I hate to rip on fast food establishments any more than necessary for their notoriously poor job of creating a positive customer experience. However, my experience at a local fast food franchise drive thru the other day was too perfect an example to not discuss how practicing personal accountability can help to ensure a great customer experience. During my experience with this particular fast food establish (which took up over half of my lunch break!) I managed to put aside my rage and frustration and take note of several opportunities where a culture of personal accountability could have drastically improved my experience that afternoon…
As I listened to my stomach growl I eagerly anticipated the coming noon hour when I could quell the hunger inside me that was growing by the minute. I carefully contemplated my options… "The leftover lasagna from last night? Nah, not today. Another cold sandwich and soup? No that won't do either…" Then it hit me, the perfect cure to my hunger… a sour dough bacon cheeseburger from the fast food joint just down the road. I couldn't wait.
My long awaited lunch hour finally arrived and I drove to the burger joint down the road. When I arrived I was a bit discouraged by the longer than expected line in the drive thru, but I figured it was a small price to pay for such a delicious burger. Mmmm…I could already taste it.
After a few minutes in the drive thru I pulled up to the speaker ready to place my order. That's when I noticed the sign over the speaker that read "Speaker not working. Order at window!!!" My first reaction was that I was a little put off by the demanding, unfriendly language of the sign followed by the three large explanation points. With the absence of any "please" or "we apologize…" my experience had already started off on the wrong foot.
My next reaction was to reverse out of the drive thru and go inside with hopes of receiving quicker service. At the same moment I placed my hand on the shifter to go into reverse two vehicles pulled behind me in the drive thru line. I was trapped on all four sides – cars in front of and behind me, the building to my left, and a line of imposing concrete pillars forming the drive thru lane to my right. Yuck!
For the next twenty three minutes (yes, I counted!) I watched as the four cars in front of me pulled up to the window, placed their order, and waited for their food to be prepared. Finally I arrived, quite frustrated by this time (I am not a patient man), with the lofty hopes of being greeted by a friendly team member who would apologize for the delay.
Rather I was greeted with a cold, indifferent, "what would you like?" I placed my order and paid for my food. At this time the team member at the window craned her head out the window to see how long the line had gotten by this time. It had become quite long. She shook her head, let out an annoyed sigh, and remarked to a fellow team member, "Why can't they read the damned sign and come inside?"
Of course we can read the "damned" sign; we wouldn't have been issued drivers licenses if we couldn't. I stared in disbelief as this team member and three others stood around apathetically waiting for someone to come inside where there was no line for service.
Finally I received my food (once again with no "sorry for the wait", or even a "thank you, have a nice day") and hurried home to let my dog outside to go to the bathroom.
The purpose of this story is not to complain about my bad experience that day, but rather to examine how a culture of personal accountability could have corrected or even prevented my bad experience with this burger joint. Let's examine how.
First off, practicing personal accountability and QBQ! is all about asking oneself "how can I make a difference in this situation? How Can I help? What can I do to make things better?" Notice how the team member at the window asked "WHY can't THEY read the sign?" rather than "What can I do to move things along?" or any number of better questions.
With this in mind, there were numerous opportunities where team members at this establishment could have asked a QBQ! and made the experience better for the customer.
- An unoccupied team member (there were plenty!) could have made rounds between the cars in line taking orders and bringing the orders to the kitchen to speed up the process.
- A sign could have been placed near the drive thru line alerting customers that the speaker was out of service and it would be best to come inside.
- A cheap set of two way radios could have been purchased from the K-Mart across the street and used as a temporary intercom system.
- Someone could have chosen to be a leader and closed the drive thru altogether.
These are just a few possibilities as to how practicing personal accountability and asking a QBQ! could have made the drive thru customer's experience more pleasant. For an organization which practices personal accountability these questions would have been a no-brainer, a solution quickly devised, and customers that day would have left with a much more favorable impression of the establishment.
A culture of personal accountability can help create a significant competitive advantage by earning a base of loyal, satisfied customers. This is true for all organizations competing in all industries of business. If your organization is in need of personal accountability the time to start is now! Give us a call and we would be happy to discuss opportunities to help transform you culture into one which eats, drinks, and breathes personal accountability. Your customers will thank you!
Now go Maximize Possibility!
Other blog posts you may be interested in:
- What we can all Learn About Customer Service From Ozzy Osbourne
- Cultural Change Begins with Personal Accountability
- Five Signs Personal Accountability Isn't a Core Cultural Value
- Consistency is Key to Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
- Creating a Powerful Customer Experience by Exceeding Expectations
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention. Bring Chris in today!
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