by Richard Flint Seminars
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When Accountability Doesn't Matter Recently in Atlanta, I had a first! In 28 years of traveling like I do, I had my room at the Westin Atlanta Airport broken into. I was there to have dinner with some friends and while I was out, someone went into my room and stole my watches and cash. I didn’t realize anything was missing until the next morning. I decided to change watches and when I went to do so, I noticed the watch pouch I travel with was empty. I tore the room apart looking for them, but they were no where to be found. That little voice inside me whispered to check my credit card container to make sure my travel money was still there, but it also was gone. I went to the front desk and informed the morning desk clerk of the theft. She called security and when he arrived he wanted to know if I wanted to call the police. I said, “Yes,” and we went to my room. I walked him through what had happened. As he was doing an entry scan on my door the police arrived. The security officer said, “The only people the report shows going in and out of your room is you. The times the key card were used corresponds with the times you said you entered and exited your room.” One of the policemen who was standing there was looking at the door. He pointed to his partner and said to me, “They didn’t use a key card; they opened the door with a screwdriver.” He was pointing to the indentions on the door. We walked down the hall and then up the hall and he showed me other doors that had been opened the same way. I asked the hotel security what would happen next and they told me he would fill out a report and it would be submitted to their insurance company. He told me I should hear from them in just a few days. He also told me that the head of hotel security would be calling me on Monday. Realizing this was Friday, November 17th, I knew I would not hear from anyone Thanksgiving week. On Monday when I didn’t hear from the head of hotel security, I called him. The following day he called me and said, “He was aware of the situation and he would be following up.” Thanksgiving week came and went and the following week on Tuesday, I hadn’t heard from anyone. I called the hotel and spoke to the hotel manager who seemed surprised I hadn’t heard from the insurance company and was informed he would follow up with them. I was given the name of the insurance company, the person working the case and the phone number. The next day when I hadn’t heard from them, I called the insurance company and left a detailed message about why I was calling. Late in the afternoon, the agent called me and proceeded to treat me like the hotel was the one that had been wronged. As we walked back through the situation, I kept running into the message from her, “How do we know you had those watches in your room? How do we know you really had the cash you say you had?” Each time I would ask her, “Are you saying I am lying to you?” Each time I would be told that many people say their hotel room had been broken into, when in reality is was just the person trying to get money from the hotel. Then, I heard this from her mouth, “The hotel is not responsible for your loses. There are safety deposit boxes at the front desk and a note posted on the back of your door that informs you of the fact the hotel is not responsible for anything left in your room. By Georgia law, we are only responsible for $1000 and without proof we don’t pay that.” Realizing, I wasn’t getting anywhere with her, I called the Hotel Manager back. As I was explaining my conversation with the Claims Adjuster to him, he said, “I knew that was what she was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to speak for them. It is your responsibility to use our safety deposit boxes.” I interrupted him and said, “Don’t I have the right to expect if I stay in your hotel, I will be safe?” He said, “We do everything we can to provide our guest with a safe environment.” Now, let me pause here and tell you the other side to this event. I was staying on the Executive Floor at the hotel, which in most Westin’s is a locked floor and you have to have a key to get to that floor. In this Westin, the floor was not locked off. When I returned from dinner and exited the elevator on my floor I noticed a young man standing in front of a room door, like he was getting ready to enter the room. When he was aware of the fact I was present, he turned, pulled out his hotel radio and started talking into it as he walked away. He had on a hotel security uniform and was wearing a hotel name badge. I didn’t pay anymore attention to it and walked on to my room as he was walking to the elevator. I had told the security officer, the front desk, the hotel manager and the police about this incident. The response of the security officer was, “That is one of my men.” The response of the Head of Hotel Security was, “I will check into it.” The response of the Hotel Manager was, “We do background checks on all of our people.” The issue was I had seen a person on the floor who was facing a room door as if he was about to enter and those I shared this with didn’t seem to hear what I was saying. My conversation with the Hotel Manager was like talking to the Claims Adjuster. He challenged everything I was saying about what was taken from my room. When I mentioned the watches, his response was, “We really don’t know if you had those watches.” When I mentioned about the cash that was taken, his response was, “We really don’t know you had that money.” The circle continued and I knew he wasn’t concerned that my room had been broken into, just that he didn’t want to deal with the situation. I was treated like a liar and a criminal who was trying to exhort money from them. All he wanted to talk about was how people checked into hotels and they said their room was broken into. As I listened, all I heard was denial to the situation. As I listened, I kept wondering, “Where is the accountability here? Where is the customer concern? Why is this man making me the enemy, rather than treating me with customer respect?” The issue to me wasn’t the money; that can be replaced. The issue was the watches; those of you who know me know about my unique colored watches. Many of you have commented that they go with my clothes; they are collector pieces and can’t be replaced. Yet, that wasn’t the larger issue; watches are just things. The real issue to me was the treatment and attitude from all those I spoke with, with the exception of the front desk clerk, I had to deal with. Here is what I would say to those at the Westin Atlanta Airport. The customer is a treasure; treat them with respect. Here is what I want the Manager of the hotel to understand. When your mission is to protect the hotel from a claim and not to make the customer feel valuable, you, sir, need to rethink your definition of creating presence with your people. You are the example, and in my eyes you failed in this situation. You didn’t listen; you just reacted and your reaction was emotional and not based on treating me with respect. Here is what I would say to the Insurance Company. Your job is to listen, not treat the person on the other end of the phone like a thief. Yes, there are some people out there who cheat the system, but that is not everyone. Find out about who you are talking to, before you put everyone in the same mixing bowl. To me this is just another example of the lack of accountability. When the customer isn’t listened to, the customer is devalued. When the customer becomes the one who is punished, they remember and share with others. The information shared between customers is a huge part of creating a reputation. Am I venting? No! I don’t accept the lack of respect that was shown. They could have handled this in a manner of concern, not “We don’t know if you are telling the truth.” What should they have done?
(I would love to hear your thoughts about this information. Email me at Richard@RichardFlint.com)
A Leader's Most Important Asset Recently, I read John Kotter’s new book Our Iceberg Is Melting and found myself thinking about how resistant most companies and people are to change. One of the major roles of leadership today is preparation; too many are too busy staring at the bottom line to really pay attention to what is emotionally happening inside their company. This is so apparent with how they treat people as a disposable item; they use them and then, rather than face the real issue to the loss of profitability, they blame the internal people for the lack of leadership and throw them away. Change should always be about improvement, not a reaction that is based in fear. If a company disposes of its people and doesn’t address the real internal issue, they will be the same, just minus a few good people. How should a leader view their most important asset, people?
• Investigate to find the real issues; don’t just react to the loss of profit. When profit is down and the Iceberg is melting, it is time to research, not react. • Stay calm! This is critical; when leadership loses their calmness, they become a bigger issue; without calmness they just feed the confusion that is stealing the clarity needed to make the right decision. • Take actions that resolve, not avoid. Throwing people away is a sign that leadership isn’t really paying attention to the internal happenings in the company. Resolving anything takes collective genius and that means respecting the insights of the people. • Educate everyone on where there is a need for improvement; when you react, you are disregarding the real issue. Slow down and look, listen and respond. • Never leap before you know what is down there. Growth demands adjustment; what most leaders call adjustments are actually a behavior designed to protect their lack of leadership, not a response to what is really going on.
(I would love to hear your thoughts about this information. Email me at Richard@RichardFlint.com) The Season of Family This is the season of family gathering. As I listen to people talk, I hear about the Holiday Season being a time when all the family is getting together. I think it is sad how busy life has become and how challenging it is to find time for those we love. Why should it take a Holiday to bring families together? One thing that has always kept our country grounded was the strength of family; one of the things that is tearing us apart is the weakening of the family. I think we should make the entire year The Season Of Family. I think family is what we have to get back to. Why? • Facing things together is much better than facing life alone • Allows for strong emotional ties • Meaning family brings to our life • Investment of time can create strength • Learning through connecting what family really is • Years that have been invested Family brings a deeper meaning to life and offers eyes and ears that others can’t offer. (I would love to hear your thoughts about this information. Email me at Richard@RichardFlint.com) Strategies for Successful Selling A Sales Thought… I was reading a copy of the Harvard Business Review when I ran across an interesting piece of research they did. They surveyed 138 customers responsible for making business-to-business purchases for large North American Companies. Here were the major list of grievances they had about Salespeople. These are interesting!
Interesting! Do you think you or the salespeople who represent your company fall into any of these groups? (I would love to hear your thoughts about this information. Email me at Richard@RichardFlint.com) Recently, I have had people sharing with me the challenge they are having building their business. As I talked to them, their challenge became apparent to me. Each of these people were trying to fit their business into their existing life, rather than redesigning their life to build their business. The challenge is the pattern for their life is set and when they are working to fit their business into their existing routine, there is not the time for it to fit it into. If one is willing to redesign their life and in the process rearrange what they call their priorities, it becomes easier to have the time and concentration to make their business happen. What is the emotional challenge to fitting their business into their life? (I would love to hear your thoughts about this information. Email me at Richard@RichardFlint.com) Richard, I want you to know that I bought copies of “Behavior Never Lies” for everyone at Gateway Title Agency. My intention was to give them as a Christmas gift. I started reading it and got so excited about the content that I couldn’t wait for them to have it. We have started to read it at our daily “Gung Ho” meetings and we are really into it! Our meetings have stretched from 15 minutes to 30 minutes most mornings. Richard, I am privileged to have practically everything you have done (books; tapes; CDs; StarMaker; etc.) I now have a new favorite - “Behavior Never Lies” is wonderful and challenging and if we allow it, life changing. Thank you! Rachel Torchia, President Gateway Title Agency, Inc. Brecksville, Ohio
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Richard Flint Seminars 11835 Canon Blvd., Suite C-105 Newport News, VA 23606 1-800-368-8255 or (757) 873-7722 Fax 1-800-232-8255 o (757) 873-7772 Questions? Call Denise at 1-800-368-8255 or email: MindJogger@richardflint.com Newsletter Date: December 19, 2006 |
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