02.06.10 Customers Expect Your Undivided Attention – Keep Alert (Orig Ng 28)
28. The Housemaid and the Sweets
Lidiya’s cell phone squealed continuously; in the middle of a management meeting. She took one hurried look at who the caller could be, before disconnecting the call… it was her landlord Jabir.
Back at her office, she toyed with the thought of returning the landlord’s call. But knowing Jabir, she would have to prepare herself for some harsh words since despite earlier promises, she was still unable to pay the overdue rent. And sincerely speaking, ‘harsh words’ was the last thing she needed, after her son’s long week at the hospital.
As she sat on her desk, she wondered how life could change so drastically. Just a fortnight ago, things had been going so well. She remembered how she had been hired as marketing manager for the young tour company only one year back. Since then, business had grown unexpectedly, which meant a plus for her department.
One major milestone had been their recent negotiations with an international tour operator based in Brussels. Although the deal was yet to be sealed, the picture looked rosy. In fact, the representatives had just proposed that Lidiya flies to Europe for further discussions. The overseas trip was a God-send as not only would she get international exposure, but the savings from her allowances would contribute to her pending rent bills.
Since she had a 'perfection trait', Lidiya had deployed all her energies into planning for the trip; preparing power-point presentations, brochures and other such materials that would be required to convince the potential partners.
But just one day before the travel date, she had received a call from the housemaid Situ who reported that Lidiya’s three-year old son Gamuka had fainted. Lidiya had dropped whatever she was doing; speeded home; and, was shocked to find her usually healthy son unconscious.
When Lidiya asked the housemaid what had happened, Situ confessed that the neighbor’s maid Tandi had come asking for some malaria tablets. Situ had given her some sugar-coated chloroquine, but had forgotten to put the tablets back in the cupboard. After that, Situ had accidently fallen asleep only to be woken up by Gamuka, complaining of intense stomach pains. This was when she had discovered that the boy had eaten the pills, thinking they were sweets.
“But I have always told you to watch the child all the Time”, Lidiya screamed, her panic-stricken voice almost running out of control.
They rushed to hospital. The doctor immediately established that Gamuka was suffering from chloroquine poisoning; admitting the boy into the Intensive Care Unit right away. And for one entire week, Lidiya sat by Gamuka’s bedside as he struggled to regain consciousness.
While at the hospital, Lidiya thought hard about what to do with Situ; who had initially come from the village, desperately begging for work. It was obvious that the maid was lazy and hazardously careless. For instance, she had formed a habit of either taking daytime naps or watching television instead of attending to her responsibilities. Also, it was common for Lidiya to find the house not cleaned and Gamuka not fed. Repeated warnings had fallen on deaf ears. Now, not only was her child’s life at risk; but Lidiya had missed the trip that would have provided the extra income to assist with rent and other obligations.
During the week that followed, Lidiya had no choice but to dismiss Situ!
I referred to this story when talking to some frontline staff recently. Their Chief Executive was concerned that external customers had been persistently complaining of being ignored by frontline staff. For example, the employees would commonly respond to calls or text messages on their cellphones while customers waited to be served. In addition, they had a habit of engaging in personal conversations, listening to music or reading newspapers, thence ignoring external customers in the interim. To make things worse, the employees were repeatedly making careless mistakes, which was not only tarnishing the company’s image but causing high compensation costs.
I stressed the importance of being alert all the time when attending to customers; emphasizing that the employees were expected to avoid anything that would distract their attention from the customer.
I added that concentrating on things other than one’s job was a common cause of forgetfulness amongst staff, resulting in high inefficiencies.
I reminded them that just like Situ, they had come looking for employment, and that they should never forget that fact.
Lastly, I sternly warned that their failure to change could easily lead to their dismissal as no organization would be ready to pay employees that turn away customers who would have otherwise brought in the revenue that would pay the employees’ salaries.
One could say that I had been too blunt with the frontline staff; but in cases like this, it may be better to ‘call a spade, a spade!’… that is strictly my opinion.