Look In the Mirror Before Firing That 'Stupid' Employee - Eric Rhoads - MediaBizBloggers

Welcome Eric Rhoads our newest MediaBizBloggerquotI39ll sprint into Radio Shack and grab a couple of gifts for the triplets39 eighth birthdayquot I thought rushing to get homeAs I entered the store there was a man sitting at the counter slumped over at his computer Without looking up he mumbled quotLet me know if you need anythingquot No eye contact I was instantly turned off I could tell my highspeed shopping experience was about to downshift into low gearquotI39m ready to check outquot I say laying my pile of goodies on the counter Slumpy mumbles something about quotthe guy in the backquot Who comes forward a decade later to check me outquotIs there something wrong with my credit cardquot I askquotNo it39s this slow computer This stupid company is too cheap to buy us new computersquotI grimace debating whether I should bite my tongue I can39tquotWith all due respectquot I said quotIf I heard that one of my employees had just trashed the company to a customer that person would not be working for me tomorrowquotHe looked up with anger in his eyes Before he could say anything I said quotYou should be thankful you have a job Do you have any idea how many people in this country would kill for this job and its slow computers todayquotHe stammered a bit handed me my merchandise and mumbled something I can39t repeatNews flash Unemployment is skyrocketing It39s bad business to share your internal frustrations with the customers My little purchase probably paid three hours of his wages His quotstupid companyquot is fortunate to be in business and upgrading computers is probably the last thing on their minds at the moment They39re thinking about survivalOK I39m venting Like everyone in this economy I39m spending less And yet I EXPECT to be treated well when I go out of my way to spend money with any retailer I throw nickels around like manhole covers and they39re welcomed in other places that will treat me wellUnder no circumstances do I want to get anyone fired I39m not that big of a jerk Yet as a business owner hearing that one of my employees did this would be cause for a stern discussion But the warning is not just to the employee It39s to the manager of that employee and ultimately to meIn the case of Radio Shack my first instinct was to call the manager but my guess is that the manager is the problem He or she HIRED this loser and has failed to properly train him and help him understand what good and bad customer service looks like So if anyone should be fired it39s the manager or the regional manager or the CEO or the board of directors After all you know what they say rolls downhillI39ll be phoning no one because I39ve had dozens of wonderful experiences in this Radio Shack But if I saw a pattern I39d call their CEO just as I would hope my customers would call me But they don39t until someone is gone and then they say quotI wanted to tell you what a loser that guy was but I didn39t have the heartquot Frankly I39d rather know earlyFrustrations run high in an economy like this As managers we have to accept the blame for all imperfections Maybe the computers at Radio Shack are slow and the employees are frustrated If fixing that one thing made employees feel like the company listens and empowers them to make changes would it make a 10 percent difference in sales It mightBrad Anderson the CEO at Best Buy once told me that listening to employees and changing the order entry program made a huge difference in employee attitude and thus their sales So maybe the managers should listen and eliminate that frustrationBut everyone is in survival mode Maybe Radio Shack can39t spend the money to fix the slow computers Maybe the employee is slow not the computer One thing we all CAN do is improve our employee communication so frustrations can be on the table and so our employees know what good customer service looks likeHave you designed and articulated the ideal customer experience Do the people who touch customers at all levels understand what a bad customer service experience is Do you have standards of performance for all customer touchpoints It39s one thing we can do even in this economy and if it improves our customers39 attitudes about us it can make a difference in our businessB Eric Rhoads is CEO of Streamline Publishing Inc Rhoads writes regular columns for his publications and is an active blogger in the radio and art industries including Radio Ink Tank Artist Marketing and Blue Chip Gallery Marketing He is an active speaker consultant and advocate in the radio art and technology industries and he sits on a number of advisory boards Eric can be reached at ericRadioInkcomRead all Ericamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Ink Tank with B Eric Rhoads MediaBizBloggersFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBlogger

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Look In the Mirror Before Firing That 'Stupid' Employee - Eric Rhoads - MediaBizBloggers

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