High Velocity

Cartoon by Hugh

Guest Post By Stephanie A. Lloyd

A: The above exchange occurred over the weekend when my brother, my wife and I went out to eat at a nice restaurant. It turned out to be one of those terrible dining experiences we have all been through at one time or another. Everything went wrong — bad service, cold food, wrong orders, etc.

But it was when the young waitress started crying at our table that we knew it was time to go.

We actually should have left much sooner. When we first walked in we were seated at a “special” table, even though the restaurant was fairly empty. Soon, the manager came up and pointed out that if we wanted to stay at that table we would have to pay an 18% gratuity, per the sign on the table. When I pointed out they were the ones who sat us there, she didn’t care and actually made us move — to a different part of the empty restaurant.

This really struck a chord with me.

WTF.

Why, why, why would anyone treat a customer like that?

Did that manager forget to wear her brain that day??

In the article the author goes on to ask, “How many times have you encountered a business that seems far more interested in following their own rules and procedure than in making you happy, even when it would be a simple thing to say yes to you instead of no?”

Do you empower your employees to make good decisions, or do you have them so hell-bent on following the rules that they might as well be braindead?

When I worked for Evil Boss Lady she had a lot of rules.

Stupid, stupid, ludicrous rules that were clearly designed for one reason only.

To be sure everyone knew that she was The Boss.

The Queen Bee.

The only way she knew how to make herself feel more powerful and important was to impose a wide array of the utterly ridiculous and useless rules on all of us so that there was never any doubt just who was in charge; who was calling the shots, and that the thought never, ever left our minds.

The result? Not only were we collectively miserable, we were unimaginative and uninspired. We did precisely what she told us to do, exactly how she told us to do it – without question, without any creativity, and not a single ounce more for fear of feeling The Wrath of Evil Boss Lady.

When I worked was held captive in Evil Boss Lady’s Theatre of Cruelty I had one client in particular who I became very good friends with.

And, I don’t know why, but it actually surprised me when he told me one day that from the moment he met her, he wanted nothing to do with her.

He saw right through her and he told me that the only reason he was doing business with that firm was because of me. As soon as I left he terminated that relationship – which was nearly half their revenue.

Let’s look at several companies that are known for their customer experience.

• Nordstrom
• Disney
• St. Regis Hotels

Think about how you feel when you spend a day at Disney, shop at Nordstrom, or stay at the St. Regis Hotel.

I know how I feel.

• Magical
• Energized
• Inspired
• Like the most important person on the planet
• Relaxed
• Safe

Who doesn’t want some of that??

And just how is it that these companies are able to provide such consistently phenomenal customer experiences and the ultimate customer loyalty and repeat business?

1. Their employees are empowered to make good decisions.
2. Their employees are not so bogged down in following THE RULES that they forget their most important priority: the customer.

This starts at the top.

Corporate leadership must set this tone and live by it.

Lead by example.

If you don’t have the confidence in your employees’ abilities to make good decisions you should fire them.

If you don’t have the confidence in your employees’ abilities to interact successfully with your customers you should fire them.

And, you should set corporate policies on how to deal with customer issues as they arise. Talk about getting creative when needed. Teach them how to determine where the line is and how far they can go. And talk to them them about how to make good judgment calls.

Let go and you just might be surprised by what happens.

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