Clarion - 2. Chapter 2

The flight to London was uneventful. Sitting in business class, I had plenty of time to review the various companies I was going to meet. The home I was intending to build floated in the back of my mind. After landing at Heathrow airport, I collected my luggage and took a taxi to my hotel. It always took me some time to get use to being driven on the wrong side of the road. I remember telling one of our business associates when he asked if I thought I could drive in England. I told him I thought I’d be ok except for the turnabouts. I’d either take the wrong exit or I’d be there for eternity.

Arriving at the hotel, which was close to Hyde Park, I checked in and then called my architect to get an update. “Hello, Charles. How’s my project coming along?"

“Drawings are complete, Alan. I can have them delivered to you overnight if you wish. I have your itinerary so I know where to send them."

“Yes, do that Charles, I can't wait to see them."

The next morning, I began meeting with our clients in London. The two meetings I had schedule for the day went very well. They were pleased with our results and especially our forecasts for their business. Dave had done his homework and it was paying off. When I arrived back at the hotel after having dinner with one of our clients, the desk clerk handed me the package from Charles. As tired as I was, I couldn't wait to open the package and look at the drawings. I cleared everything from the room table and unrolled the drawing. They were exactly what I wanted. Charles had a letter in the package.

Alan,

I had a road cut into the property. It’s one lane until it reaches your property and then it becomes two lanes. The county agreed to one lane but would not agree to two lanes. You actually only need the one lane. The road has a rock base that was rolled with a compactor, once all of the building material is delivered, we’ll have to pave the road. With your approval of the drawings, I’ll begin to search for a reputable contractor. I’ll also need another installment payment to cover the road and Clarion County work permits.

Charles

I smiled as I got ready for bed. I emailed my bank in Pittsburgh and released the requested payment. Then emailed Charles telling him I approved of the drawings and that I’ve notified the bank to release the payment. Please confirm receipt.

Feeling good, I went to bed leaving an early wake up call. I had one more client to meet in the morning and then a possible new client in the afternoon, another full day.

At 6 am the phone rang, my wake up call. I phoned room service and ordered my breakfast. I always liked the English breakfast, minus the black pudding. For some reason, I just have a hard time with that. Grilled tomatoes and baked beans for breakfast, I had no problem, but black pudding, no way. While I was waiting for my food, I took a shower and completed my toiletries. I no sooner left the bathroom with a robe on when room service arrived with my breakfast. I signed the bill, leaving a tip and thanked the young man. Instead of coffee, I had a pot of tea, I always enjoyed English tea particularly Earl Grey.

Dressed, I left the hotel, it was drizzling a little, the doorman gave me an umbrella and called a taxi for me.

I met with our client and it was a very productive meeting. Dave had made a list of recommendations to improve their performance. As we discussed these improvements the thought ran through my head, I need to tell Robert that on the next European trip Dave should go. At lunch that day, the clients were very excited about the recommendations. I presented them with a new contract that extended their current contract another five years, their current contract expired at the end of their fiscal year. I also included a 5 percent fee increase. When they questioned the fee increase I explained that the improvements suggested would increase their profits by a minimum of 16 percent. They signed, I paid the check and we left.

I was meeting the new client at 2 pm, so I did a little window shopping before heading to their office. I introduced myself to the receptionist and told her I had an appointment with Mr. Bellamy. A young woman met me at the reception desk, she was Mr. Bellamy's assistant. Going into the conference room, I was surprised to see not only Mr. Bellamy but also a gentleman who was introduced as the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Vegas.

I proceeded to make my presentation, showing them our review of their operations and potential impact on their P& L. Mr. Vegas reviewed the proposal in detail. He noticed the recommended changes in the financial area that Dave presented. I think he was somewhat surprised that the presentation showed an in-depth knowledge of the financial laws of Great Britain. When he looked at me with a questioning look, I explained that we have several long term clients in Great Britain and in order to fulfill our contract, we have a financial department whose job is to stay on top of the financial laws in every country where we have clients.

Mr. Bellamy and Mr. Vegas excused themselves to discuss the proposal. When they left, the secretary brought in a pot of tea and some biscuits (which were cookies). I thanked her, poured myself a tea and opened my briefcase. Took out the architect drawings and began to make a list of appliances and furniture I’d need. I had decided to sell my apartment furnished, the only thing I would take are my personal items and the linens.

