Misinformation, frustration and Cuban coffee

Misinformation, frustration and Cuban coffee

I don’t cry easily but Miami Airport had me at the point of tears, tantrum, tempest or all three. Immigration and Customs were a maze of misdirection and wrong, conflicting information. I felt like I had picked the Chance card in Monopoly – “Go Directly to Jail; Do not Pass Go.”

Waiting at the luggage carousel, and once again bemoaning the travails of being a passenger on a flight from Jamaica (our luggage always takes an inordinate time to be unloaded, as it seems we are all assumed to be drug carriers) I discerned from a muffled public announcement that passengers travelling onward to a destination outside of the USA do not need to clear luggage in Miami. This change in procedure in Customs was news to me, so I decided to confirm, to dreading the possibility of arriving in Toronto without my luggage. Gentleman at Information said yes, that’s the case and directed me to the Customs line. Another gentleman there, upon hearing my destination directed me to the Express connection line. This line, express as it is supposed to be, crawled. Just to make sure, I decided to check yet again that my luggage would indeed be waiting for me in Toronto, only to be told, at nightclub decibel level that I was in the wrong line. Long story short – there was more asking, being assured, going to wrong line, repeat, until at one point I halted, tears of frustration welling between a scream and a breakdown.

Somehow out of Customs through Security and into Departure, I knew I could relax for a bit in the American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge. Oh no – wrong again! The AA agent in Jamaica had assured me that I would receive warm welcome there, only to be told in Miami that passengers to/from the Caribbean do not have access to the lounge. Only passengers to/from Central and Latin America. I exhaled, and headed straight for the only thing that I knew would bring me joy in this airport – Café Cubano.

As I sipped the creamy, sweet, comforting cortadito, all right now with my world, it occurred to me that there are some lessons for leaders in this, as the above scenario is not uncommon in other types of organizations, including businesses.

1. Make sure that your employees and anyone involved even tangentially to your service delivery have the right information. All the problems I encountered were because front-line, customer-facing employees did not have the necessary information. It is not enough to train people – they must be trained and trained again, monitored, applauded when they get it right, corrected when they get it wrong. One cannot possibly hope to delight customers, or at the least not frustrate them to the point of tears, if your people do not have and give the right information.
2. Make sure your employees understand and can explain the reason for procedures. I have asked twice in Miami and via Twitter the rationale for a business class traveler travelling to/from the Caribbean being excluded from the Admiral’s Lounge. No one can give me a simple, straightforward explanation.
3. When you change your procedures, ensure that there are multiple, simple ways of advising customers. A blaring announcement in a crowded Customs Hall cannot be the only way to let passengers know about a new procedure. What about signs? And how about having the personnel at check-in state this explicitly?

If Miami airport were a for-profit business it would have gone bankrupt long ago. Make sure your business doesn’t suffer this fate because your team members lack the correct information.

TAKE ONE ACTION

Take a walk in your customer’s shoes. See and feel what they experience in your service delivery. Be the customer, not a highfalutin executive. Are you delighted? If there is even a smidgen of dissatisfaction, take action to correct it.

INTERESTING LINKS

Conflict. Feared. Inevitable in the workplace, given the multitude of personalities and points of view. Yet recognized that it can add value. How do we ensure that conflict has a positive, productive outcome with minimal disruption to the spirit of the organization? Read this interview with Professor Kristin Behfar on “How We Fight at Work, and Why It Matters”
– click to view article

Public speaking is not just about standing on a stage. It’s also about speaking in meetings and to small groups. Proper breathing makes a difference in how you speak and how you are heard. It’s not as simple as inhale/exhale, so make sure you read this article and practice proper breathing.
– click to view article

As one who “suffers” with procrastination and lack of focus, I say a big “Thank you” for this advice to ignore some popular productivity improvement practices. I am reviewing my productivity habits right now.
– click to view article