[vendtalk] Questions

Mon Sep 24 21:38:10 UTC 2012

Nicely said. Your challenge is not peculiar to Washington, D.C. Many states are facing similar challenges.  We should be discussing proactive and innovative solutions. I look forward to communicating with you offline to consider the specifics of the Washington dilemma and the challenges faced by our program nationally. 

-----Original Message-----
From: vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:vendtalk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of mazher
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 4:34 AM
To: 'Vendor Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [vendtalk] Questions

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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