Not!

When is customer service NOT customer service?

I was at my favorite Starbucks last night and I got the distinct feeling that I was in their way. I appreciate a clean store, that's part of good customer service. But I don't like to feel unwanted or in the way while the crew starts cleaning before the store closes so they can run out as soon as they push the customers out the door at precisely closing time.

It's not the economy, because they've been doing this for years, trying to save money by not paying anyone after store closing hours. It's just plain poor customer service. I'm sure I'm not the only one who notices. You're sitting and enjoying your coffee, and maybe some conversation, when the crew starts to close the store while you're still in it - and it's not closing time yet. Surely they could wait until they close to start the cleaning, or at least just do the little things that the customers don't notice. But to get out the broom, move the tables and chairs, and sweep within a millimeter of your feet while you're trying to relax is just too much.

Sharing

Another theme that is emerging from the interviews that I'm conducting for my upcoming book is that the best organizations share information. Lot's of it. They share things that other organizations would cringe at, such as budgets, financial performance, and performance measures.

What this means is that the best organizations have a well informed workforce who understand what the organization is doing, how well it is performing, and where they fit in.

Share. Share the good and the bad. Keep everyone informed. If you don't tell your people what's going on they'll make up their own answers, and those answers will be based on fear and misunderstanding, not facts.

Late Late Supply Chain Show

I haven't watched this whole video yet, but the part about the origin of the term kanban is great. It starts about 3 minutes in. I think I'm going to have to "borrow" the demonstration the next time I give a presentation on Lean.

Take a look.

Good Service

Since I tend to rant about bad service I've received, I should also acknowledge the good service I receive. And also, since I frequently rant about my local Safeway, I will now praise my local Foodland supermarket. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Instead of waiting until Thanksgiving to make my usual turkey dinner, I thought I'd have Thanksgiving in July. I quickly learned that that is not so easy to do. For one, Safeway does not have any turkeys in July, nor do Costco or Don Quixote (a.k.a. Diae or Holiday Mart, depending on how long you've lived here). Second, it's now August, but that's another story. I did find turkeys at Foodland, but the off season price was quite shocking. I'm used to the "subsidized" holiday price, or the loss-leader price that stores use to bring in the holiday food shoppers, and wasn't prepared to pay $30 for a turkey. So... on to the chickens. Much better. I ended up buying a non-name-brand chicken for half the price of the name-brand. A large roaster, ready for stuffing.

I made my stuffing and pulled the bird out of the refridgerator. It was when I pulled the giblets out of the bird that I realized something was wrong. Bad chicken, bad chicken. Rule #1 - don't eat a foul smelling fowl. So my chicken and I returned to Foodland.

I have to say I was very impressed with the Customer Service at Foodland. Not only was I able to replace the chicken (and got 21 cents back, whoo hoo), but the customer service person made the experience pleasant. She apologized for the bad chicken and because I had to return it, and very quickly and pleasantly processed the return transaction. This level of service is not usual in other stores, so I was very happy.

And the stuffed chicken dinner turned out great.

Be The Best

I've been interviewing people/organizations to include in my upcoming book (to be released this Fall). I'm speaking with organizations that are doing things well in terms of their Business Operations (since that's the topic of the book). One of the questions I get regarding these interviews is what is the theme or common thread I see among the organizations I speak with.

The answer is - The best organizations plan, and they monitor their progress towards their planning goals. I'm constantly harping on planning and measuring performance, so it's nice to have confirmation for my near obsession.

I call it the Goal Attainment System, and it consists of three parts:

1) Goal Definition
2) Action Plan
3) Performance Measurement System

Define the goals of the organization as a whole. Develop a plan of action to reach those goals. Develop a system to monitor the progress towards those goals. Simple.

So why don't more organizations do it?

How Do They Do That?

I am not an early adopter. I still have an old cell phone that pretty much only makes and takes calls. No pictures, no internet, just a phone. I want an iPhone, but haven't gotten around to getting one yet.

I only recently signed up for Netflix. And I am impressed. How do they get those DVD's to me so fast? I'll put my return envelope in the mailbox at the post office at 2:00 or 3:00 pm and get an email notice from Netflix that they've received my envelope sometime later that night. Then only a few hours later I'll receive another email confirmation telling they've shipped my next movie. Amazing.

What can your organization learn from this? How can you increase your efficiency and customer service? I await your answers.

Do Nothing

The news is full of talk about the rising cost of healthcare. But I’m always confused, because I don’t understand what costs are rising. At the same time there are reports of many doctors leaving certain areas, physical and specialty, because their pay can’t keep up with their bills (like paying off medical school, insurance, office rent, etc.). Nurses certainly aren’t being overpaid, so what costs are rising and why?

Well, I finally heard an answer, and it was very interesting. The NPR (National Public Radio) show Marketplace spoke with someone who had an answer. Apparently I’m not the only person thinking about this, and someone much smarter and more ambitious decided to look into it. Dr. Atul Gawande wrote and article and spoke with Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about what he found.

Dr. Gawande looked at the healthcare costs in McAllen, Texas, which has one of the highest per capita healthcare costs in the nation, and the Mayo Clinic, which has one of the lowest costs of healthcare in the country. Why the disparity, especially given the reputation of the Mayo Clinic. As I said, the answer is interesting, and ties directly to this blog’s discussion of Business Operations.

It turns out that two of the primary causes of high healthcare costs are some of the same issues we find in Operations. The first issue is fragmentation. In McAllen, Texas, patients shuttle between many different facilities and service providers. There is no clarity to care, and also no central person or place dedicated to preventive care. This sounds exactly like the operations of many organizations with no clearly defined direction and plan to get there. In other words, no Goal Attainment System in place: Goal Definition, Action Plan, Performance Measurement System.

The second issue is the bias towards action. In McAllen, just about every test and procedure that can be performed is performed. There is no integration between the disparate service providers. And the natural human tendency to “do something”, even when you’re unsure of what to do, is in place. The problem is, sometimes it’s better to do nothing. At least not right away. Study and analyze the situation first, then propose a change, then implement it. Sounds like Six Sigma (the Six Sigma management system). I heard an interesting piece (public radio again) about human’s bias towards action a couple of weeks ago. Even when evidence proves that it’s better to do nothing, most people “do something.”

The thing I found most interesting was a study about soccer (football to the rest of the world) goalies and penalty kicks. This study proved that a goalie is more likely to block a penalty kick if he or she doesn’t move, meaning doesn’t jump left or right. But goalies almost always move. Even when not moving would be better. I’ve seen many organizations feel the need to do something, anything, rather than take the time to look at the issue and develop a better solution.

Maybe your new motto should be “Just do nothing”.