This blog series explores the foundation for and a basic overview of a Six Sigma deployment and implementation process within an organization.
Employee’s Poor Attitudes
Posted 07-03-10 at 09:48 by Lakota
Employee’s Poor Attitudes
Sixty eight percent (68%) of customers lost by a business are attributed to the business employees’ poor attitude!
One must measure in order to appreciate how you are performing in this area of your employee’s attitudes.
Data indicates that less than 4% of dis-satisfied customers ever bother to lodge a complaint.
Most customers find it easier and more comfortable to simply take their business elsewhere.
Cultivating the customer relationship is one of the keys in achieving your desired business results.
A passive system that depends upon your customers to inform you, without effort on your part, is not likely to yield the information necessary to improve your customer retention metrics.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog -- it is very much appreciated.
Blessings to all,
Charles Wilson, Ph.D.
Director
TreQna University
aka Lakota (TreQna)
aka LakotaEagle (Twitter)
Please visit TU and complete your free Six Sigma White Belt Course.
http://www.treqnauniversity.org
Sixty eight percent (68%) of customers lost by a business are attributed to the business employees’ poor attitude!
One must measure in order to appreciate how you are performing in this area of your employee’s attitudes.
Data indicates that less than 4% of dis-satisfied customers ever bother to lodge a complaint.
Most customers find it easier and more comfortable to simply take their business elsewhere.
Cultivating the customer relationship is one of the keys in achieving your desired business results.
A passive system that depends upon your customers to inform you, without effort on your part, is not likely to yield the information necessary to improve your customer retention metrics.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog -- it is very much appreciated.
Blessings to all,
Charles Wilson, Ph.D.
Director
TreQna University
aka Lakota (TreQna)
aka LakotaEagle (Twitter)
Please visit TU and complete your free Six Sigma White Belt Course.
http://www.treqnauniversity.org
Total Comments 6
Comments
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It's actually quite surprising just how difficult some companies make it for you to complain. - Then, many make you feel that you're being a nuisance and making a fuss about nothing.
It's also quite surprising just what companies will do to manipulate their customer satisfaction figures. - Who the hell are they fooling?
Time to realise, the customer (and his money) is king.Posted 07-03-10 at 13:54 by sparky 
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Thanks Sparky for sharing your views. I suspect this to be sad experiences we have all shared from time to time.
Have owned a few businesses in my day, one was a hotel with a night club. We hired music bands for entertainement -- so folks could visit over drinks -- business or pleasure and be heard without shouting -- or could dance if they so desired. It ws a classy place -- with fine dining as well.
I hired these groups for two week periods. They played Tuesday through Saturday nites, 7 pm until closing. After the interview and hiring, I had but a precious few rules -- one was the volume of their music.
Once they set up we used a decible meter to set the volume levels. They were not to exceed these levels. One such band, a first time group for us, just couldn't seem to adjust to this rule.
Customer's complained about how loud the music was and my employee's would come to my office and tell me of same. I'd would go into my club and talk with the band between songs to get the volume lowered. They would comply -- but just long enough for me to get back to my office and up would go the volume.
I returned and noticed a table of 6 people and something most unusual and surprising -- they all had placed cigarette filters into their ears! I fired this band on the spot.
Months later that I would learn the reason for loosing several regular business group customers -- those that gather as a group every TThursday or Friday evening and of course the loss was over loud music.
They didn't compalin to me -- they simply walked out and took their group business elsewhere for about four months. I coined this type of experience the "silent killer". It caused me to better train my employee's to recognize and deal with customer complaints more effectively and with authority.
All future bands were introduced to my club managers and told of their authority. Any violations of our few and simple rules would be dealt with swiftly -- upto and including discharge if need be. This lead to a few bands and agents guoting contract clauses that stipulated other wise -- those folks either dropped these clauses or did not work in my club.
The customer is "king". If you don't believe it, try and make a living in business without them.
Thanks for sharing Sparky.
Blessings,
LakotaPosted 07-03-10 at 22:22 by Lakota
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Interesting, and I agree with Lakota's point that a passive system will be of no help whatsoever. Sparky also has a point where customers find it hard to reach a listening post that actually wants to listen.
It is a dangerous thing to ignore the voice of the customer in this day of rapid reach social networking means. A bad word will always spread twice as fast as a good word, but the scale and timelines to this news spreading has reduced exponentially.Posted 07-13-10 at 10:12 by netneanderthal
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netneanderthal,
Thanks for your comments on this topic. Do you have methods to offer that might improve this orrportunity?
Training is one anser. So is constant feedback to the performers, which requires MBWA -- management by walking around. Managers would need to catch employee's doing things correctly and then be able ot provide specifics of the behaviors, why it is important they pcontinue to perform in this manner, why this performance is important to them -- the team and the comapany and above all the customer.
MAnagers would as well need the ability and moxy to perform good interpersonal interventions without crushing the spirit and teamwork of the stakeholders. Most are fearful of failure or conforntations and simply ignor the infractions that collectively lend to loosing customers due to poor employee attitudes and behaviors.
Knowing and utilizing the laws of a regulatory agency having teeth within your business can lend to correcting behavior and providing appropriate and timely feedback to the employee.
For example OSHA (Occupational Safety HEalth Administration) here in the USA requires employee's to submit suggestion and maintenance repair items to their management in writing -- typically this on a specifically designed card that then goes into a suggestion box.
Management is required to retrive these suggestions, enter them into a log (with topic, name of employee, date fo entry,etc.). Management must then take appropriate actions and list same in the log corresponding to the complaint or suggestion entry made by the employee's.
This is followed up with verbal communications to the individual as to the actions taken and written confirmation that it took place. If management has not addressed these issues or concerns it spells much trouble for them with the OSHA folks -- who can fine, lock down the operations, bring managers to legal action -- which could mean personal jail time for those failing these requirements.
All things mentioned here I have witnessed as being taken care of in large complex businesses. In the mid to small level businesses, I see many failures here to listen to employee's, even to communicate with emp[loyee's and as a result I see many poor attitudes and behaviors on the part of employee's -- even as they deal with customers on a face to face basis.
Thanks for your comments and sharing.
BLessings my friend,
LakotaPosted 07-14-10 at 00:58 by Lakota
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Perhaps a short coaching event with employees to explain the "whys" of whatever the desired inputs would be for those particular employees. How they affect the Customer or Customers perception of the product or service. It's been my experience that if an employee understands those whys, they understand the hows as far as improvements go. It then becomes contagiuos as they share and coach fellow employees as well. Poor attitudes IMO can come from a multitude of causes internally, and externally. Communication, I believe is the key to turning these attitudes positive, thus benefitting the entire organization. Thanks so much
Posted 07-14-10 at 12:27 by Onemeanmode
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"night Owl", Ha! Yes I too agree with your assessment and suggested "fix". However, my experience suggest's the lack of communications and sharing of lessons learned (by management) is one of the stronger contributing factors that lends to gaining those "poor attitude's" i the first place.
Very much appreciate your enganement and active participations here at TreQna. Many will learn from you.
Blessings my friend,
LakotaPosted 07-14-10 at 22:07 by Lakota
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