Today, I saw the tale of two very different guest experiences. I stopped at a local QSR to get some lunch. Driven into the business by pole sign advertisements and the promise of a quick bite to eat, I pulled into the drive-thru.
Cashier: “Welcome to… (Unintelligible) …Would you like to try… (Unintelligible)
GL: No thank you. I would like a Number Two with a Diet Coke.
Cashier: “Please pull up.”
I arrived at the window and promptly the window swung open as the cashier stuck her hand out for my payment. She was speaking into the microphone, presumably about another guest’s order. She returned my change and my drink. Then again, promptly shut the window. Thirty seconds later, the window slid open and the cashier handed me the bag and said, “Have a nice day.”
I got what I paid for. The order included my straw, napkins and the correct food order. The food was hot and well made. I ate and enjoyed the food. The food was exactly what I would have expected.
The next experience I had was about an hour later at the local community college. I was inquiring about signing up for a few classes when I entered the Student Services Building. There was no one at the information desk so I proceeded to stick my head in a couple of offices to see if someone else could help me. I noticed a young lady sitting behind a desk speaking with another woman. I patiently waited for them to finish their talk and once it was over, the lady look up to me.
Lady: “Hello, How can I help you?”
GL: “Yes, I am not sure if I’m in the right place but I need to speak to an advisor”
Lady: “I know how you feel, I’m not sure if I’m in the right place! (We laugh) What
program are you looking into?
GL: “I just want to take a couple of classes”
Lady: “OH well good for you (She smiles), you should go first to office 106a and she Mrs. Davis, then see the admissions desk on the next floor.”
GL: “Excellent, Thank you for your help.”
Lady: “You’re quite welcome, Have a nice day.”
This lady had no idea what I wanted but shared a joke and a smile during a 45 second exchange that left me feeling better than I did before we spoke. She was engaging and friendly. She answered my question but also allowed her personality show through. I enjoyed our little exchange and I am unlikely to see her again, but I feel good about the school and my experience there.
The lady didn’t have to understand she “had” to speak to me, she didn’t look at greeting lost people was part of her job description. She just wanted to help. The cahier, in her defense, was probably so laser focused on speed of service as she possibly ignored an opportunity to create a raving fan of her place of business in the process. While by no means am I trying to equate the job the Lady and the cashier did as one was good and one was bad. I am trying to illustrate how easy it can be to brighten someone’s day AND improve the guest experience. If the cashier had smiled at me at the right time or conveyed her wish that I had a good day while smiling maybe I would have been more likely to visit her establishment when I am deciding on where to eat next.
It is important to connect with your customers and guests with an eye on building relationships. This is why more and more companies are choosing social media like Facebook and Twitter to engage their customer base. Keep the lines of communication open and inform customers of on-going activities. Keep the brand as a “front of mind” opportunity when the guest is deciding where to spend their money. Could it be anymore simpler than how the front line employee interacts with the public? Just something I’ve been kicking around.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Employee Engagement
SO Disinterested or disingenuous employees are the biggest hurdles organizations must overcome to deliver a great guest or customer experience. In the life cycle of the service product a company will deliver, the company develops Standard Operating Procedures. These SOP’s are designed to help quantify the nature of service standards and ensure proper execution of the brand promise. Roles are defined between each front line employee and job descriptions are written for managers. Managers develop performance metrics for each employee and through proper coaching and follow up, a superior guest experience is achieved. Then why is the number one reason guests give for brand disloyalty is disinterested employees?
SOPs, brand promises, and vision are important components to a company but it must take comprehensive and extended steps to ensure engagement. Employee engagement, according to Swedish consultancy OPC, “… (is) the means or strategy, by which an organization seeks to build a partnership between the organization and its employees, such that: Employees fully understands and is committed to achieve the organization’s objectives” This sounds like a description of the Earth from space to me: round; mostly blue and white. Let’s take a look at what that may look like to front line employees.
A means or strategy an organization could employ to encourage employee engagement would be to develop a culture where front line employees have more control over workload issues and provide solutions for guest issues. This is called empowerment. Another high level term that may be lost on front line services providers. Do your employees know it is OK to solve a guest issue, without asking permission? Have you spent time investing in them on how to show empathy? Understanding? Do your employees feel empowered in their job? Imagine a time in your operation when every employee has emulated this and what kind of impact could this have on the business.
Building a partnership with your employees is more than having them solve their own problems; it is a true relationship with constant conversation both ways as in a good marriage. If one member of marriage only tells the spouse they love them once every three months, could you see how the other spouse can become disenfranchised? Why do we regulate employee performance reviews on a quarterly basis? To ensure the feedback happens. Why do we only give feedback once a quarter? Laziness, priorities, other projects. More frequent feedback sessions with back and forth discussions have shown to greatly improve a company’s ability to deliver exceptional results.
Once we have these programs in play, we need to follow up on them and nurture our relationships through appropriate discussions, goal setting, and celebrations. Survey companies can provide services to measure employee engagement and provide you with valuable insight on how to best leverage the results to more employee engagement. I have seen first hand the effects of failing to engage my employees properly and also the amazing results when I have. I cannot express the importance of engagement; this is something you may have t experience yourself to truly appreciate. All I ask is that you build an engagement strategy for your business. Your guests will appreciate it.
Haywood, Bob (n.d.) “How Do You Define Employee Engagement?” OPC, LTD.
Retrieved from the OPC website on February 9, 2010.
http://www.opcuk.com/downloads/defining_employee_engagement.pdf
SOPs, brand promises, and vision are important components to a company but it must take comprehensive and extended steps to ensure engagement. Employee engagement, according to Swedish consultancy OPC, “… (is) the means or strategy, by which an organization seeks to build a partnership between the organization and its employees, such that: Employees fully understands and is committed to achieve the organization’s objectives” This sounds like a description of the Earth from space to me: round; mostly blue and white. Let’s take a look at what that may look like to front line employees.
A means or strategy an organization could employ to encourage employee engagement would be to develop a culture where front line employees have more control over workload issues and provide solutions for guest issues. This is called empowerment. Another high level term that may be lost on front line services providers. Do your employees know it is OK to solve a guest issue, without asking permission? Have you spent time investing in them on how to show empathy? Understanding? Do your employees feel empowered in their job? Imagine a time in your operation when every employee has emulated this and what kind of impact could this have on the business.
Building a partnership with your employees is more than having them solve their own problems; it is a true relationship with constant conversation both ways as in a good marriage. If one member of marriage only tells the spouse they love them once every three months, could you see how the other spouse can become disenfranchised? Why do we regulate employee performance reviews on a quarterly basis? To ensure the feedback happens. Why do we only give feedback once a quarter? Laziness, priorities, other projects. More frequent feedback sessions with back and forth discussions have shown to greatly improve a company’s ability to deliver exceptional results.
Once we have these programs in play, we need to follow up on them and nurture our relationships through appropriate discussions, goal setting, and celebrations. Survey companies can provide services to measure employee engagement and provide you with valuable insight on how to best leverage the results to more employee engagement. I have seen first hand the effects of failing to engage my employees properly and also the amazing results when I have. I cannot express the importance of engagement; this is something you may have t experience yourself to truly appreciate. All I ask is that you build an engagement strategy for your business. Your guests will appreciate it.
Haywood, Bob (n.d.) “How Do You Define Employee Engagement?” OPC, LTD.
Retrieved from the OPC website on February 9, 2010.
http://www.opcuk.com/downloads/defining_employee_engagement.pdf
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