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The Walter Mitty of Customer Service
By Mike Hyland
Executive Director, NEPPA
Hello Nepper’s,
Like many, I took the opportunity to get away for some R&R during the December/January timeframe. I’m not one to relax and unwind, but it’s always nice to take a break away to try to recharge those personal batteries. I’m always concerned however, that even when I’m away on vacation, I tend to keep a critical eye towards things that bother me in my daily life back home. I can’t seem to reach that ‘Island time’ mentality needed to enjoy my experience when I deal with slow service, missing items from my food order, etc. Bad customer service drives me nuts. Insane would be another word to describe it. Regardless of how I describe it – my standard modus operandi, or MO - is to dissect the situation or interaction where bad customer service occurred. I tend to replay the scene over again in my head but instead of allowing the bad customer service to play out, I insert good customer service into the story. I know, goofy right? But it is a very effective way in examining how good customer service can change perceptions, impact customer appreciation, and avoid angry customer relationships.
Customer service is always delivered best when one focuses on the customer. Wow! I know what you’re thinking – “Mike, you are a certified genius! You figured that out all by yourself – brilliant.... you idiot.”
Well, I hate to have to point out the obvious, but doesn’t the opposite of good customer service – a.k.a. bad customer service - highlight the fact that many times the service doesn’t focus on the customer. Instead, the service rendered focuses on the feelings of the employees, the bad day they might be having, economics, efficiencies, or quite simply the employees lack of communication skills altogether.
So, what puts me into this rant concerning good versus bad customer service? Hmmm, plenty – but I’ll focus on just a couple of items to keep this Newsline short. First, a crowded restaurant with limited staff. We all know that hiring in today’s world is difficult, and restaurants are understaffed during many shifts, most notably whenever I walk through the door. I’m okay with short staffing issues at a restaurant or bar or event I’m attending. I get it, I understand the situation. But what an opportunity for a restaurant to shine in the area of customer service, it’s like being handed a gift. Instead, many screw it up, as I experienced while trying to reach my ‘Island Time” status.
Fatal flaw number one in customer service – ignore the customer as they enter the establishment and ensure that you communicate as little as possible. As we entered the restaurant – it was obvious that it was a busy place, and no host or hostess was at their post – the basic hostess stand. No worries, I’m certain she or he will come back and see if we need a table, have reservations, you know - the normal questions a customer expects. But instead – I channeled my inner Count von Count from Sesame Street and began to count the number of waiters, bartenders, managers, and possibly even hosts and hostesses that noticed the throng of people standing there by the podium seeking service. I even caught the eye of a few, who quickly looked away. My first reaction – run. If you can’t teach your front line people how to simply communicate with something such as ‘folks – we are slammed right now but someone will be with you shortly’ or ‘give me one minute, we are in the middle of changing shifts’, etc. – do I really trust that once seated in this restaurant that things will change for the better? I think not, and at this point I typically walk out and find somewhere else to spend my money.
I then replay the situation in my head, inserting a sly smile from one of the waiters walking by who comments to me: "Sir, someone will be with you in a moment – the food is on fire tonight - and we can’t wait to serve you!”. Wow, think of the difference. There’s no way I’m leaving now – that waiter just told me the food is great – and they are excited that I’m there to eat it. Heck – point me to the bar and I’ll have a cocktail while I wait to be seated and eat this food. I’m hooked and I’ll spend even more money to enjoy my evening out.
The second bad customer service experience of my trip occurred at Logan Airport. We landed at 9:30 PM on a Sunday night, and at that point, I was tired, we had been traveling from the West Coast and all I wanted to do was grab our luggage and drive home to New Hampshire. We deplaned rather quickly, and I found baggage carousel #4 around 9:45 PM. By 10:15 PM we started to wonder if there was a problem. It’s been 45 minutes. Then it was 10:30 PM, a dreaded hour had elapsed. A few customers were getting visibly upset when baggage carousel #3 started kicking out bags. Low and behold, about one third of our bags came off the plane onto the wrong carousel but then simply stopped. We were now approaching 10:40 PM when they again announce that our bags would come out on carousel #4.
Thus, we all walk back over to #4 - when amazingly - two Delta employees decide to come out of their hiding place and actually interact with the 75 or so passengers. One brave young man – maybe 30 years old, had the guts to go over to the Delta employees and ask about what was causing the delay. I heard him ask ‘it’s going on one and a half hours, and no one has said a word about our bags – what’s taking so long?’ What an opportunity to demonstrate good customer service. All this employee had to do was provide a reasonable excuse, filled with empathy to the traveler – but instead she lost her cool. How dare the customer ask a reasonable question!
She screamed back at him – “Do you think I want to be here this late? These guys working the luggage tonight are understaffed – working in the freezing cold out there on the tarmac so you can have you bags! Do you think they are just standing around!” Wow! I was 30 feet away and even I recoiled at her venom. Customer Service fatal flaw number 2 – open your mouth and spew fire at a reasonable customer with a reasonable question. I walked away feeling bad for the young man, but in my mind I was replaying the interaction. She could have said ‘you are so right, this is taking a long time tonight. Something must be wrong because this is not typical of Delta’s service in this terminal. I hope everyone’s safe out there working in this weather, and let me make a call to see when the bags will arrive.’.
