I recently called the police to report suspicious activity. Just to clarify: when on the highway, should you ever notice another driver sitting on plastic-covered seats while wearing surgical gloves, that’s suspicious. If the driver notices you looking at him and then drops his hands out of site, that’s very suspicious.
On the phone, I gave precise information so that the police could act quickly. In 60 seconds, I outlined the situation and provided them with a description of the car, license plate number, and location. From my standpoint, they had the information they needed to act. Send someone now!
Instead, time stopped. The dispatcher repeatedly asked the same questions over and over. I patiently repeated myself, but it quickly became obvious that she was unclear how to move forward. After 10 minutes on the phone, she finally said that they would “kansas” the area.
None of this was what I expected. The problems here are obvious:
- She didn’t listen.
- She wasn’t a knowledgeable resource.
- She didn’t act in a meaningful way.
Any citizen (or customer) wants someone to listen to them. They want to talk to a knowledgeable person. And most importantly, they want that person to act on their behalf. If any one of these are absent, the interaction falls short of expectations.
Many companies insist that they not only get this, but that they deliver on it as well. In my experience, that’s hardly the reality. The consequences of this ignorance could be horrific.
Sounds like an opportunity to me.
