating a work-study position.

Because of these, it's helpful to measure progress and effectiveness not by raw numbers, but whether or not those numbers stay stable or increase. If they do, you're doing something right.

(3) Volunteering can be fun, personally rewarding, and eye-opening - it does not have to be all of these, but there should be an opportunity for each.

Volunteers and coordinators alike bring different skills and will get different things out of it. Some do it for social reasons - I've met a lot of amazing people through volunteering, and made some friends that I will keep for a lifetime.

Being a MMAD coordinator helped me with public speaking, with organizing events, and with managing people. I learned how to negotiate, form partnerships, and deal with politics. It probably helped me get an NSF fellowship In short, volunteering did not only benefit the homeless in Pomona or members of the Mudd community - I personally benefited.

And boy did it open up my eyes to the complexities of the world, of the nuanced nature of homelessness and the different communities that fall under that generic category. When you walk unwittingly up to two people engaged in a drug deal and hand out sandwiches, realizing only afterward that the guy on the left had a knife in his hand that he would have used against you if you had caused trouble, you look at the world a different way.

Point being - not everyone is going to want to do the "hard stuff". Some people will raise money - some people want leadership experience. By keeping these three payoffs in mind, you'll be able to design better volunteer activities and more effectively persuade people to give it a try.


(4) Good relationships with the administrators and ASHMC are incredibly important in order to get things done.

Coalitions are important in life. The maxim that won World War II was "Never fight unless you have to, never fight alone, and never fight for long." Whether they are your friends, your family, your professional network, or political affiliation, partners will make you more effective and less exhausted.

The administration has the power - and for good reason. They have to make sure that your plan to offer Platt's used food to homeless shelters doesn't leave them vulnerable to a lawsuit. They also have to make sure that students donating meals from their meal plan to a cause doesn't make it impossible to pay for dining services. I've negotiated, fought, and fumed against the administration as much as anyone else - but at the end of the day, they were MMAD's best friends.

Don't be afraid to disagree, but always be polite. Your club can only benefit from good relations with other groups.


4. Operational
(1) Ego destroys more organizations and clubs than anything else - the cause, whatever it is, must be bigger than any one person.

Boy did I learn this one. For those of you who overlapped with me, you probably saw how obsessed I was with getting whatever I wanted for MMAD at the moment. The way I operated, the club should've been renamed the Institute of Mudders Making Anarchic Destruction (IMMAD). In the end, my ego prevented me from getting help with projects, from giving others the opportunity to run with their own ideas, and from really opening up Mudd to the range of opportunities available.

If volunteers are honest with themselves, I think a lot of us have a bit of self-righteousness at our core. If you don't, congratulations - you're already wiser than I was. :) In the end, it may matter a little who gets credit - we think Newton invented calculus, though history tells us that it's a bit more complicated - but it matters a LOT whether it gets done. The only way to make real difference in this complicated world with lots and lots of empowered, intelligent people is to focus the energies of a large number of these people.

Facilitate, but do not dictate.

(2) Get help if you need it.

This is related to #1 in Operations. Everyone is busy. But everyone wants to help. If you need help, get it. If you're not sure, ask for it anyway. It's insane to try to move a heavy couch by yourself - it's equally dumb to try to run a big event without help.

(3) Everyone needs a clear idea of what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and who needs to do it.

I heard that MMAD has 12 coordinators now. While this makes me happy that it's expanding, I wonder how effectively 12 people can set a time to meet, much less get things done. It may be possible, but only if there is a clear idea and overall agreement on what needs to be done, and who is going to do what. Even though no coordinator is officially in charge of MMAD, there does need to be one person who organizes a given project. Don't be afraid to take the initiative, and don't be annoyed if someone's bossiness gets things done.

Emailing meeting notes and a to-do list for everyone after a meeting is a great way of making sure everyone knows what they need to do, and a way of holding people to what they promise.

(4) Money is important in order to get things done - make sure that the funding is available for every project. If it's not, don't be shy to go out and get it.

When I left Mudd, MMAD depended upon ASHMC for most of its funds. However, we also got help for certain activities by negotiating with the administration on donated meals, or discussing joint funding of work trips with the 5-C volunteer office.

Though not directly affiliated with us, SALSA negotiated with Boeing to put up operating funds for science outreach to underrepresented minorities. It can be done if there's a clear plan, a measurable goal, and a way for the company or school to get something out of it (say, good publicity or access to young talent).

(5) Learn how to negotiate with the administration and other stakeholders.

Whatever you do, there will be people who think it should be done differently. Know the layout of whose turf is what, and do your best to talk with people who might be hurt or affected. Many of our newer projects would not have worked, had we not contacted the administration or other groups to make sure there was no conflict or overlap. Better yet, when you have a great idea for a joint project, talking with another group can increase your resources and chances of success.

(6) Professors, the administration, and staff have long-term connections with the community, and are a great source of contacts. Existing contacts should be maintained and transferred between years.

One of the problems with college organizations is that the membership constantly enters and leaves. It's easy to forget what happened a few years ago, the battles fought and lessons learned. This is part of the reason why I'm writing this letter. But another important part of this is that all the good will that boil down to personal relationships between MMAD coordinators and members of the community can evaporate once the person leaves.