I sometimes feel like the Walter Mitty of customer service. It might not be excellent in my real life – but it certainly is in my imaginary one. We all can do better in customer service, and it starts with each and every one of us in the Public Power community. It’s getting more difficult every day.
Remember: Take a deep breath, heart forward, lead with empathy. You got this.
Cheers
-Mike
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Registration now open
2024 (PUMP) Program
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** limited seating available ** April 23 – 25, 2024
and
October 29 – 31, 2024
NEPPA Training Center
(200 New Estate Road
Littleton, MA 01460)
Virtual Sessions
June 4 and September 24, 2024
To help position public power to address the growing number of retirements and position changes in the industry, PUMP is designed for current and rising utility managers, business managers, customer service leaders, commissioners and board members. PUMP is a robust course which covers a variety of management, leadership, and operations disciplines necessary for leaders of Public Power, today and in the future.
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Upcoming Training & Events | |
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Hoisting
1B-1D / 2A-2C
1B-1D Hoisting Class March 5, 2024
(8:00 am – Noon)
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TACTICAL TUESDAY
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Ashton Raffety & Charles Doktycz, Argonne National Laboratory
March 12, 2024
2:00 - 3:00 pm
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Basic Electricity &
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March 19, 2024
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Metering I Program
March 26 - 27, 2024
8:00 am - 2:30 pm
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General Foreman Roundtable
March 28, 2024
8:30 am - 1:00 pm
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Littleton, MA
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Metering I
March 26 - 27, 2024
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
Safety Orientation Program
March 26 - 28, 2024
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
General Foreman Roundtable
March 28, 2024
8:30 am (EST)
NEPPA Training Center
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Underground Residential Distribution Program (URD)
April 2 - 4, 2024
8:00 am
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@Your-Site Virtual Training: Underground Distribution Review
April 17, 2024
8:30 am (EST)
@Your-Site Virtual Training: Personal Protective Equipment
April 18, 2024
8:30 am (EST)
Public Utility Management Program (PUMP) - Session I
April 23 - 25, 2024
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2024 RodE&O Conference & Expo*
May 7 - 9, 2024
Hull, MA
2024 Annual Mutual Aid Exercise
June 26 , 2024
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
2024 Annual Conference*
August 25 - 28, 2024
Bretton Woods, NH
@Your-Site Virtual: Hot Stick Safety
September 4, 2024
8:30 am (EST)
@Your-Site Virtual: Job Briefings
September 5, 2024
8:30 am (EST)
Public Utility Management Program (PUMP) - Session II
October 29 - 31, 2024
NEPPA Training Center
Littleton, MA
2024 Energy Connect Conference*
October 2024
TBD
*Please contact communications@neppa.org to be notified as soon as registration opens.
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Scholarship applications are currently being accepted for NEPPA's NEW Student Scholarship Fund. Submit today to be considered for one of the limited scholarships available!
· One $500 Scholarship directed at students currently enrolled in college or trade school program during 2024 program year.
· One $500 Scholarship directed at students who are seniors in high school during the 2024 school year, recipients should be enrolling in college or trade school program upon HS graduation
Application criteria: High school GPA, high school curriculum, extracurricular activities, short essay and community involvement.
Student must be served by NEPPA utility
(utility family members encouraged to apply)
Complete an application
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200 New Estate Road
Littleton, MA 01460
Attention: Scholarship Fund
Click here for more information
Applications must be submitted by March 29, 2024 to be considered. Awardees will be notified by the Scholarships Committee. If you have any questions, please email scholarship@neppa.org.
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Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant to Use Funds to Launch Heat Pump and Zero-Interest Loan Program
Taunton, MA February 13, 2024 - Massachusetts public power utility Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant has received $1,000,000 from the state as part of the state’s $4 billion plan tied to the American Rescue Plan Act funding. The utility will use this funding to launch the TMLP Saves™ -- Heat Pump and Zero-Interest Loan Program.
This program offers rebates to eligible residential customers for weatherization -- if recommended -- and installation of Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pumps (ccASHP) or Ground Source Heat Pumps, the utility said in a Jan. 4 news release.
Read more
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Chicopee Electric Light Joins MMWEC's NextZero Connected Homes Program
Chicopee, MA February 19, 2024 - Massachusetts public power utility Chicopee Electric Light has joined the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company’s NextZero Connected Homes program, the utility reported in its Winter 2024 newsletter.
The demand response program leverages smart device technology “into cost savings for CEL and our customers,” wrote Dan Faille, General Manager, in his Message from the General Manager column in the newsletter.
Read more
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VPPSA Partners with Bellawatt to Accelerate and Expand Electrification Access for Rural Customers
WATERBURY CENTER, VT - February 21, 2024 This week, the Vermont Public Power Supply (VPPSA) announced it has partnered with Bellawatt, to build a seamless tool that simplifies the electrification journey for customers. The web-based platform will enable VPPSA members to offer a special rate for customers who install and use Electric Vehicles/Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EV/EVSE) at their homes or businesses and increase adoption of electric vehicles in its member utilities’ service territories.
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May 13th - 16th, 2024
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This course provides training on understanding, protecting, and securing Industrial Control Systems (ICS) from cyber-attacks. To understand how to best defend a system, trainees will learn about common vulnerabilities and the importance of understanding the environment they are tasked to protect. Learning the weaknesses of a system will enable trainees to implement the mitigation strategies and institute policies and programs. | |
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