I recently delivered a keynote for an association and walked into a coffee shop that was located next to the convention center during a break. The first thing I noticed was a depressed looking young man behind the counter who did not greet me with a warm welcome such as – “How are you today? How can I help you,” but instead with a greeting that sounded something like this – “It’s gonna take, like, a really long time for your order.”
There apparently was a big rush to the coffee shop due to the conference’s first break of the morning. A swarm of highly motivated, badge-wearing convention attendees descended on this coffee shop as all of their morning caffeine unfortunately wore off simultaneously.
And though I instantly understood the reason for his depression, I couldn’t help but think the filter through which he viewed his circumstances was at least as big a problem as getting customers what they wanted on time.
Where was the leadership of that coffee shop? What were they doing to help this employee or better yet rally the troops to take on this rush. The ultimate goal of leadership and employee engagement should be to deliver the best experience possible to our customers. We have to treat people the way we want them to treat others. But that requires us to take a deep look at the role we play in other people’s behavior.
When I observed the coffee shop manager, I noticed his loyalty and energy drive, but they were competing with his anxiety and stress. He looked just as frazzled and frustrated as the employees scrambling around the coffee shop like it was a fire drill.
It’s easy to say that a leader’s attitude creates the experience, and that’s true. But sometimes people’s attitude can be created by 100 caffeine-deprived customers, five overwhelmed baristas, and a manager who looks like he’s rethinking all of his life choices.
Here’s what I saw:
- Customers with an unshakable expectation of instant, reliable service under all circumstances.
2. Five coffee shop employees stressed out facing that mob.
3. Workers who were in their early 20s and might not yet know what a good job is suppose to look like or the urgency of customers who haven’t had coffee since 7 a.m.
I watched the manager transfer his stress to the employees around him. He was just as frazzled as his employees. Historically, stress equals either micromanagement or burnout. But what if the manager could have handled the situation differently? The message that needed to be was – “Okay team, we can do this.” But the expression on his face conveyed “Maybe I should have stayed in graduate school.”
Waiting in Line — Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis
Now, I’m a very easy-going person. I usually empathize with the staff when under those circumstances. Being a hotel manager in my day, I certainly had to deal with crazy rush periods of guests checking in or out. Especially the volume of guests at a typical Disney Resort Hotel. I just needed a simple plain cup of black coffee, not one of those disturbing green milkshake concoction things most people were asking for. Surely mine should be fast, right? Well, I chose empathy and patience. I’m not sure other customers chose that path.
That’s when it hit me: Wasn’t the coffee shop aware of the large conference next door? I’m sure this wasn’t the only time they experienced a coffee rush from a conference. What did they do during those other busy times when they experienced a huge rush of customers all at one time?
Did the manager have a plan for dealing with the high customer rush periods? What could the manager have done differently to prepare. Does the manager have a game plan for this? If not, would the employees feel confident in their manager’s ability to handle challenges? I don’t think so. Every business will face challenging situations. It’s inevitable. As a customer, in the middle of that challenge, just show me that you care. But what I was hoping to see was an excited and enthusiastic manager inspiring his staff under these circumstances.
- “Okay people it’s SHOWTIME! Let’s go em! We got this!”
- Take a deep breath, take charge and start redirecting and positioning people to assist and serve the customers. Maybe send two employees out into the crowded line to take orders on their phones.
- Pre-make coffee and espresso shots ahead of time for waiting customers. That would solve a lot of the problems and help them focus on the complicated coffee monstrosities that required 10 different ingredients and a chemist certification.
Could the manager’s attitude, voice and movements be more energetic and more precise. Was the manager aware of what the staff was doing and experiencing their own attitudes and stress. Could the manager help make the energy shift in a more positive way, take control of the environment, and watch the team respond.
It proved a simple truth: Managers set the tone and how they act is your culture. That’s what it feels like to work there. The old saying “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do” is, unfortunately, not always so applicable to leadership. Your employees don’t know all the things you do, but they remember exactly what you said, how they felt when you said it and your actions.
I believe a Leader’s attitude and how they communicate drives operational efficiency. It is the foundation of customer and employee experience. And it has always been that way. To understand why a leader’s attitude is so important, let’s take a look at Walt Disney’s perspective on attitude and consider these key points:
- Attitude is a choice that shapes our experiences and outcomes.
- A positive attitude can inspire creativity and innovation.
- Embracing optimism helps overcome challenges and setbacks.
- Attitude influences how we interact with others and build relationships.
- A strong, positive attitude can lead to greater success and fulfillment.
- Cultivating a good attitude is essential for personal and professional growth.
All true don’t you think? If you are a business owner or manager, look in the mirror at your own attitude and how you react to challenges. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? If I asked your staff that question what would they tell me. Choose to be an optimist. Set the tone of your operation with good judgement, communication, preparedness and positive energy. It will make your business more efficient, your team wanting to follow you and provide a better customer and employee experience. Now that is “MAGICAL”!
If you or your leaders and teams are struggling and not getting the results you want, you need to contact me today. I’ll help your Leadership and Team Employee Experience Strategy serve your customers better and blow away your competition, so you want have to babysit them again. Imagine working on your business instead of worrying about your business, leadership and team performance. Contact John today for a FREE Strategy Session Call to talk about specific solutions to help you achieve the results you want today. I will help you achieve the profits and goals you always dreamed of. Contact John at info@johnformica.com or (704) 965-4090.
John Formica is America’s and Australia’s Customer Experience Coach, team culture experience expert, keynote speaker, and Top 10 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Customer Loyalty. For information on customer experience programs, leadership training, team culture, business growth, how to find and hire great people and tailored training programs just for you or to book John to speak at your next event, contact 704-965-4090 or visit our website at JohnFormica.com.