💼 Customers Don't Care About Your Org Chart
Have you ever flown three hours without any underwear?
I very nearly did, on a trip from Dallas to Phoenix two weeks ago.
My flight home was cancelled due to weather in Dallas, so I decided to stay an extra couple days and go right to Phoenix, instead.
Only flaw in that brilliant plan was I had packed for two days, and now would be on the road for five. 📆
Bought a couple items in a nearby store, and then used the laundry service in my hotel (I won't tell you the name but it rhymes with Chariot) to freshen up what I brought with me.
Yes, I know it's astonishing that people actually use the little plastic laundry bag and three-ply order form that is clipped to a pants hangar in the hotel closet, but this time....I was that guy.
Paperwork said "drop off by 8am, returned by 5pm." GREAT!
I made the drop off, early.
And...I didn't get clothes back. Not at 4:30. Not at 5. Nor at 6. And nothing at 7pm, either. ⏰
The hotel told me "sometimes THEY deliver a bit later." And then "we're not sure what THEY are doing tonight." And ultimately, "we'll have to call THEM in the
morning."
When I mentioned (in my outside voice) that I had a flight to catch, so
finding my clothes wasn't a deferrable project, I was told "one of our assistant managers will go see THEM in the morning, on their way into the hotel, and pick up your clothes."
That also didn't happen. At 9am, I received a call. "I am standing with THEM and they can't find your clothes. What did you send in?" 🤦
I know now why these forms are three-ply. I grabbed my yellow copy, took a photo of it, and texted it to the hotel rep. She went spelunking through a cavern of laundry and located my items, which were returned to me moments before I had to leave for the airport.
Crisis averted. But crisis of confidence created.
I do understand that the Dallas Chariot Medical Center doesn't have on-site laundry and dry cleaning. I recognize that they contract with a third party to do this job. 🧺
But I should never be cognizant of the details of that deal.
I am a guest at the Chariot. The laundry paperwork says Chariot on it. The money I pay for this service is handed over to the Chariot
hotel.
But at the first sign of trouble (which became many, many signs) the staff at the
hotel instantly (and then, consistently) blamed the third party.
It's not us...it's
them.
This happens ALL THE TIME in business.
And it was a major point of my keynote presentation yesterday, in Rome, to the top 100 global leaders of Otis Elevator
Corporation.
If a customer has an issue, you need to OWN IT. Not your division? Not
your department? Somebody else messed up? Can't fix it without cooperation from someone else? NONE of this matters to the customer.
The customer does not care about your org chart.
Of course there's all manner of relationships and partnerships and processes and procedures in your organization, but ALL of that should be kept behind the scenes, hidden from the customer.
Exposing that hidden internal wiring serves no purpose. All it does is frustrate and confuse the customer, and call into question whether you are at all capable of solving the problem at hand.
Here's a quick guide. Whenever you interact with a customer or client, never use these four words:
Division
Department
Them
They
That's my fully dressed lesson for this, the 75th edition of The Baer Facts. 🩳
