Skip to main content

Does it have to be like this?


Perched at the entrance to the small retail shop, influential Irene patiently waits for the opportunity to help a fashionista find the perfect combination of clothes and accessories.   Avid Andy, a seasoned HVAC tech smirks as he passes the shop on the way to his gate, amused by the idea of "clothing accessories" in general and the fact that Irene is outside the shop wearing a light parka in the middle of summer.  Everything about that brief slice in time points to curious conditions constraining the ability to look at things differently and deliver service in a unique manner.  A retail shop, with no external load and minor internal load (as those incandescent floods for product were changed to LEDs months ago) has the air conditioner at capacity with absolutely nobody around except poor Irene.  While not my area of focus, why isn't this place adopting a bricks and mortar based non-sales attendant model with tags on merchandise and digital retail accounts on the clients mobile devices? 



If our perspectives could just be a bit wider wouldn't this client be the perfect candidate for C02 and motion based control on the HVAC systems, IoT controls to track and understand who is touching what product, electrical work to install RFID readers at the doors (non-sales attendant purchasing), and maintenance contracts to monitor / visit the sites at some frequency?  If our objectives were aligned to the customers throughput expectations, in this example the ability to have visibility and browsing to a captive audience within an airport, shouldn't we be having THOSE conversations?  Who gives a crap what the space temperature setpoint is?  Aren't we all really "masters of rotating and energized equipment"?  I can't remember the memo that asked us all to myopically look at our ability to provide value to our customers.  As trades based technical service providers were are in the catbird seat, broaden your perspectives and adapt to opportunities in this every changing world.



Whether you think you can, or you think you can't --- you're right.  (Henry Ford)



-----

Next post:  perceiving the service professional

Questions?  feel free to leave replies or direct message

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

-----
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

why transform?

Why do I want to change, who said anything was wrong with my stack of papers and sea of Excel files?   We solve problems, that is a key characteristic of any successful service organization, if it isn't broke why fix it?   Often, when discussing a transformation from paper or cobbled together systems to a cohesive digital approach, folks struggle with the gap between what they currently do and how digital tools can help.   You really need to look at where the pain points are in your organization and how these compare to your business objectives.   Consider writing down these points on the whiteboard in no particular order, spend a few days shuffling and consolidating into a prioritized list.   Once you have the "why" and the "what" identified, the old remaining step is "how".   Some of the most popular observations over the years have been; Slipping through the cracks :   you know, not the major muscle movements, instead those little i...
Post a Comment
Read more

expert at everything...not a problem

Well... I would say sometimes there certainly is a perceived notion that one person is an expert at everything. For the worker "everything" may be defined as the specific area in which you were hired or are constantly scheduled. Our opinions are frequently influenced off of past experience, or information we've received from their coworkers. Unfortunately this only gives us partial insight to that workers expertise and often is limited to their most recent history. Narrowly focused accounting is made of the skills that this individual possess. Come on, can't we figure out a way to leverage all of the skills of a particular worker? One of the challenges has always been that relationship between the activities which need to be accomplished and the myriad skills of individuals within your workforce. In addition, even if you could inventory and get a pretty good handle on the skill sets, they are constantly changing (with any luck) and thus the ineffective process of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Digital distance

As influential Irene entered the dispatch department this hot July afternoon all that she heard was the tapping of keyboards.   The energy felt like a controlled, almost clinical environment.   It wasn't that many years ago when the sense of chaos, wrapped in genuine human concern for our clients, filled the room with a much different feeling.   Could it be that our ambitions to become more efficient, by leveraging technology has simply created a reason for us not to communicate verbally with one another?    Hasn't the idea all along been centered around our ability to spend more time with our customers? Making each and every one of them feel as if they are our most important client?   Certainly I'm not suggesting we go back to big chief tablets and number two pencils.   Yet, we need to reflect and strike a balance between digitization and delivery. By pure coincidence, avid Andy was composing a memo attempting to give his opinion, without tr...
Post a Comment
Read more