The financial struggles of our nation have affected people of all industries and walks of life.  Although we remain constant here at Minuteman Parking Company, you as managers can work to maintain a team that is cohesive by recognizing some of the challenges our employees are having outside of work.

Although your employees arrive at work each day, clock in and begin their shift, there may be issues in their personal lives that are distracting them from their work.  They may be concerned about personal debt, financial hardships, family trials, and the nature of their own futures.

What can you do to help your employees be strong members of the Minuteman team?

1. Talk with your employees.  If you feel an employee is struggling, take the time to talk to them.  Reassure them of things that you can, and offer a listening ear to things that are of concern.
2. Offer encouragement to employees to help them stay focused and productive.  As a manager your bottom line is service, but the employees are the ones representing that bottom line.  Make sure you are their champion and their support system.   
   
3. Realize that you can build a positive and productive team during challenging economic times.   Employees need to know that their work matters.  Tell your employees thank you for their work.  Praise them for going above and beyond.

Your team has been a success up to this point, and can certainly continue following these principles as well as the Commitments to Excellence.  Together we can continue to prosper during these challenging times if we focus on our foundation; service, and those who provide it.

Nancy Anui at Loma Linda Medical Center

I wanted to share with everyone the story of one associate who on a daily basis exemplifies the “Commitments of Excellence” which are the cornerstone of great service. Nancy Anui has been working for Minuteman Parking Company for the past seven years. She started working at Riverside Community Hospital as a Greeter and worked up to a valet position at that location before moving on with us to Loma Linda Medical Center.

Before coming to work for Minuteman Nancy lost her disabled son and she has said she felt that her purpose in life was over with his passing.  Then Nancy felt the call to volunteer at hospitals so she could bring joy to people who were sick.  Nancy started at Riverside Community Hospital as a volunteer, around the same time Minuteman picked up the contract for parking services at the hospital.  Nancy met our manager at the location, Rafael Lopez who was looking for help and she was immediately hired. After a period of time our contract expired at the hospital and Nancy transferred with us to the Loma Linda East Campus Medical Center as a valet and shuttle driver.   Nancy loved moving over to LLECMC and the staff at the facility absolutely adores Nancy.  Nancy has been at Loma Linda with us now for four years.
Nancy tells me that she thought God was steering her towards people with Special needs. Her daily duties include helping transport patients to the area lab, rehabilitation medical offices, x-ray and MRI facilities on the East Campus at Loma Linda.

Michael Jackson head of operations on the east campus has said that when people see Minuteman Parking they know they are at the East Campus and we are the friendly touch point that the Medical Center needed in regards to their guest and patient services.  Nancy is a key person in increasing the Medical Center’s patient flow and therefore the patient and visitor satisfaction.  Nancy continues to represent Minuteman and provide the special customer care that people have come to expect when they visit the Medical Center. Nancy has been called the Parking Lot Angel by the Medical Center staff and management team and is a shining example of someone who goes above and beyond and is committed to the spirit of providing outstanding  healing service to everyone she come in to contact with.

I ask you today, how can we all be as committed to helping others and providing great service like Nancy?  Thank you Nancy, you are an inspirational asset to us all and we truly appreciate all that you do!

To all Minuteman Team Members,

I am writing to you as we enter the last month of 2008 to share my thoughts on what is going on in the world and with Minuteman Parking. This year has been an extraordinary year with the United States electing the first African American to be President and our economy sinking to depths that have not been seen since the Great Depression.

In terms of the economy, we are in the midst of one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. The US Government is bailing out the financial services industry, the stock market is down 35 to 40%, housing prices have plummeted while foreclosures are rising, and the unemployment figures for California have recently risen above 8%. Because of the economy, personal and business travel is also down for the second half of 2008 which directly impacts our Hotels segment. In our Hospitals segment they have frozen equipment and other expenditures and have begun to limit or cut labor hours from their budgets. Some economists point out to a recovery during the second half of 2009 and others are saying that it may take even longer.

Fortunately, Minuteman Parking has been able to more than hang in there. Our revenue for the year is down, but we’ve been able to remain profitable by implementing aggressive cost controls. We have had to scale our labor hours back as some of our accounts have slowed and we appreciate your understanding that this is hopefully just a temporary setback. Our goal is to keep everyone employed and prospering in 2009. By continuing to work by our ˜Commitments To Excellence™” we will make Minuteman Parking Company an indispensable partner to our hotel and medical facility accounts. We need to come to work every day in these turbulent times asking ourselves, “How can I make myself indispensable today?” We all need to want to make a difference every day.

Thank you to all of you who have worked so hard in 2008 to help us continue to deliver on our commitments by providing excellent service to our partners and their customers. Our business is people-based and caring for others, teamwork and the little personal touches we add every day are what make Minuteman Parking different from other companies. You make it possible to keep our commitments and I thank you for that.

We have recently made some very positive changes that will impact our business when the economy starts to pick up later in 2009. In November, we re-launched our new website which now includes a blog and easier ways for people to contact us. Plus, the site establishes Minuteman Parking as one of the premier providers in the Western US. Check it out at www.minutemanparking.com/ and make sure to share the URL with your family, friends and colleagues. We have beefed up our sales efforts by bringing in Greg Best to drive new business and we have promoted Treavor Bramwell to training and safety manager as we continue to make training and safety a key differentiator in our marketplace. We want you to have all the tools necessary to be the best ambassador for your location that you can possibly be.

Finally, let’s be thankful as we enter this Holiday season - thankful for our families and friends, thankful for our jobs and for working at a stable company, thankful that we can still share our blessings with others.

I would like to leave you with a short quote about faith by Barbara J. Winter that I find appropriate these days:

“When you come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”

I have faith that the economy and country will recover and we will all be stronger for having gone through this turbulent time.

I would like to wish you and your families a happy and healthy Holiday Season. I am looking forward to a great year for Minuteman Parking in 2009 and beyond.

God Bless,

Chris Fox

When I promote someone to manager at Minuteman Parking, one of the first things I do is hand them a copy of Ken Blanchard’s Simple Truths of Services: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger. This book helps to reinforce the Minuteman Parking Commitments to Excellence.

I like this book because it helps people see that everyone can make a contribution and a difference. And that what may seem to be a small gesture can pay huge dividends. The story is about Johnny who has Down Syndrome and is a bagger at a grocery store. Johnny’s contribution was to come up with a new special saying each night. He would type up the saying and would then put them in customers’ bags the next day. This small gesture ultimately transformed the whole store and inspired other employees to ‘delight’ their customers too.

My challenge to all Minuteman employees is to:

Think about something you can do for your customer to make them feel special - a memory that will make them come back.

If you don’t have time to read the book, at least take the time to watch this 3-minute movie about the story. I am confident that you will be as inspired by the story as I was and continue to be: