A Nerd and a Blog.
Commentary
Fixing Symptoms instead of Fixing Problems
791 days
by Brad
in Commentary
On Sunday nights since there is not much else to do I usually end up sitting through Undercover Boss on CBS, right after The Amazing Race. If you haven’t seen this show, it is a reality series following Executive level management, CEO or President, as they go undercover in their own organizations. Sounds like a dream come true, right?
It is… sort of.
I’ll skip over the fact this show seems to look for feel good moments instead of actual business innovation, and just go to the episode tonight covering GSI Commerce and their CEO Michael Ruben.
One of the things that I took notice of immediately is his visit to a call center and specifically working on the Level III escalation line. Third level of service for upset customers. Mr. Ruben works with two employees, one named Adam who is amazing, and Danielle, who is not so much. I’m going to focus on this last interaction, because I think it underscores some of the issues facing call center environments today.
Danielle encountered a call in which a customer was promised a price and through a fault of the company was not able to receive that price. Since the sale ended, the only option is to purchase at full price and then issue a rebate. As predicted, this did not sit well with the customer, as it rightfully should not.
The problem is Mr. Ruben, at least in how the show aired (I will give the benefit of the doubt and say things may have happened that were not shown), is that Mr. Ruben identified the symptom rather than the problem.
Symptom: Employee is rude to a customer because the customer will not accept the offer given.
That is a symptom. The real problem:
Problem: The system only allows employees to follow very tight protocols that do not line up with customer expectations.
See, for CEOs, Presidents, and any other executive level managers out there, many do not see the problem, only the symptom, and they treat the symptom. The employee was retrained and eventually no longer worked there.
Mr. Ruben identified the symptom, treated the symptom, and then found the symptom working its way back. Why?
THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTED!
Most people who work in middle to upper-middle management, in my humble opinion, are either clueless or controlling. They either cannot see problems right in front of them, or, they see them but they do not care: operations will continue the way the feel they should go.
The solution to the problem was not to retrain the individual, but to identify what is preventing that individual working in a tier three support level from fixing the issue. In this case it was a company mistake that kept a customer from receiving a promised sale price. At tier three, if the operator cannot override the price then a huge problem exists: a lack of empowerment.
Call Centers in general suck for two reasons: there is no empowerment, and, there is overkill on metrics. Employees cannot solve customer problems if they are not capable of actually fixing the customer problems (and not saying “Call corporate because I can’t help you”, which is unfortunately the truth in many cases). A customer cannot receive a published sale price due to a company problem? Override the price, apologize, and eat the shipping. Instead of dancing around a rebate. This is endemic of every call center I have ever worked at: no empowerment. I won’t even get into the overkill on metrics tonight.
The point is I really wish people in any sort of management role would get it through their thick skulls that restricting an employees ability to solve issues does nothing but hasten burn out and cause customer turnover. Losing customers and employees is something that should be seen with disgust by anyone in executive management. Instead it is an acceptable part of business to many.
Any time a business loses a customer, the business has failed in a way that is unacceptable, regardless of the reason. Yes, the customer may have been so demanding and uncooperative that seeing them walk feels like a blessing, but a real hard look needs to be taken to find out why that customer had any reason to be that way. Sure, some times it is absolutely impossible to meet customer demands (like not having to navigate a phone tree at all), but it is possible to lessen the impact (having only two levels of a phone tree, or one).
Same goes with losing an employee. Is the workforce management scheduling set up in such a way that there is no breathing room? Is it set up to only allow one person out of 500 to be off sick or vacation at any time? Is the system working against the employee? Do they not have the empowerment and decision making latitude to actually solve problems? Are they measured on a plethora of KPIs? Is the environment designed to be both hostile and stressful? If a manager can answer yes to any of the above questions, they have committed epic fail and need to rectify the situation immediately.
Business management, while seen as this incredibly difficult task that only someone with a degree can understand, is not all that difficult. It is only as difficult as a manager or executive makes it. The right recruiting, the right training, the right empowerment, the right structure, the right workforce management, the right benefit and compensation package, and the right work environment can all work together to create a perfect storm of success. However if any one of those items is off, the business will trudge through. They may make a profit, they may increase sales, but at what cost?
It is asinine that after working in several different environments I have yet to find someone in management with an BSB or MBM that understands this concept, or, are humble enough to take suggestions from those who work with them and for them.
American businesses will continue to struggle until managers and executives get away from the idea that winning today is the only battle, and move towards winning long term being the battle worth focusing on. Anyone can get through today, however, can you set the operations of your business or division to be able to succeed not 5, 10, or 15 years from now, but 100 years from now? Can you lay groundwork that will allow exponential growth, mimimal employee and customer turnover, and a stress free environment? If you can’t, the degree you earned isn’t worth anything and it would be a good idea to find a new career in something else.
Just the opinion of a former low level supervisor that had zero employee turnover and clear stable growth for his entire tenure.
Death and Taxes
808 days
by Brad
in Commentary
How often do you use public services like Transit or Parks?
- Frequently (2 - 3 times a week) (100%, 1 Votes)
- Consistently (Daily) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Often (4-5 times a week) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Occasionally (4 times in a month) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Rarely (Average of 1 time a year) (0%, 0 Votes)
- Never (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 1
Loading ...I enjoyed listening to the most recent edition of Consider This by local commentator and former Chelan County PUD Commissioner Werner Janssen on KOHO 101.1 FM Leavenworth (streaming online worldwide if you’re interested in some great music). I almost always agree with Mr. Janssen’s positions, and this week is no exception.
Taxes is a subject of great heated debate. No one likes paying taxes, not even I do. It is the interesting part of living in a civilized American Republic, and somewhat of a burden similar to Jury Duty. We must all pay taxes, and when called, we must serve our country on a Jury. In other countries, people don’t have the luxury of trial-by-jury. Also in other countries, people don’t have the other luxuries we have all but taken for granted. I don’t enjoy paying taxes just as much as most people don’t enjoy getting a root canal at the dentists office. However, I have lived in communities with significant taxes and seen the benefits.
Arizona has sales tax, property tax, and an income tax (some call a “State Tax”), which is a percentage of your Federal Income Tax. Sales taxes include state sales tax, county sales tax, and municipal sales tax. Not to mention there are property taxes. While some parts of Arizona are veritable crapholes, and others are havens of upper class white society, I lived in a unique town. Tempe is a suburb of Phoenix, and is completely landlocked, meaning other cities and towns have annexed all the land around the city making it impossible to grow. The city is host to Arizona State University, and is smack in the middle of a giant “interchange” of sorts with five freeways passing through it’s boundaries surrounding most of the city in a big square of freeways. It’s not the wealthiest city by far, that might fall upon Scottsdale to the north. It’s not even the newest and shiniest, which arguably is Chandler to the south. It’s not the State Capitol, which is Phoenix to the West, nor is it the quazi-native reservation town of Guadalupe also to it’s west, and it certainly isn’t Mesa, with all it’s Mesa-ness (if you’ve ever lived or been through there, you know what I’m talking about). It’s Tempe. It’s the blue stain on an otherwise red state. It is one of the only Democratic areas of the state (our Representative to Congress is one of the only Dems from Arizona). It also has some of the higher taxes in the state.
Yet I loved living there. Why?
The streets were for the most part well kept (a few problems here or there). I never felt afraid walking around at night, as there were cops all over the place. For comparison, I now live in a very conservative area of Washington that is a newly forming metropolitan area (they’re up around 100,000 people now), and I can drive through the city at any hour of the day on any day of the week and maybe see 1 patrol car. I couldn’t go 3 miles without seeing one in Tempe. The Police reacted well and fast, as did the Fire Department. They are right on the Light Rail line, the only one in the Phoenix area. Even without that, they have one of the best bus services in the Valley Metro network (Tempe In Motion, the city Transit Authority working with Valley Metro), having both fixed Valley Metro routes, more local routes, and a system of free shuttles. Their library, which they were remodeling when I moved north, is one of the better ones in the area. They also have an Adult Rec Center, an Arts Center, a larger Performing Arts Center on the banks of Tempe Town Lake, an impressive system of parks and trails, the list goes on-and-on of available services. They even have some of the best public schools in the state.
The point I am making is living in this part of Arizona made me realize that taxes, although a part of life that everyone dislikes, are not the problem. My slogan is “Not just taxes, but the right taxes“.
Do Government bodies everywhere need to take a good hard look at their expenditures, separating the priorities from the ‘nice-to-have’ services? Yes, and not just ‘yes’, but HELL YES. Parks are a priority, but commissioning new public art to go there is a ‘nice-to-have’ sort of expenditure, just for an example. Those type of programs can be set aside for sunnier days ahead.
However, we in this land need to really stop the “I’m taxed enough and mad as hell!” attitude. Most people don’t even pay their fair share of taxes, instead looking for whatever loophole or credit will allow them to shave off a few bucks. People complain about paying taxes to support a mass transit that, and I paraphrase from many people ‘run empty all the time and I never use’. Why don’t you ever use it? Ever wanted to go downtown window shopping for the day? Take the bus, it’s cheaper and safer than finding a place to park. Going to the game? Take the bus and don’t worry about only having just one brew (although don’t over do it).
Tax payers are always pissed off about taxes because THEY don’t see value in it for THEM. What does a well staffed fire department do for me? I never have a fire! Why should I pay to have a county sheriff? I have my trusty guns! I don’t have children, so why do I have to pay school taxes? I’m not dead, why do I have to pay cemetery taxes? Don’t hospital bills cover all the cost of running the hospital? What is this Hospital District bull?
- The Fire District helps you because a well trained group of individuals stands ready not because you may be a fire waiting to happen, but because accidents happen: electrical wires short out, ovens stay on, candles get knocked over, or, your idiot neighbor IS a fire hazard and you want some one to put it out before it takes down your home too. Not to mention most, if not all, are also EMS.
- Police/Sheriff should be a no brainier here. Honestly.
- Everyone pays taxes to the School District because the pool of educated individuals pumped out by Public Schools keeps the community with someone to fill jobs, open new businesses, or after a lot of education, return to be doctors, lawyers, or teachers. Get over the fact you don’t have children and accept the fact that you are investing in the sustainability of your community.
- Cemetery districts pay to keep the public cemetery from being a weed infested fire hazard. This should be simple to understand as well.
- Parks beautify the city, create open spaces to promote a stable environment, provide places for citizens recreate, and break up the otherwise bland landscape of homes and buildings. Parks attract businesses, which create jobs, which creates prosperity.
- Public Transit ensures that low-income individuals as well as students and commuters can get to and from work and their shopping. Without Public Transit, some people would not be able to patronize businesses, which means lost revenue. There would be increased traffic congestion from more people commuting by car.
I could try to explain every single thing most Governments do and how they benefit everyone not just those that use the services, but I really don’t have the time. If you honestly cannot see how something benefits you, you’re looking at the situation very plainly, black and white instead of colors. The world isn’t monochrome.
I encourage people to look at government services and ask: why am I not using something I’m paying for? It is there for you to use, so go ahead! Besides, a trip to the park would do the belt sizes of some Americans (mine included) some good. Remember, it is not how much you pay in taxes you should be worried about, but instead how best those are being used.
Just my opinion, and thankfully I can have one.
Addressing Symptoms, Instead of Problems… Redux
American’s have a love affair with treating symptoms thinking it will cure the problem. Pervasive headache? A few aspirin will take care of the symptom, but they’ll do nothing to the underlying cause. High customer dissatisfaction? Firing all front line people and replacing them with new ones will solve the problem… until the existing middle management screws it over again. What else do we like to address the symptom instead of the problem? Immigration.
Unfortunately, my home state has decided to pass a bill that does just that. While it does address a few of the problem points (illegal hiring), it also penalizes the symptoms. Now in Arizona, officers can ask for proof of citizenship during their interactions, such as traffic stops. Keep in mind your drivers license does not suffice as proof of citizenship, only proof of identification and license to operate a motor vehicle. This means technically everyone in the state of Arizona would need to carry a certified copy of their birth certificate or their passport with them at all times, to prove citizenship.
Only thing is, who do you think is going to be asked to prove citizenship? Not me, I can assure you. My skin is so pale it’s two shades from translucent. My last name is McGarr, and I don’t have an Irish accent by default. However, legal US citizens will be questioned about their immigration status, and, potentially arrested under the new law. I lived in Arizona until just recently (by that I mean the end of 2009), and I know how overzealous some of the thin blue line can be down there.
So I’d like you to stop and think a moment, on what it would be like for yourself, assuming you’re a white US citizen, to be stopped for simple speeding, only to be asked to produce your proof of citizenship. Having nothing more than a license on you, you cannot do that (an SSN doesn’t establish citizenship). So you’re asked to step out of the car, and are hauled down to the police station pending proof of citizenship. Your birth certificate is locked away at home in your records drawer. You attempt to contact someone to come down with the document, in the mean time you’re being processed and sent to County. What would have been a routine traffic stop and maybe a fine has now turned into hours or days in the legal system.
And it is 100% lega.
Of course the law allows you to sue the authorities for miscarriage of this law, but, that involves a lawyer, time, and money. Assuming you didn’t get fired from your job and have money to spare, you can go ahead and fight it. We don’t yet have precedent yet, but remember courts tend to favor cops over Joe Schmoe. Otherwise, you’re screwed.
And it is 100% legal.
You may think this is ‘alarmist’ or ‘overreacting’, but as someone who lived in Arizona and saw what goes on there, this will be a reality for many. Many of which who beyond whatever caused their interaction with cops to begin in the first place, their only crime at that point is being… Hispanic.
Is it really acceptable to folks in the US that we can allow this to happen? Is it acceptable that we can allow even one person to be detained merely on the grounds they cannot produce proof of citizenship in a state, in a nation, that does not require us to carry such documents in the first place?
Not to mention the cost to the state and cities, as estimated by several different organizations and reported on by Newsweek.
I hear all the time, all too often, the catch phrase ‘illegal is illegal’, and while on the surface this may seem true, you have to look deeper and who is saying it. No one in this nation is perfect. No one has never broken any laws. From kids running across streets outside of crosswalks (Jaywalking) to forgetting to turn on (or off) the blinker, millions upon millions of Americans break laws every day. “Illegal is Illegal” right, so the next time your vehicle’s speedometer crosses the speed limit, be sure to turn yourself in. The next time you jaywalk, call 911 on yourself. After all, illegal is illegal. I’m not brining this up to equate illegal immigration to minor traffic violations, but to merely point out those in glass houses should probably not hurl boulders.
There are right ways and wrong ways to address the endemic problem of illegal immigration. This is a wrong way to address it. This addresses symptoms, rather than the problem itself. This makes people feel good that the bad Government is doing something about immigration (which is funny because people say there is too much government as it is).
This does not strike deep enough at the heart of the problem, which is the source of jobs. If we want to have lasting immigration reform it needs to start not with walls on the border, dogs and ICE raiding homes, or letting local cops enforce immigration laws in a system that cannot handle it, but instead by targeting those who provide that employment. Businesses, private residents, anyone who knowingly hires someone who is not legally able to work in the US needs to lose everything. I’ll even go as far and say they get two chances, the first time a hefty fine, the second time, the business closes or the home is seized. Put jail time on that. I say this because I cannot in my heart consider someone a criminal for taking what is offered of them for a better life. Would you like to live in a city under siege? I wouldn’t either. If someone is offering them jobs, I cannot blame them or condemn them from doing whatever they can do to come here, I can only blame the people that gave them the enticement to come to the US via illegal channels, which includes smugglers and those who hire illegally.
We have seen the actions of programs like E-Verify and strict enforcement working. We need to continue that path of enforcement, and in the mean time not drive huge numbers of illegals into the shadows, but instead work on a way to provide a clear, comprehensive immigration process that involves allowing individuals already hear to work toward citizenship, and shipping home the felons. We need a 5 year maximum moratorium on new permanent applications while we work to resolve the massive numbers here. Some call this amnesty, I call this reality and common sense.
The point is that feel good measures that show a tough arm toward immigration often don’t have the intended result, they don’t target the root cause. I’m against illegal immigration just like millions of Americans, but the difference is I have not allowed myself to get angry, or become hateful. I’ve instead been looking at what can solve the problem, while not denying anyone of their civil liberties nor just addressing symptoms. Assuming anyone of brown skin is an illegal immigration puts us all further at risk of ever getting the problem solved, as it morphs from an issue of law to an issue of hate. Too many times in Arizona have I seen people who are Americans, but of Hispanic or other heritages be told to “Go back to where you came from!” by a white European decedent. The amount of anger and hate in this debate is disgusting, it is embarrassing, and it is keeping us from getting on with solutions.
We need to fix problems, and not simply try to address the symptoms, while maintaining to our principles of fairness and equality.