Be "Of-Service"

I was on a trip last week replete with multiple instances in which an organization either demonstrated their commitment to me as a customer, or they did not.  In the Navy, I learned the value of being “of service”:  “to be helpful or useful to someone”.   Our desired end-state was not unlike that which every company should aspire – to be “of-service” to two sets of constituencies: the first was our external customers – the nations, the alliances, the oppressed who were seeking peace, and a better way-of-life……anyone who was looking for our help; the second was internal – our own people who also needed our help, so that they could also have the opportunity to achieve and excel to their true potential, and feel connected to the mission and vision of our organization.  In retrospect, we did a pretty good job in both regards.  We accomplished this by demonstrating that we were “all in” regardless of pay-grade or our respective leadership roles.  We led-by-walking around.  We sought continuous feedback from our Sailors and our external customers to ensure that we were not consuming a false narrative that indicated we were better than we actually were.  And, in truth, we knew that we could always do better and that there were always situations that we had not thought about as we sought to be perfect in our execution.

My approach to life has migrated in this regard as well – it has become central to my DNA to be “of service” in whatever capacity where an opportunity presents itself.  It is why I wanted to write about a series of ’tactical’ experiences….examples if you will, during this trip, where I lived two extremes, in which leadership brand and authenticity were put on display – both good and bad.  Before you wonder why these are important, each of these organizations have top-tier competitors who are seeking a larger share of the customer base. In each case, the “of-service” characteristic made its presence, or lack thereof, known.  

The great:

I was staying at a brand-name hotel in another country.  I had no prior experience in this country, or the city in which I was staying.  There are a lot of good brand name hotels, in which I have stayed, that did not come close to the “of-service” that I experienced in this particular location.  The employees sought to understand my needs and wants.  They planned, helped me execute, then followed-up to ensure that my expectations were met.  By day-two every one knew my name….they were all aware of my itinerary, they even became aware of the external surroundings that might impact my experience, and accounted for them accordingly.  I felt like I was living in their house as a guest, and I was the most important person in their world.  I found myself thanking each of those who I met on the hotel staff.  I told the General Manager that I would travel back to this country just to stay at this hotel again.  Their competitors don’t stand a chance.

The bad.

I was on a commercial aircraft preparing to start the last of the three flights that would get me home from this trip. The plane was fully booked and cramped, and it was warm onboard.  There were several mothers with small babies who were doing their very best to keep it together for sake of their young one, and everyone else onboard.  We boarded, the door was closed, and we waited…..and we waited.  Did I tell you that it was warm onboard?  Fifteen minutes into our wait the pilot told us that they were waiting for some cargo – ok, we know why we are departing late.  But, as we continued to wait, with babies crying more intensely, because it was getting late, and the aircraft was warm, we were left to listen to the flight attendants congregated at the front of the aircraft telling stories and laughing amongst themselves. ….with no thought whatsoever of being “of-service” to their customers.   In the ensuing thirty minutes, there was never a walk down the aisle to see how people were doing…..to see if a mother struggling with an irritable child needed something, anything….or even just be aware that the aircraft cabin was warm, so that they could ask the pilots to adjust cabin temperature.  There was never any effort made to differentiate themselves as part of an airline brand…..and it was we, the customers that were left holding the bag. The brand took a shot that day, and the leadership team will probably never know because there may not be any sense that “of-service” was one of the reasons why the flight attendants were on that plane in the first place.  They marginalized their value, and their brand.

One more on the bad side.  I honestly believe that there are companies out there who want to save their people from having to be “of-service”. They do it by creating an automated customer call system that requires the algorithmic processing power of a Dr. Katie Bouman, of recent Black Hole photographic discovery fame, to break the code that lets you ever, ever talk to a real person.   What a gig.  Can you imagine that companies really want you to talk to a person who can solve your problem?  I do not in most cases.  It is terrible when you leave defeated by an electronically synthesized voice that keeps sending you back to one-of-nine choices of potential relief, only to be sent to as second cue of choices, none of which match up to your reason why you called in the first place.  Today, I tried reaching a bank that held my car loan, to ask about accelerated principal payments.  After 45 minutes, and after having gone through six of the nine cues, I talked to a woman who could not help me….would not help me because (……wait for it) I was in the wrong department.  She offered me another number that promised more direct access.  But this time, I was left to another set of cue options.  It was thirty minutes later that I drove down to the bank and dropped a check for the balance with a promise that I would never work with this Bank again.  Again, the leadership team has not viewed its processes and procedures from the context of provided value and help to its customers.

I know what I want to do for my last gig before I finally retire. I want to work for companies and/or institutions that wish to understand how they are doing in the “of-service” metric.  Send me out as an independent consultant…..someone who is invisible to your workforce.  Let me give you, the leadership team, the essential knowledge, untarnished by any bias that comes with employment in a company, that lets you fix the wrongs that make people feel marginalized, be they external or internal customers.  

Be “of-service”.