It’s true. We all tend to suck from time to time. The problem is “not sucking” it’s when we do nothing about it or act like there is nothing to be done; that we think we actually don’t suck sometimes. And while the title of the this blog seems very negative, I’m truly hoping that you hang around because that isn’t its intention.
Ok, Josh, what happened?
This week, my doctor wanted to follow up on one of my labs from back in February. It was a tad elevated and the medication that I am taking could impact it negatively. Living in a small town, I only have one or two options – a local hospital (which I prefer), or a larger “Laboratory Corporation” that my insurance prefers. Without getting into that whole thing and not wanting to spend any more out of pocket this year, I selected the latter.
I, knowingly, prepared myself for what was ahead – this location is also a favorite for pre-employment testing, testing for our local court system, and those who had a bit too much fun over the weekend. So, after dutifully finding an appointment time and validating the acceptance of said appointment, I simply waited for my time to get here. Upon arrival, I was met with a crowded waiting room that seemed to have seen better days both from a presentation and cleanliness standpoint. I went to the kiosk to check in which ended up being broken, so checked in online. “Certainly, those with an appointment will have priority” I mistakenly thought to myself. As the time passed – 10, 15, 20 minutes, I noticed that no one had gone in or out of the single entry door to the back.
Speak with respect to your fellow humans
“Joshua?” I heard my name and erroneously thought it was my turn, but it was coming from the front desk employee.
“I don’t have an order for you.” She stated not looking up from her computer.
“Good morning,” I said, “my doctor faxed it in but I printed and brought a copy just in case this happened.”
“I still don’t see your order,” the employee said again, still no eye contact.
“Like I said, the doctor faxed it in last night, probably after hours, so it may be on the fax machine still.” I will trying to be helpful not really wanting to cause a scene. “But here is a copy of the order, will this work?”
As she took it from my hand, there was no confirmation, no acknowledgment, no well nothing. Again, we all suck sometimes and have bad days, so I let it slide.
But here is the thing, shouldn’t we speak to everyone as though they are also possibly having a bad day and that maybe, just maybe you are the only one that is standing between them and a more crappy day? I’m not saying that we don’t give feedback to our teams or our team members or that we have to be ooey gooey (matter-of-fact, I think this is half the problem – people struggle with being human and not soft), I’m just talking about looking people in the eye because they deserve it. I’m talking about speaking to someone rather than past someone. I’m talking about greeting each other again, and acting like we live in the same space on the same planet. I’m talking about listening to listen and hear, not respond.
Strive for honesty, not self-preservation
Thirty minutes later, I’ve watched every one come and go and all that is left in the waiting room is myself, an older couple, and another person who has no idea what do to and I don’t know their language enough to communicate with them. So I go to the window, and what I am greeted with?
No one. At 10:15am. With a broken kiosk and no instructions for those coming in. So I wait. Another 10 minutes. I kindly say, “excuse me?” And no answer. Finally, a phlebotomist comes to the door to call back the older couple and I ask for assistance, specifically if she knows what is happening with my order. She kindly says that they are moving as fast as they can.
A few minutes later, through the paper-thin walls I hear a conversation that goes something like this:
Phlebotomist: The gentleman out in the waiting room is wondering what is happening with his order
Front Desk: I don’t have an order for him.
Phlebotomist: He said that his doctor faxed it in and he handed you a printed order.
Front Desk: He didn’t say anything about it being faxed.
Phlebotomist: Well, I heard him say it and I was in the other room! And what happened to the order he handed you?
Front Desk: I don’t know. I’ll go check again, ok?
Finally, after nearly an hour after my appointment time, I was called back. To give credit, the Phlebotomist handled my janky veins just fine and I was out in less than 5 minutes. But the fact is, the front desk employee couldn’t admit she sucked in that moment. For whatever reason – victim mentality, inability to take feedback, lack of maturity, or just poor work ethic – she made a bad situation worse. Instead of sucking for the moment and pivoting, she exposed a character flaw and, as the representative of that facility, not only impacted her image but the company’s image. It is so much better to simply say, “I made a mistake, let me do what I can to fix it.” Not only does this show ownership, but also grows trust!
Be Transparent
As I was sitting there with a rubber band around my arm and balling my fist to try to get a dang vein to pop, I was thinking, “what would have been the harm in over communicating and being transparent?” “I wonder if organizations don’t value this any longer?” “Are we forgetting that we all are “customer service” in some way?” “Does that even matter?” Maybe the smoke was coming out of my ears because the phlebotomist chimed in, “apologies again, there are only two of us and we are working as fast as we can.”
I thank her, but also made the remark – “sometimes speed isn’t the issue; sometimes transparency is.” She looked at me with a slight smirk and also a slightly puzzled look. “I didn’t know what was going on and was in the dark for almost 45 minutes and if it wasn’t for me overhearing your conversation, I wouldn’t have known anything.” She blushed slightly, realizing how thin the walls were and apologized again. But the point was that there is a direct correlation between time passing, lack of communication/transparency, and trust. The more time passes without people knowing what is going on (whether those are development teams, product groups, or a front desk person), the less trust people have that their issue/question/problem/need is being solved for. The answer is not just “speed” it is feedback and transparency.
Smile
As the phlebotomist finished up, I simply said, “thank you. I appreciate the work you are doing.” She smiled and said, “you’re welcome.” Right there – that is what it is about. How important it is to provide non-verbal communication. I know that we live in a growingly virtual world, but people need to see your face, your reaction. This is professionalism. Again, this doesn’t mean you always have to be happy or cheerful, but sometimes just like thankfulness takes an act of being thankful, so does joy. And here it the thing – you don’t have been dumpy or grumpy to get s**t done. You can have fun, be joyful, have a sucky day sometimes, and still make a ding in the universe.
Joshua Thinks 