About one and half hours passed when Mr. Bellamy returned without Mr. Vegas. "We have looked over your proposal and generally we like it. But we think 15% is a little too high."

“Well, let me review the numbers and see what I can do." I took out the proposed contract. We predicted an increase of 18% in profits. “Well, how would you feel about 10 percent with the option of renewing the contract at the end of 5 years?"

Mr. Bellamy thought a while, “Excuse me for a minute"

I knew he was going to sign just as soon as he talked to Mr. Vegas. They would rerun the numbers. After approximately 30 minutes, Mr. Bellamy and Mr. Vegas entered the conference room with smiles. I knew from Dave's assessment that their profits would be above the 18%. I took out a new contract, filled in the name of the corporation, put our fee at 10 % and added a renewal clause at the end of 5 years if projections made by us were equal or higher than 18%.

The three of us signed the contract, Mr. Bellamy's secretary made a copy for me. I thanked them for the business and made dinner arrangements with them before I left the office. That evening I sent an email to Robert bringing him up to date. I then took the copies of the contracts I had and airmailed them to Dave.

When I returned to the hotel after dinner, there was a message from Charles. He and his wife were going to Cook Forest this week-end. While they are there, they’re going to check out the site and interview a few contractors. Needless to say I was in a good mood.

I checked out of the hotel and took the underground (subway) to the airport. I was flying into Scotland where I had two potential clients to visit.

Leaving the plane, I noticed that the temperature was quite cool, I was glad I had brought a light coat. After gathering my bag, I took a taxi to my hotel. My first meeting was the next morning so I did some sightseeing. Glasgow was a fair size city, smaller than London, but still it was the capital of Scotland and there were quite a few old well kept buildings. As I walked the street, I saw a shop that sold kilts. When I entered an older gentleman approached me and asked if he could help me. I smiled listening to his Scottish accent. I told him I was interested in buying some kilts for my friends back home. He asked where in Scotland their family resided. I told him Aberdeen, he replied, “Oh, North Country”.

He proceeded to show me the colors for people from Aberdeen. I told him I didn't know that each area had their own colors. He said colors go by the clan. He assumed if they came from up north there was a good chance that these were the right clan's colors. I liked the colors so I agreed to buy them. He further went to show me the other clothing that went with the kilts, socks, hat, shirts, etc. I bought two, one for me and hopefully one for Cody. I fully meant to contact him once I was in Clarion. I asked if they could ship them for me, he said they could, so I gave him my New York address.

I continued to look at the various shops until lunch time. Seeing a small restaurant, I decided to have a light lunch there. The place wasn't busy as I was seated immediately. I ordered tea while I looked over the menu, decided on the house special and sipped my tea while I waited for my food. I ate, paid the bill, left the tip and decided to go back to the hotel. I wanted to spend the afternoon laying out the kitchen and finishing the list of furniture I’d need.

I used room service for dinner that night as I didn’t want to go out. Actually I got so wrapped up in laying out the rooms, I forgot until it was too late. After dinner, I left a wakeup call for 6 AM and went to bed.

It seemed like I just dropped off to sleep when the phone rang, it was my wake up call. I phoned room service and ordered a light breakfast. Took a shower, did my usual morning activities and began to dress for my 9:00 appointment. I just finished putting on my shirt and pants when room serviced delivered my breakfast. Finished eating, finished dressing and left the hotel for my appointment. On yesterday's walk, I noticed that the office building was an easy walk from the hotel.

Arriving at the building a little early, I took the time to review Dave's report on the company. According to Dave, the company’s profits were only 6 percent but with some small changes they could increase their profit to a minimum of 11 percent. Our contract called for a fee of 5 percent if they exceeded our forecast of 15 percent. Dave put in a secondary clause that set our fees based on scaling their profits. If their profits were 6 percent, our fee would be 0.5 percent. However, for every percent of profit above 6 percent, our fee would increase by 0.5 percent.

Dave had a confidential memo for me to use as a discussing point, the basis was a comparison of the industry and a ranking of the top three. He further detailed their operating philosophy, marketing approach and new introductions. I made a note to tell Robert if we’re successful on getting new business, he should give Dave a bonus.