Maybe I didn’t exist?

NOTE: This is Part 2 of a series of posts inspired by 40 very active hours of travel on  March 13-14, 2015.  There will be at least 2 more entries in this series.  For Part 1 “I don’t care about $2, click here.

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So I made it through security after interacting with Erin, and was heading to my gate.  Being a little parched, I stopped at the Ruby Tuesday quick serve location to get a bottled water.

This is one of those outcropping locations that are connected to the larger restaurant so us travelers can grab a quick bite OR be drawn into the larger establishment for heartier fare.  Just a bottle of water for me, thanks.

As a I approached, I saw the cashier, Aleshia, of the outcrop talking across a wall behind her to an employee from the restaurant proper.  To Aleshia’s credit, she stopped “talking” to him when I came up.  But, she also didn’t actually talk to me.  The dude behind her had asked her a question about vacation time, and she sort of stared at me blankly while processing the sale.  It was as if something else was on her mind…

As it turns out, there was.  As soon I was handed my receipt, she answered the dude’s question as if he had just asked it.  As if the time I just spent giving them money did not exist.  Maybe I didn’t exist?

I have to give slight, and I mean slight props to Aleshia for not answering the dude during my transaction. But I think I would also have to take those props away because clearly her mind was not on the transaction or the sale… it was on remembering what the dude said so she could respond as soon as I stopped bothering her.

If Aleshia gets some props in this situation (even though they are later rescinded), the dude gets negative props, demerits, and bizarro world-kudos.  His behavior should be appalling to any leader of a hospitality or service-oriented company.  He was distracting another employee from doing her job while also very likely neglecting his own duties.  A true over-achiever.

Like Erin though, I can’t say I completely blame Aleshia or the dude.  They get some blame of course because they chose their own actions, but my question is who is allowing this to happen.  This CAN’T be the first time a conversation was held over that wall, and probably not the first of it’s kind between the dude and Aleshia.  So who is there to keep these folks in line?

One of the topics I was speaking about on this trip was visible leadership. The importance of visible leadership was reinforced last year on my annual roller coaster-palooza trip last year, where the locations with the best guest service also had leaders that were out and about and visible… oh, and doing the right things.  Imagine… great guest service and great leadership being tied together??  Who would have thunk it?

Turns out, a lot of people should be thinking it.  You cannot have great service without a great leadership team who is visible, engaged, and has the skills to communicate and inspire their teams.  Leadership and guest service go together like peanut butter and jelly… Batman and Robin… Zan and Jayna… Lewis and Clark… Calvin and Hobbs… Ben and Jerry.

Where would Ben and Jerry be if there was no Ben or no Jerry?  (If you are a fan of their ice cream, you probably don’t even want to fathom the thought.)

And where would service be without great leadership?  The Ruby Tuesday outcrop shop at the Orlando International Airport.

Don’t let that be you.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

About the author: Matt spent a lot of time as a kid watching the Super Friends (which explains the Zan and Jayna and bizarro world references). When Matt is asked about his favorite super friend or super hero, the answer is always the same.  “It’s Superman, because he can fly.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t care about $2

NOTE: This is Part 1 of a series of posts inspired by 40 very active hours of travel on  March 13-14, 2015.  There will be at least 3 more entries in this series.

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I don’t care about $2.  I do care about employees who don’t feel like they are being listened to.

On a recent trip to the airport, I stopped at the curbside check-in to drop off my bag.  I was met by Erin, who asked for a drivers license and credit card.  The following conversation ensued.

Me – (confused about why she needed a credit card) “I actually paid for my bag online.”

Erin – (sounding exasperated) “I know, but there is a $2 fee for checking in out here.”

Me – (trying to be funny/sympathetic) “Well that stinks.”

Erin – “Yeah, it’s supposed to be a convenience fee for not going inside.  We’ve complained about it, but no one listens.”

Me – “I hate to hear that.”

Erin – “Yeah, they don’t listen to the people actually doing the work.  They sit in their ivory tower and make decisions that we have to deal with.  That’s corporate America, nothing we can do about it.”

You could hear the resignation in her tone.  Here is an employee with a voice, with something to say, and no one is listening.  Or at least that is her perception.

And of course, that perception is Erin’s reality.

Erin dutifully printed my boarding passes and my receipt for the $2.  As she handed the documents to me, she said with a wily smirk and a chuckle, “and here is your receipt for the $2.”  Then she very pleasantly wished me a safe flight and a nice day.

How hard is it to listen to someone?  How tough is it to spend the time to pay attention to what the front line employees are saying?  It’s not hard and it’s not tough.  But it does take time and an open mind – two things that seem to be in short supply these days.

As a leader, we have choices about where we focus our time, our energy and attention.  If you think that listening to your employees is not worth your time, think about this.

Dr. Rick Bommelje, one of the foremost authorities on listening and leadership, has studied the emotional impact of being listened to for years. He has found that the feelings of being listened to are so close to that of being loved that most people can’t tell the difference.

Whoa.

So when you listen to your employees, or even if they PERCEIVE that you are listening, they will get the feeling that you care, and won’t feel like my friend Erin. Defeated and unengaged.

Even if that $2 is the difference between financial success and failure, Erin doesn’t know it.  Because she doesn’t know it, she doesn’t care.  That impacts how she explained the fee to me, and how this blog post got written.

Had she said, “I understand, and am sorry you didn’t know about the fee.  It’s for the convenience of avoiding the long lines inside.  We can get you through much quicker.”

That would be worth $2, right?  But I am NOT calling for the retraining of Erin.  I am calling for Erin’s leaders (and everyone like them) to listen to your employees.  Again, even if you keep the fee, let her know WHY you have the fee, why it’s important and why it is beneficial to the guests.

As a leader, you want that $2, right?  You’ve got to earn it… not just by tacking on an extra fee, but by listening and communicating with your employees.  That’s the REAL focus of your job.

Thanks for reading… now go listen!

 

 

 

About the author: Matt has written about broken policies with the airlines before.  As it so happens, the airline in this situation is one of the guilty parties.  Maybe the execs aren’t listening to their employees about that fiasco either.