Hi, I wanted to share a situation and kinda get some feedback on what you would do,if you were in the position. I ask this because I think I know the least of anybody here,so any comments given in kindness are likely greater than my own.
The situation is actually a real example, not a made up one, that I saw first hand a couple of years ago, and revolves around the decisions based around contracts in radio:
A few years ago a General Manager ran a local Wilson radio station literally by himself. One of the things he did was a local program for local people to call and talk about things they might have for sale, in case somebody else wanted to buy it or needed it. It was called, "The Good Neighbor Guide".
At the time the GM ran everything, and no one else had any authority to any information about the financial aspects of the station. Only one person at the time worked there, and she only played music and kept some logs, nothng more.
But the GM passed away suddenly, leaving that person to try to run the station by herself for a time. In trying to do so, she tried to keep the local show on, but there was far too much work to do, so she wanted to drop the show for a time, until the station was in a better position to run.
But this was met with disapprovement from one of the local stores, who was often on the show. They refused to let the station drop the program, and threatened to sue the station if they dropped the program.
I remember asking the co-manager why this is a problem: was there a contract that promised the local hardware store to be on that local show every day?
The person told me that they said that they had an agreement with the late GM that promised them at least 5 minutes in every program of the show, and that it was binding. They threatened to sue if the station dropped the show.
So my question to her was...where is the contract?
She said she could not find it.
So then I asked her, do THEY have the contract?
She said they did not, because they didn't need to present one.
The problem seemed to be that the station was not being allowed to make decisions of it's own business because they were threatened by a local store to continue the program, based off a contract neither side could produce, and based off a deceased person's agreement, which I thought was null and void.
Further, I asked the person how much does this business pay the station for their "5 minutes"...
She said it was free.
The store does (or did) pay for a few spots during the business day, but the time they get during the local show was always free. Not only that, I noticed that the "5 minutes" was usually much longer, as much as 10 or so minutes, and the person had to call them sometime during that "good neighbor" show.
So I was confused. WHY would a station allow a business to "bully" them to carry a program, when there was no contract on either side? The late GM cannot verify if the "contract" is even legal or existing, and if it is binding after the passing of the GM.
Further, the station needed the change to help itself, yet seemed forced to continue a show merely for the self-interest of the business that happened to get free advertising during the daily show. Why do this when the station does not benefit at all?
I asked the person this, and her response was that she didn't want to start any trouble, and she said that the owner told her not to lose any customers, above all things. She took that by the letter, and refused to lose any customers, even to the hurt of the station.
What would YOU do, in such a situation? Is this admirable to the customer, or is the station not operating in a business-minded way? Is this great kindness, or a situation of being used?
The situation is actually a real example, not a made up one, that I saw first hand a couple of years ago, and revolves around the decisions based around contracts in radio:
A few years ago a General Manager ran a local Wilson radio station literally by himself. One of the things he did was a local program for local people to call and talk about things they might have for sale, in case somebody else wanted to buy it or needed it. It was called, "The Good Neighbor Guide".
At the time the GM ran everything, and no one else had any authority to any information about the financial aspects of the station. Only one person at the time worked there, and she only played music and kept some logs, nothng more.
But the GM passed away suddenly, leaving that person to try to run the station by herself for a time. In trying to do so, she tried to keep the local show on, but there was far too much work to do, so she wanted to drop the show for a time, until the station was in a better position to run.
But this was met with disapprovement from one of the local stores, who was often on the show. They refused to let the station drop the program, and threatened to sue the station if they dropped the program.
I remember asking the co-manager why this is a problem: was there a contract that promised the local hardware store to be on that local show every day?
The person told me that they said that they had an agreement with the late GM that promised them at least 5 minutes in every program of the show, and that it was binding. They threatened to sue if the station dropped the show.
So my question to her was...where is the contract?
She said she could not find it.
So then I asked her, do THEY have the contract?
She said they did not, because they didn't need to present one.
The problem seemed to be that the station was not being allowed to make decisions of it's own business because they were threatened by a local store to continue the program, based off a contract neither side could produce, and based off a deceased person's agreement, which I thought was null and void.
Further, I asked the person how much does this business pay the station for their "5 minutes"...
She said it was free.
The store does (or did) pay for a few spots during the business day, but the time they get during the local show was always free. Not only that, I noticed that the "5 minutes" was usually much longer, as much as 10 or so minutes, and the person had to call them sometime during that "good neighbor" show.
So I was confused. WHY would a station allow a business to "bully" them to carry a program, when there was no contract on either side? The late GM cannot verify if the "contract" is even legal or existing, and if it is binding after the passing of the GM.
Further, the station needed the change to help itself, yet seemed forced to continue a show merely for the self-interest of the business that happened to get free advertising during the daily show. Why do this when the station does not benefit at all?
I asked the person this, and her response was that she didn't want to start any trouble, and she said that the owner told her not to lose any customers, above all things. She took that by the letter, and refused to lose any customers, even to the hurt of the station.
What would YOU do, in such a situation? Is this admirable to the customer, or is the station not operating in a business-minded way? Is this great kindness, or a situation of being used?