Ideally, MMAD coordinators will train their successors and provide them with a list of local contacts (or even a personal introduction). But an equally valuable resource, whether for resurrecting old relationships or creating new ones, is to use the administration, faculty, and staff. They live in or around Claremont, and know a lot of people. Don't depend only upon traditionally powerful people - dining staff and maintenance folks have been some of the most valuable friends and useful collaborators on projects, and have introduced me to local organizations that I would have missed otherwise.


(7)Talk about what worked and what didn't for each event

Feedback is important - I didn't do this very much at Mudd, in classwork, life, or volunteering. With every project or activity, we should ask ourselves "What worked? What didn't? How could we make this better? What have we learned?" A smart leader will be able to solicit and provide feedback without being hurt or hurting. But if egos are bruised in this process, too bad. You're in the business of helping people, not reinforcing self-esteem. :)



5. Tactical

(1) You get more flies with honey than vinegar - focus on the positive.

The worst thing we can do is make people feel badly if they can't volunteer, or make people think volunteers are all pushy, pretentious hypocrites. I know it's tough - when people turn you down for the 20th time to donate blood, or spend a Saturday at the shelter, you might feel like telling someone off. Please don't. Like any sales job - and yes, this is a sales job - you will need to tolerate rejection. It's not personal, and often it's simply a matter of giving someone the benefit of the doubt. There are jerks, and some will always be jerks. But your goal is to improve the Mudd community by providing an opportunity to leave a claustrophobic, closed world of perpetual stress and intellectual one-upmanship and step back.

At a more fundamental level, volunteering = good in most people's minds, even those who hate it. An inconsistent message - say, angry emails to the listserv condemning the lack of volunteerism (yes, I've done this) only lead to unsubscriptions (four in my case) and a loss of credibility. Save the rants for your livejournal (and make it private - minimize the drama).

If you're curious about the science behind how certain people and causes are more effective than others, I'd recommend reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. This book is designed to help you defend yourself against aggressive salesmen. But it can also enlighten your approach to soliciting volunteering. I've sent a copy to Susan Kim at MMAD.

(2) Provide a range of commitment/participation levels to make it as easy as possible for people to volunteer.

Not everyone expects the same thing. Some people will look for a jumping off point to personally crusade against poverty in America, or hunger in the world. Some people are uncomfortable with dealing directly with poor people.

The longer I'm in science, the more I realize that its strength and frustration comes from the fact that science takes all sorts of people. People who otherwise wouldn't have a place in our society can find success and even greatness in science. We need politicians, public relations types, specific nerds and visionary generalists in science. The same is true of volunteering. For every person who sits and chats with the homeless and gives them hugs, there is at least one person balancing books and writing grants in the office, one person calling up donors. To build a house for Habitat for Humanity, one can dig ditches, drywall, dig postholes, work on wiring, put up shingles... you get the point. Many hands, many different jobs, and a place for most everyone.

Some people will be able to donate ten hours a week. Some will donate ten hours a year. But it makes a difference, not only in what that person does, but what it does for them. Never forget this - our impact is not only on those we help, but on how our actions and words change ourselves and each other.

(3) Know how to table and flier effectively.

You have a few seconds to make an impression on people as they walk from the tray return to the doors of Platt. Think about what you want to say and convey. Remember that communication of liking and attitude is 55% body language and facial expression, 38% vocal tone, and 7% what you actually say. Be upbeat, cheerful, and kind. Or be sarcastic, witty, and clever. Whatever you think works best for the people you're looking to recruit, do it.

Note: I am not above recruiting volunteers - ahem - endowed with greater physical attractiveness than average. They make a difference when trying to recruit people for a cause. Just remember - you're selling volunteering, not pimping out your friends.

(4) Make use of digital media, like websites, electronic calendars, and listservs to get opportunities out.

I think Professor Yong said that time management was the key to succeeding at Mudd. Since he graduated in 3 years with two majors, I think he knows what he's talking about. Definitely make use of electronic calendars, listservs, and the MMAD website to keep people up-to-date about events.

Do not underestimate the value of a good website. A regularly updated, useful, well-organized website can provide potential donors and volunteers with a credible, professional face.

6. Conclusion
Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our
control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature
nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched
to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in
that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event,
it is the only way we can live.
- Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Kennedy spoke those words 40 years ago to Black students in Apartheid South Africa. It remains as true today as it was then. No one knows for certain the limits of one's potential, or of the range of effect of one's actions. What you can be certain is that, more than anything else, your character and ability will determine your future.

MMAD is a great organization that has the potential to change lives. But any organization is only good as its people. I hope this document helps you become more effective volunteer coordinators. But I also know that times, people, and missions change. You are here at Harvey Mudd because, more than most, you have proven yourself capable of independent thought and effective action. Though MMAD may be, and perhaps ought to be, only one small part of your time at Mudd, it is truly a place where you can make a difference, in the world, and in yourself.

Character is destiny - and I hope that in spite of the frustrations, setbacks, and uncertain progress, that you feel the time spent in MMAD, and HMC in general, will test you and compel you to become stronger and smarter women and men, armed with compassion and conviction. Good luck to you all.