Author: louis

As you may or may not know, the open enrollment period for our company’s insurance benefit plan will take place within the next few weeks.  Each year we anticipate the possible premium increase we will receive from each carrier and “shop” our business with other carriers to make sure we are offering our employees the best possible coverage at the most competitive rates. 

There are many criteria insurance carriers take into consideration when calculating annual renewal premiums.  One of those criteria is patient utilization. We as covered members of the Montgomery Enterprises, Inc. benefit plan have resources available to us to help in making informed healthcare decisions. 

One of those resources is the Nurse Advice Line offered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MS to all covered members.  By simply calling the toll free number (1-800-552-2134) and providing your Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MS ID number, you will be able to speak directly with a registered nurse who can assess your symptoms and help you decide the level of care needed.  The Nurse Advice Line is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, free of charge and all calls are completely confidential.

Other ways that we can make wise healthcare decisions is to consider alternatives such as visiting after-hours or urgent care facilities in lieu of an emergency room after normal physician office hours.  Also, consider lower cost generic options to higher priced brand named drugs when available.  The myBlue website or the myBlue App available for smartphones are both excellent tools in finding useful information such as this.

For more information on the Nurse Advice Line or about your benefits in general, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

 ~Kandi

“Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader.” 

 ~ George S. Patton

I wanted to share a couple of paragraphs from the book Smart Moves Management by John Thedford.  The following insert comes from a chapter in John’s book addressing engaged customers.

“In the restaurant and bar business, there’s a group of people known as the regulars. These are the people who, for example, show up every Friday night at about the same time and, to a person, order just about the same meal and drinks.  The manager, the waitstaff, and the regulars often know one another by name and certainly by sight.  The waitress walks up to the table and asks, “The usual”?

Regulars bring friends to their favorite place.  They recommend and refer thereby improving the business.  Everyone is still doing business, but you’re in each other’s lives supportively; some would even say you’re actually friends.”

I want us to take a step back and look at daily routines and customer service habits in our stores.  Do we currently have customers that qualify as “The Regulars”?  Do our customer service habits create more regulars?  If we keep these two questions in mind as we make decisions we will have more engaged customers over time.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.- Peter Drucker

Have a great day…Louis

Happy Boss’s Day to all the wonderful bosses MEI has! Thank you for all you do!

“A good boss makes his men realize they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could.”

Charles  Erwin Wilson

“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Let your bosses know they are appreciated not only today, but everyday!

Have a great “hump” day!

Meredith

The girls at the Fulton office are proudly wearing their Montgomery Enterprises “Hootin’ for a Cure”  T-shirts in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.  You all probably know someone who has been affected by breast cancer, whether it is a family member, friend or a member of your community.  My mother is a breast cancer survivor of almost seven years.  However, my aunt lost her battle with this horrible disease at the very young age of 46.  Although great strides have been made in recent years in the treatment of breast cancer, early detection is still the best chance we have in winning this fight. 

Under the Healthy You! benefit of the Montgomery Enterprises, Inc. Health insurance plan, women age 35 and older are eligible to receive a mammogram once per calendar year covered at 100%.  The mammogram must be performed by a network provider as part of an annual wellness screening to be eligible for coverage.  Please feel free to contact me for more information on this benefit or for assistance with finding a network provider in your area. 

 ~ Kandi

“People should be afraid of the cancer, not the mammogram.”  Nancy Reagan

We had a great luncheon yesterday for the managers who hit their September goal. Pictured above are (back row, L to R) Joyce Williams- Saltillo, Felicia Gilleylen-Okolona, Bellena Criddle-Amory MM; Lakisha Rogers-Camden, Michelle Williams-Hamilton, Heather Brewington-Coldwater, Christie Nuckols-Fayette (fron row, L to R) Renay Tate-Aberdeen, Janet Phillips-Aliceville, Lynn Murphree-Amory CTE, Dena Ellis-Horn Lake, Gladys Hutchison-Kosciusko, Charlon Harrison-Vernon

Have a great Thursday!

Louis

Nothing of any importance has ever been accomplished by a pessimist.  Jack Welch

The biggest risk is not taking any risk.  Mark Zuckerberg

Don’t set your goals too low. If you don’t need much, you won’t become much.  Jim Rohn

Always remember, your focus determines your reality.  George Lucas

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.  Eleanor Roosevelt

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  Winston Churchill 

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. Abraham Lincoln

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.  Vince Lombardi

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you.  Never excuse yourself. Henry Ward Beecher

and a personal favorite……The ones who say “you can’t” and “you won’t” are probably the ones that are scared that you will.  Unknown

Next week, October 8th-11th, is National Customer Service Week. At MEI we pride ourselves on giving excellent customer service and making our customers number one. Next week is the perfect time to step up our service and really show our customers how much they mean to us. Here are some quotes to motivate you to go above and beyond for our customers.

“Customer service is not a department, it’s everyone’s job.”   Anonymous

“Unless you have 100% customer satisfaction…you must improve.”    Horst Schulz

“You are serving a customer, not a life sentence. Learn how to enjoy your work.”    Laurie McIntosh

The difference between “try” and “triumph” is just a little “UMPH”!    Marvin Phillips

Have a great Friday!

Meredith

Setting goals in both professional and personal areas of life is extremely important. Both short-term and long-term goals are great ways to make sure we are always reaching our full potential. I learned about the SMART acronym for setting goals a few years ago and from that day forward I always ask myself is that a SMART goal? Whenever you want to set a goal in your life whether it be personal, professional, short-term, or long-term, ask yourself is it SMART.

S – Is it Specific?

M – Is it Measurable?

A – Is it Attainable?

R – Is it Realistic?

T- Does it have a Time frame?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions then you have a goal that you are sure to meet.

What keeps me going is goals.  – Muhammad Ali

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.   – Larry Bird

Have a great Thursday!

Meredith

We’ve all heard the old saying “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” Another interpretation describes it this way: “Don’t criticize another person’s work until you’ve tried to do it yourself; don’t judge another person’s life until you’ve been forced to live it.”

Pretty sound advice for anyone — especially managers…..and an auditor.

A few weeks ago, I worked for two days with Bellena in Amory.  It was extremely busy and almost chaotic at times.  We worked longs hours (her even longer than me) and needless to say, we were both exhausted at the end of each day.  Not only did I enjoy working with her as we have known each other since we were kids but I also left more appreciative of the hard work that each of you do on a daily basis.

This week marks the last week of the third quarter.  For many of you the next four days will determine if you meet the goals you have set to reach by the end of the quarter.

Good luck to everyone this week.

With every ending comes a new beginning, and Monday will start our last and busiest quarter of the year. This will be a great opportunity to take advantage of this busy time and to really focus on customer service. It is a stressful time of year for everyone so it is especially important to go above and beyond what our customers expect of us.

Good service is good business.
Siebel Ad

If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.
Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon.com

Louis