As I’ve mentioned before, I have the opportunity to travel a lot. I define a lot as being on the road 100+ days a year. First of all, I will dispell the idea that travel is romantic and exciting (in a good way.) Travel is hard work and exhausting. I’m often more tired after a day of travel then when I’m on stage speaking to a group of 4,000 business leaders for an all day session.
One of the most frustrating issues I have to deal with is poorly trained employees. A close second is dealing with employees who just don’t care. I can forgive the first, but not the second.
You may have heard the story about the two railroad workers who started their jobs on the same day, Bob and Ray, doing the same task. Twenty years later, as they rode the rails to work, with Bob greeting every other employee he met by name, and his companion sitting quietly in the seat. Bob was now the CEO, and Ray had the same job as when he started. Finally Ray said to Bob, “We both started here on the same day, doing the same job. And here we are, 20 years later, and you’re the CEO and I’m still doing the same thing as when I started. I just don’t understand it!” Bob replied, “The difference is simple. You went to work for an hourly wage. I went to work for the railroad.”
Take a look around at your employees. Are they working for a wage or are they working for your organization? On a recent flight to Hawai’i, there were a total of six flight attendants on this particular flight. Of the four I interacted with, only one was working for Hawai’ian Airlines. The rest were clearly there for the paycheck. The difference was stunning. The one flight attendant was smiling and interacting with every customer she saw. The others simply barked orders at passengers. Occasionally they may smile, but those were few and far between. For every “loyalty point” that the one flight attendant won with her smile and friendly manner, the rest of the crew tore down three. I also noted that the “Customer Comment” forms were rubber banded together, facing you as you went on board the plane. Clearly, they weren’t looking to receive a lot of feedback.
Now, I don’t want to pick on one airline or one flight. I know things are a lot tougher since 9/11. As a passenger, and someone who lost $150 on the “quick check” scheme promoted by the government for frequent fliers when the company providing the service went belly up, I can personally attest to this.
The fact is, a lot of things are tougher for a lot of people these days. Unless you’re a big bank or automobile manufacturer, money is not being thrown your way. There’s a lot more stress in everyday living for all of us! As my mother used to say when I was very young and would complain about something, “Put on your big boy pants and deal with it!”
Take a look around at your employees, what’s their motivation? Are they building your customer’s loyalty or tearing it down? How much are the people who are coming to work for a wage really costing you?
