An Eye for Service

Customer service as a topic is frequently featured in my weekly journals. Sometimes the service has been exemplary and other times not so much. The latter version deserves some air time again this week.

My saga began with a bi-annual trip to visit the optometrist in November 2011, a visit that often means an upgrade to the prescription lenses I have worn since childhood. His office is situated within a retail store that sells eyeglass frames and accessories, a place that has been serving my eyewear needs for about 20 years. Typically orders are processed efficiently but my most recent purchase has been quite a different experience.

I should have guessed my order was in trouble when the initial conversation about pricing and insurance was decidedly confusing and totally inaccurate. First I was told that none of the expenses were covered under my health insurance plan so I delayed placing the order until 2012. That way my FSA (Flexible Spending Account) could be tapped to pay the bill. When I showed up on January 6 to place and pay for the order I discovered about half the costs could be reimbursed by insurance. My one month delay might have been avoided but I was going to save some money...or so it seemed. 

The order was placed and paid for with a promised delivery window of about two weeks. When I hadn’t received a call within this timeframe I reached out only to discover the lab had broken my new frames while inserting the lenses. The new order would be expedited with their apologies. “I guess accidents can happen” was my silent reaction. “It just would have been nice to receive a call from the lab about the problem.”

When another two weeks had passed without a word, my next inquiry resulted in a new excuse. The lab workers were on strike and my order was in limbo. I gritted my teeth and patiently waited for word that the order was finally shipped. On February 17 the lab left a message on my cellphone apologizing for the delay and referring to another problem with the frames. Since the caller left no name, my return call to the lab was wasted. “We have 400 employees at this lab. Without a name I can’t really help you,” was the response from an operator.

On February 24 I called the store again for a status report and discovered the lab had actually shipped the lenses, albeit in a woman’s frame. Thus the previously cryptic voice mail message from the lab. Perhaps I should have been given the option of setting a new fashion trend, but alas the delay continues.

The store manager did suggest I should approach my insurance company for some kind of refund when the order arrives. “Perhaps you should do that for me,” was my unspoken response. “Better yet, I should receive a full refund when I pick up the glasses.”

My story illustrates how many leaders and their employees have forgotten the basics of exceptional customer service. They provide false or misleading information about the purchase. They aren’t proactive when problems arise. They blame others for delays and mistakes. They don’t offer to refund deposits or payments when the poor service experience reaches epic proportions. Instead of an eye for service, they turn a blind eye in the hopes that customers will understand.

While the end of this story has yet to be written, one outcome is crystal clear. Both the lab and retail store have lost a customer who was spending about $600 every two years for new eyewear. Maybe they can afford to take this hit but why would any business settle for less than stellar service? Could it be that their own lenses have been clouded by past successes, current workloads, or casual indifference? Or perhaps they just need an eye exam.

No Complaints Here

I would like to display a poster in my office that reads “NO COMPLAINTS HERE!” It would remind me to focus on the positives every day and perhaps persuade others to take their whining elsewhere. I don’t need the residual fallout from their negativity.

We have become a nation of whiners. Some of us seem obsessed with the notion that we are victims and we like to use every opportunity to remind others how miserable we are. We complain about our boss or about our job. We complain about the weather and our favorite sports team. We whine about the state of politics and our fragile economy. And, yes, we complain about family and friends too.

How does a leader deal with the whiners on your team? I guess you could fire everyone whose life and work seems destined for futility based on their daily negative assessment of their circumstances. But that isn’t a very practical solution. Maybe you could simply avoid them. But that seems extreme as well. Could the solution be as simple as telling them it’s not about their perceived enemies but it’s really more about themselves and their attitude?

The whiners I know, myself included on occasion, have much more control over their lives and attitudes than they wish to admit. I can complain about my boss until I’m blue in the face, or I can look for another job and a new supervisor. You can lament the challenges of this volatile marketplace or face them head on with a positive attitude and fresh perspective.

