In every great story and conflict, there is generally a
winner and a loser. A hero and a villain. Someone who wins the day and someone who
loses the day. For this story, I was the
loser who created the situation.
I love to drive. I
love to have silence in the car and let my mind wander. The bad part is that I can be very forgetful
or do dumb things right after I drive.
In this case, I was returning a rental car. I pulled in, followed the process, and then
went to my car. About halfway into the
drive home, I realized I had left my iPad in the rental car. I quickly turned around and told myself how
dumb I was to do that. I pull into the
rental facility and find the person who checked in my car. He said that the car had already been
processed. I asked if there was somewhere
I could go or someone I could call. He said
that I had to go online and fill out a form and follow the process. I thought, really? It has only been 30 minutes. He said that was the best of his
ability. I looked at him and asked, “I
feel a story coming on are you going to be the hero of that story?” What I meant is, there isn’t anything you can
do to assist? He said no.
I had another business trip going on the next day and I knew
I couldn’t wait for the process. Defeated,
I pulled into an empty lot and filled out the form. The form said it could take
7-10 days to resolve the process. I
started saying things to myself like, “How can it take so long? It has to be right around here somewhere.” I then thought of the Find my iPhone
app. I pulled it up and it showed that
my iPad was in a lot across the street from me.
I decided to try and go get it. As
I drove in the entrance, it was guarded and required a keycard. The security lady came up to me and asked what
I was doing. I said, “Barbara (I read it
from her name tag), I feel a story coming on, do you think you could be the
hero of my story?” At first, she was
very resistant. I told her the story
that had transpired and about the business trip and then showed her that my
iPad was in the guarded lot. She thought
about it for a bit and let me in. I
talked with the people in the office and retrieved my lost item.
As I reflected on the situation that I put myself in, I
really liked the approach of asking someone to be the hero. In terms of ethical influence, I needed to offer
something that I could do in the realm of my influence. Sharing with you Barbara’s act of kindness
fulfills the contract I made with her.
She was the gatekeeper (literally) and let me in. I tell you all of this to remind you that in
process, procedure, and policy, there are two key factors: People and Common Sense. Although I wasn’t technically allowed in the
area that I was in, common sense was to finish the issue right then instead of
allowing a process to transpire over 7-10 days.
The other reflection was on the attendant. He COULD have done something. He just chose to hide behind policy. As a loyal customer of that brand, it had the
opportunity to cost long term business.
Barbara on the other hand weighed the possibilities and decided based on
the human factor.
When your next customer service opportunity comes to pass,
remember, the issue is a story. Are you
going to be the hero or the villain? Are
you doing everything you can to resolve a true issue or are you hiding behind
policy and procedure? What is your
intent? Barbara’s simple act resolved a
huge issue that I had caused myself. She
is the hero of my story.
