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Does Anyone ask the Employees?
Does anyone ask the employees? Anything?
Everyone surveys the customers, but does anyone ever ask the employees?
Employees won’t volunteer information, because nobody wants to be the messenger. But if someone bothered to ask, I bet it would help customer satisfaction and retention.
I frequent a place where the paper towel dispenser says “Automatic”. The customers always complain that there are no paper towels, because “Automatic” is a big fat lie, and you have to push this giant unlabeled lever to get a paper towel. It is not automatic at all. If you wave your hands in front of it, like rave dancing lunatic on mushrooms, you start to wonder if maybe you are dead, because the dispenser is clearly labeled “Automatic” and not a carnival skee-balls ticket worth of paper comes out. Now the customer has wiped their hands off on the inside of their shirt like a yuppie from a good home should.
Employees generally wash their hands more than customers, we hope anyway, since we’ve been reading that little sign over the sink for 1000 years. Here’s another good reason to wash your hands, but this isn’t really my point:
http://www.engineeringwellness.com/environment/wash-your-hands-or-become-a-zombie
My point is that if the management asked the employees, ANYTHING, they would know that the “Automatic” paper towel dispenser is a raging lying piece of crap, and that it’s discouraging everyone from washing their hands, thus increasing the chance that everyone might die and/or become zombies from flesh eating bacteria.
In the name of customer satisfaction and retention can we all agree that a new, or no paper towel dispenser, (how about just a pile of paper towels??), might be a more efficient solution? If someone asked any of the hundreds of employees, who hopefully wash their hands the most, maybe they would know that the paper towel dispensers don’t work. But nobody has asked.
There are so many more examples from so many industries/careers/paths.
Here’s a less ranty example:
Owner A ran his business into the ground. During that time he lost all of his talented employees
Owner B buys the business from Owner A, and then gets training from Owner A on how to run the business.
<<enter dramatic comedic pause here>>
Does anyone ask the employees? Or at least ask the few that are left!
I would love to hear your stories!
Employees generally spend more time in a space than customers. Simple suggestions from employees can empower employees to own and solve some issues, as well as improving team spirit. Also customers rant more openly and freely to other customers and the rank and file than to management.
- (example: Just like a parent hires me to listen to the teenager because a smart parent knows that the teen will communicate more to me, than their parent!)
- (example: Just like any student will talk more to the intern than the instructor)
Employees know more about your customers than you will ever learn in a survey. Ask and listen…I would love to hear what you’ve learned!
Want to Know More?
michele@michelethetrainer.com
877-409-1758
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