Last year as many of my colleagues saw their sales efforts slumping, mine soared because I was determined that they could and would. By reframing how I viewed what was happening to me and my business I found myself focusing less on what was going wrong and more on what was going right. I used the energy from those positives to remind my prospects and clients about what they could control and how they could reframe their futures as well. Instead of whining, I wowed people with fresh ideas and a positive outlook.

The momentum created during these past months continues. Complaining about one’s circumstances saps energy and creativity. Being positive and optimistic fuels those same qualities. Perhaps every leader would benefit from that office poster I suggested earlier. “NO COMPLAINTS HERE!” It does have a nice ring to it. Now, where’s that marker and paper?

The Anxious Leader

In recent weeks I have been reminded on more than one occasion of the paralyzing effect anxiety can have within a team or throughout an organization. Whether it is triggered by unsettling changes in the workplace, the loss of a key customer, or the pressure to do more with less even the most seasoned leaders can find themselves struggling to survive. Yet without some level of anxiety it is unlikely we would be motivated to move forward or stretch our comfortable personal boundaries.

There is a danger of equating anxiety with stress or fear but they aren’t exactly interchangeable. Stress emerges when our mind and body succumb to the relentless pressure of external factors like schedules, expectations, or workload. Eventually we reach a breaking point where our capacity to deal with these conditions is compromised. Fear is perhaps the most basic of human survival mechanisms and tends to be triggered by impending danger, however real or imagined it might be. Anxiety seems to surface most often when we face those twin realities of change or uncertainty.

Leaders can manage their anxiety by understanding and admitting what makes them anxious in the first place. There is evidence that this list won’t be the same for every leader. A new supervisor may be most anxious about her ability to deal effectively with older, more experienced colleagues. Senior managers might fear losing control or being viewed as weak in the face of uncertainty. In either case, these leaders should acknowledge what causes their anxiety, accept what they can or can’t control, and embrace the unexpected events and circumstances they will face.

When a leader falls victim to anxiety it is likely he or she will resist change as a way of managing the pain they are feeling. This leadership approach often leaves the team and broader organization confused, so now the anxiety can spread. Leaders may also create a challenging environment when they avoid change, choosing the status quo over some temporary discomfort.

The best leaders understand themselves and others, knowing what motivates and mobilizes. By embracing unknowns, leaders can actually more effectively stay the course and weather the stormy winds of change. If they also learn to channel their anxiety without allowing it to rule their thoughts and emotions, it can provide the inspiration necessary to confidently face an uncertain future. The anxious leader balances hope, restiveness, and modesty knowing that without some anxiety there will be no real achievement, without risk there can be no reward.

Super Leadership

It is by far the most hyped sporting event each year garnering millions of viewers worldwide, netting huge revenue and exposure for vendors, and creating lots of conversations around the water cooler on the Monday morning following the game. Everything seems bigger than life during the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and expectations are often so high it is nearly impossible for the outcome to match them. Even the commercials have become their own story within the story.

Leadership principles seem fundamental to any conversation about team sports. A championship outcome is generally attributed to the coach whose strong discipline creates a winning attitude and mental toughness among his players. The quarterback who rallies his teammates on a game-winning touchdown is lauded as a true emotional leader. No one remembers the team that loses the game each year because leadership is about winning.

As I prepare to enjoy this year’s Super Bowl match up between two competent opponents I wonder what leadership should look like before, during, and after the big game? Will the inspirational style of Giant’s head coach, Tom Coughlin, be rewarded with another NFL crown? Can the star athletes on each team resist the need for individual attention after making a “big play?” How will the quarterbacks best leverage the talents of their teammates if they are called upon to engineer the two-minute offense in the game’s waning minutes? 

Watching the Super Bowl should be about having fun with family and friends. It is good to know we can enjoy a respite from many of the political and economic challenges of our time (thanks NBC for including a Presidential interview during the pre-game madness to ruin this theory). But perhaps we can, and should, gain some leadership insights while watching two well-prepared, well-coached, and talented teams perform on the field for our enjoyment. Will it be super leadership that endures beyond the game’s outcome or more populist leadership hype that does little to inspire or change anything for the better? I invite you to be the judge.