[vendtalk] Questions

[mazher]

We're struggling for an adequate answer to that question of why we've lost
so many vendors.  Let me see if I can provide a partial answer.  

About a decade ago, the SLA decided to bring the program in house from a
nominee organization and set about cleaning house.  

Since then, we have had a very high attrition rate and many older, poorly
educated and ill-trained vendors have slowly been let go without much effort
or outreach on the training/retraining front.  I call this the absence of a
strategic vision.   

On the other side of the equation, on the recruitment side, we have very
high barriers to entry.  Rightly or wrongly, but so far without success, the
SLA has been looking for blind individuals with business degrees or business
experience.  

The alarming results speak for themselves.  Since 2005, we have lost 21
vendors and gained two new entrants.  That's a replacement ratio for the
last seven years of less than ten percent.  

No, definitely not a model to be emulated!

Mazher Hameed








-----Original Message-----
From: vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Colleen Mcfadden
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 3:28 PM
To: 'Vendor Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [vendtalk] Questions

I appreciate the responses from Terry and you.  This case is going to
evidentiary hearing and if the vendor loses, I don't think his location will
be given to another new trained vendor. Time will tell.
Why has Washington DC lost so many vendors?

 -----Original Message-----
From: vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of mazher
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:19 PM
To: 'Vendor Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [vendtalk] Questions

Depriving someone of their right to a livelihood is serious business and
should only be undertaken as a very last resort.  Those livelihoods are what
the program is all about, notwithstanding the heavier burden of
responsibility for turning things around for all concerned.

Without knowing anything about the situation you have in mind, I would say
that without a due process hearing of the facts, complaints of poor service
from building management do not constitute grounds for expulsion.  Certainly
grounds for launching a review where the vendor has an opportunity to give
their side of the story.

Training, retraining, reassignment to another facility, SLA provision of
temporary stopgap staffing support to assist the vendor are the kind of
problem solving tools I would look at before I would agree to have a
vendor's livelihood taken away.

If the vendor in your program was summarily expelled without the benefit of
a due process hearing, I would urge a problem solving approach rather than
one that is punitive.

Here are the kind of questions I would ask.  Is the vendor way over his head
in terms of the responsibilities of the location?  Did the vendor previously
manage the facility in a satisfactory way before it started slipping?  Are
there other available facilities that the vendor might be able to handle
more easily?   Can the vendor turn things around with more competent staff?
Is the vendor temporarily unable to fully devote him/herself to the job
because of personal health issues or the care of a sick child, spouse or
elderly parent?

If the answer to any of these questions is in the affirmative, you may have
something solid to work with toward a solution.

As for protecting the brand and giving another blind guy a chance, I would
urge you to keep in mind that nationally at least we are losing more vendors
than facilities each year.  In our program in Washington DC, we have gone
from over 85 vendors around fifteen years ago to 35 five years ago to 16 in
2012.



-----Original Message-----
From: vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Colleen McFadden
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 7:10 PM
To: vendtalk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [vendtalk] Questions

Dear Fellow Vendors,

If a vendor has been pushed out of BEP because he will not service his
location and gets complaints from the building  manager should he be allowed
back in the program?  We have talked on this listserv about vendors
performing and protecting Randolph Sheppard.  If a vendor's behavior
consistently hurts the reputation of the program, shouldn't we give another
blind guy an opportunity to operate a business?
Please share your thoughts.

Colleen

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