Lunacy In The Lap Lane

My husband and I were lounging by the pool at our health club when we were rattled out of our revelry by a commotion in the lap lanes.

For ten minutes or so we had been chatting while two women were swimming laps in the pool in front of us. They were in separate lanes. One woman was in her mid-40s and the other woman was around 70. Suddenly, the younger woman stopped swimming, and whacked the older swimmer on the shoulder with her Styrofoam kickboard.

She continued hitting the older woman with her kickboard while yelling at her, "You've bumped into me three times! Why don't you watch where you're going?"

She was yelling so loudly that everyone in the pool stopped what they were doing and stared at her. The older woman was shielding herself from the blows and apologizing. "I...I didn't mean to bump you. I've stayed in my own lane. I'm sorry," she said.

"Well, sorry isn't good enough," the younger woman replied. "I take my swimming seriously, and you should learn the rules." With that, she swam off.

It was like a crazy Saturday Night Live episode. Most of the observers were mildly shocked and angered by this woman's behavior. Some found it quite amusing. A few people sitting by the edge of the pool started laughing at the offending woman. Once again she stopped, looked up at the laughing group and said, "Oh sure, use me as your weekend entertainment why don't you?"

Now the kickboard is light and the woman didn't actually hit hard enough to cause physical harm. But the older swimmer was clearly shaken and upset. After a few minutes, she quietly exited the pool and headed indoors.

Regardless of pool rules, there is no question that the younger woman was way out of line. No one wants to belong to a family-oriented health club where this type of behavior is tolerated. I carefully watched the lifeguards and club staff to see if anyone was going to address the issue of inappropriate behavior with the woman who did the hitting. No one did.

One group of club members was so angry about the incident that they wanted the women's membership revoked. Others talked to the head of the aquatics program and requested that she at least address the issue with the swimmer who did the hitting. The director laughed nervously and said, "I don't know what to say to her. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

The health club staff's lack of willingness to act on this matter has caused a great deal of frustration with many members. Some are threatening to cancel their membership. As customers of the club, they feel they have a right to expect all members to adhere to the rules of etiquette and courtesy.

Their lack of ability to take action in this matter will cause the club to lose good members. Ironically, the woman who caused the problem is still there swimming laps as if nothing had happened. I haven't seen the older woman since that day.
Employees need to be trained and empowered to deal with customers who act inappropriately. When the nasty behavior of a single customer is not addressed, it can do considerable damage to the image of a business. It compromises the quality of service that all of the other customers receive. It also lowers the credibility of all employees who are present.

You owe it to your customers to deliver great service in an environment where they feel valued and safe. This means that no behavior that it offensive to other customers can be tolerated. The employees at my health club clearly were ill-equipped to handle this type of situation. Conflict management training is essential for employees who work in organizations where there is considerable interaction between customers.

Turn Off Your Toys During Meetings

At a recent sales convention, the CEO of the company walked up to the microphone and stepped into the spotlight to make a speech. The house lights were lowered for dramatic effect. The room became dark, except for an eerie blue glow that could be seen emanating from seats throughout the ballroom. It was the glow of cell phones, PDAs and pagers.

There is nothing more insulting to a meeting facilitator or the other people in attendance, than a co-worker who is pulling out electronic gadgets to check or send messages. Put your toys away. It is not only rude, it sends a clear signal to your boss that your mind isn't 100 percent on your job. Your calls can wait until your meeting is over or until there is a break. Remember, there was a time before we had cell phones.

Turn off your cell phone, pager, palm pilot or Blackberry and laptop before you enter the meeting. Even if your gadgets are turned off, do not leave them hanging on your ear or lying on the table in front of you. Your laptop should be closed. When you are invited to attend a meeting, your focus should be on the discussion taking place in that meeting, not on your toys.

If you must have access to your electronic gadget, you need to explain the reason to the group and request their permission to leave it turned on. For example, others may need a quick way to reach you if you are dealing with a family emergency or there is a potential crisis brewing within the company. If you must turn it on, make sure that is set on the vibrate mode. If a call comes in, quietly excuse yourself from the room before you answer.

Unless you have received permission from the group, turn off all electronic equipment. Better yet, don't even bring it. Glancing at your phone, sending a text message or checking your email during the meeting will communicate that you are uninterested, bored or distracted. But the loudest message you will communicate is, "I am immature and unprofessional."

Setting behavioral guidelines for meetings is an excellent way to eliminate the use of gadgets and other disruptive behavior during meetings. You can learn how to set meeting guidelines and the secrets of planning successful meetings when you order the Teleseminar CD, "How to Manage Effective, Productive Meetings."

Caution: Robots at Work

I stood in line at the grocery store behind a 5-year-old girl and her mother. As they approached the cashier, the little girl looked up at her mom and said, "Paper or plastic, Mommy?"

All the customers, including me, cracked up laughing. But when the laughter subsided, I overheard a number of side conversations taking place. People began chatting with one another about their awful customer service experiences. The more they shared, the more annoyed they sounded.

That little comment from an innocent child was a reflection of a big problem I call "robotism." Robotism occurs when customers are treated like numbers instead of human beings.

When evaluating the quality of your organization's customer service, it's important to focus considerable energy on the human side of the business. Look for ways to shift your service delivery from being task-oriented to relationship-oriented.

Task-oriented service focuses on getting the job done quickly and efficiently, "Thank you, have a nice day. Next!" But it does not add the human touch and does nothing to build positive, lasting relationships with your customers.

Because loyalty needs to be built one customer at a time, emphasis must to be placed on building rapport and trust through careful listening, empathy and personal touches such as using the customer's name. It is the customer's perception of his experience with your organization that can create or destroy loyalty. Evaluate the quality of service through the eyes of your customers.