If You Didn’t Have Any Problems…..

Years ago I worked with a gentleman by the name of Bob Feeney.  Typically when people would start to complain about the problems in their work day Bob would respond with:

“If you didn’t have any problems, you wouldn’t have any business.”

When you grow your business you are bound to have more problems.  When you deal directly with the public you are more than likely going to have problems.  The trick is to not have repeat problems.  Most of all, treat each problem with respect.  Your reputation will grow based on your ability to resolve the issues that come up.  Grow your business by managing your problems.

Tag Lines and Expectations

Perhaps I am more sensitive to tag lines having recently gone through the process of changing one.  The question for me became, do I deliver what is advertised or is it just a catchy statement?  Now I am evaluating my customer experience based on the tag line of a banking firm that I recently engaged.  They proclaim  ”where people matter more than money”.  There were two people out of seven that I spoke withthat truly reflected this statement.  Not great odds.

A tag line can mean something to the person/ team that creates it.  How do we get buy in from all staff?  We can promote it, hammer it home and even post it for all to see.  Still, do all staff live the tag line that they work under?  The good odds are probably not.

Pickles and Problems

Yesterday I had lunch at a local place.  One of the reasons I go there is that I can depend on consistency and the staff doesn’t have to ask what I want.  My order came and there was a problem.  My side order of pickles had virtually no flavor (or at least not a flavor that I like).  When I brought my problem to the attention of the server the answer was “let me get you a new side of pickles”.  She did and the taste was just like the first batch.

Turns out the resturant buys pickles in bulk and that the server just got more from the same batch.  When I asked if she could try a new can of pickles she responded that “the manager won’t open a new can until the old one was finished”.  Just my luck, the manager was on break and not available to listen to my thoughts.

In the scheme of things, so what.  So I didn’t get the pickles I wanted.  My lunch was ok aside from this one small aspect.  I’ll go back in the future.  So what. 

Years ago I worked with an individual by the name of Bob Feeney.  When any of us would start to gripe about our problems he would always respond “if you didn’t have any problems, you wouldn’t have any business”.  The point is that it’s not the problem per say but rather how we deal with the problem.  If we are prepared to resolve issues in a fashion that benefits the customer as well as our respective organization we should be enabled to make good on any problem that confronts us.

I really would have liked a different batch of pickles………….

AT&T Where Are You?

When you have an isolated problem with a service or product it’s easy move on and forget the issue.  When you have multiple occurrences it’s easy to become frustrated.  Take AT&T, my data carrier.  Service has been interrupted several times in recent weeks and for extended periods.  My company pays its bills so I know that money is not the issue! 

 When service is interrupted, my IT Director calls AT&T and always receives the same answer.  “Our lines are fine so the problem must be with your equipment”.  This has not been the case.  What I would prefer is that our service provider act on the information provided.  Stay in touch with updates instead of us having to track them down.  Also, when asked for a meeting to discuss problems and problem resolution it would be nice to get a response.  Fix the problem.  Step up to a level of customer service.  Be visible and accountable.

I had voiced my concerns to the Regional Manager for AT&T and had requested a meeting to address the issues that we as a business face as a client of theirs.  No answer.  When reaching out to this same individual regarding our most recent outage and the continued need to meet I was told that they were leaving this position and wouldn’t be available.  Trying to sneak out the door without escalation or resolution about sums up my experience with AT&T. 

What does it take to get one person in their ranks to step up and work with a paying customer?  This could be one of the mysteries of our time!