In my previous blog entry, I talked about how establishments all too often, put lackluster individuals high up in the food chain, where unfortunately, they are in charge of making lackluster decisions.
Common Sense dictates that this should not happen, ever. If it does, then rarely.
Perhaps it does happen rarely. But if you are the customer that lackluster customer service is happening to, then it’s 100% of your current experience.
But it should never happen if simple Common Sense is allowed to take root, grow, and thrive.
Take for example this situation which happened to a good friend of mine. Before I relate the anecdote, I will lead with a photo, since a picture is worth a thousand words:
The above photo tells the whole story. My good friend, in attempting to open his apartment door, inadvertently snapped off his key one sunny Sunday morning.
Common Sense says that this was not done on purpose. Common Sense suggests that this happened because of shoddy workmanship or a faulty key or lock.
But Common Sense was nowhere to be found that sunny Sunday morning.
My good friend is a good tenant who is never late with his rent and follows all the rules.
So he expected to have his problem solved expediently when he walked into the leasing office of the apartment complex that sunny Sunday morning
I’m sure the reader know what happens next. Hint: reread the title of this blog entry.
My good friend walked to the leasing office only to be greeted by a locked door, even though it was after the posted opening time. A young man was sitting behind one of the desks.
Note that in this circumstance, this young man is the face of the establishment.
My good friend knocked on the door and continued knocking. After all, he was paying for customer service, which is part of the rent.
After several minutes of knocking, the young man finally opened the door.
He explained that he locked the door because he was on the only one in the office.
I hope any office managers, supervisors, and business owners reading this blog entry are cringing and horrified. No good establishment would ever be run this way.
My good friend explained his situation to the young man, the face of the establishment, whose job it was to provide good customer service.
He showed the young man his key and the photo of the key broken the door lock.
Unfortunately good customer service was not forthcoming.
“Before I can begin a work order,” the young man began, “I will need a cashiers check for $50.”
My good friend stood there with his mouth agape.
“$50? Why $50?” my good friend asked.
“To cover the damage to the lock and its replacement,” replied the young man who is the face of the establishment.”
My good friend responded, “$50 to replace a shoddy lock, as if I did that on purpose?”
“Yes,” responded the young man, the face of the establishment.
“It’s Sunday,” retorted my good friend. “The banks are closed.”
The young man, the face of the establishment must have come from an alternate universe where banks are open on Sunday, because he didn’t seem to grasp the depth of the situation.
“You can get a money order then,” he continued.
My good friend just stood there with his mouth agape.
The young man, the face of the establishment continued, “You can write a personal check for $50.”
I’m sure the reader of this blog entry knows what happens next. If you thought that my good friend didn’t have his checkbook with him because it was in this locked apartment, you are correct.
The young man, the face of the establishment responded, “There is nothing I can do.”
But we know that this statement is 100% incorrect. What the young man, the face of the establishment meant was, there was nothing that he will do.
Not the same thing.
The story does not end here and it has a happy ending.
Gary the maintenance guy happened to be in the office and Gary didn’t need a cashiers check, money order, or personal check to provide excellent customer service.
Gary the maintenance guy earned his dollars that day. Without a work order, Gary solved the problem and in less than 30 minutes my good friend was back in his apartment with a new lock and a new key.
But the story doesn’t end here. Not quite yet.
The next month when my good friend was paying his rent, he noticed a $50 charge for the replacement lock and key.
My good friend marched to the leasing office with the photo above and demanded to speak to the highest individual in charge.
He said he wasn’t paying $50 for a shoddy lock that needed replacing.
Common Sense did make a brief appearance and the office manager waived the $50.
The question for the day and teachable moment is this: Why did the young man, the face of the establishment, take such a lazy, spineless approach to an issue that was easy to solve?
It would go something like this:
“Hey, I understand that you are a good tenant. It’s Sunday and the banks are closed. I know your checkbook is in your locked apartment. It must be stressful to be put out like this. Let me get started on that work order, and since your photo clearly shows a shoddy lock, we’ll fix it and take care of you at no charge.”
At least, that’s how the scenario plays out in the La-La-Land that exists inside my head.
