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Performance; perception | anyone really care?


As folks began to gather for our weekly Monday morning meeting, you could feel the tension in the room.  Last month we lost an unusually high number of customers and pull through service work.  Unfortunately, we have been slipping for the last few months.  Sitting across from me , Influential Irene looked out of sorts,  normally very upbeat, she instead looked quite perplexed.  Arguably we provide the most professional service around, maybe we are too good?  What if we just think we are fantastic, easy for confident service folks, and we are not that great.  Feeling himself slip into a black hole, overwhelmed Oscar decided to take a breath and wait to see what Andy had to say.



Trying not to feel defeated, Avid Andy began to wonder which matters most to our clients, superior service performance OR the perception of superior service.  Knowing that he needed to address the team and get them back on track, Andy listed the attributes which seem to be at the intersection of performance and perception:



  1. Positive demeanor | confident and open-minded (performance), a smile is always infectious (perception)
  2. Clear head | efficient and safe (performance) while focused on the job ahead (perception)
  3. Listening |   understanding field conditions and history (performance) sincerely concerned (perception)
  4. Empathy |  absorbing the pain points (performance) and remaining approachable (perception)



Andy decided that instead of talking about the numbers and technical attributes, the focus would be on what truly differentiates our organization, the way we feel about our teammates and clients.  Irene, who had been quite through the meeting closed the meeting by reminding everyone; "your face is our face, let it be warm and welcoming".



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Next post:  who's data is it?

Thoughts?  feel free to leave replies or direct message

See all of the "last mile worker" posts here:  http://lastmileworker.com

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