I try to steer Teammate Tuesdays clear of negativity. But over the course of the last month, I’ve witnessed three customer service failures—all defended by the pretense of the business being short-staffed—that merit discussion.
The first occurred at an ice cream stand. I had stopped to reward my daughters with a treat. The line to order at the walk-up window wasn’t especially long, but it curiously seemed to be moving unusually slow. As I got closer to the window, I noticed there were only two employees inside, neither of which seemed thrilled to be working.
While we were waiting, one of the employees ripped the window open and yelled, “We’re short staffed, so you’re all just going to have to be patient.”
When a customer in front of me tried to explain that what she had been given was not what she ordered, the same employee told her, “Well, we’re short-staffed. So that’s what you got.” The employee then proceeded to slam the window shut without attempting to correct the mistake.
The second incident happened at a bank. I’ve been doing business with this bank for years, but this was the first time I had ever used this particular branch location. When I entered, an employee leaning against the outside of the lobby counter, who later identified himself as the branch manager, asked if he could help me.
I told him I wanted to make a deposit. To my surprise, he replied that they couldn’t take any deposits. He said they were short-staffed and that both of his tellers were out sick. When I asked why he, the branch manager, couldn’t process the transaction, he implied the task was beneath him by snarking: “I can’t do that.”
The third incident happened at a coffee shop. They were open but had shut off their mobile ordering and locked their lobby doors. A long drive-thru line wrapped around their building and a group of angry customers gathered near the shop’s entrance.
After multiple customers tried to unsuccessfully enter, an annoyed employee came to door and told the crowd they were “short-staffed” and only taking drive-thru orders. Her discourteousness further inflamed the crowd.
I counted at least six baristas “working” inside the shop, although I’m not certain that word applied to all of them as some were standing around, casually talking to one another.
Each of these incidents involved unsatisfactory customer service. And each of them violated a key good teammate principle: Having a bad day doesn’t excuse you to be a bad teammate.
Being “short staffed” can be taxing. The situation can cause operations to be less efficient and team members to bear a heavier burden. To those who are present, it’s often unfair and unpleasant.
But the unpleasantness of the situation doesn’t have to be projected onto the customer.
Take the coffee shop incident described above. The staff was rude, inconsiderate, unapologetic, and chose a convenient solution. Because they were doing business under less-than-ideal circumstances, they acted as though they were entitled to their customers’ empathy.
Their response created angry, frustrated customers.
I left that coffee shop and walked to the next closest location. Same franchise. Same number of staff working inside. Same long drive-thru line wrapping around the building. Only this location had its lobby open and was taking mobile orders.
The second location’s staff was managing the difficult situation much differently. They were welcoming, hustling, working together, and utilizing creativity to solve the problem—even though doing so was inconvenient for them.
They were handling the situation with good teammate moves and a good teammate mindset. Their response created appreciative, understanding customers.
When you’re part of a team, you serve the needs of your team. This applies to sports teams, sales teams, leadership teams, and anyone in the service industry.
You won’t always feel good, be in a good mood, or operate under optimal conditions. However, none of those reasons should ever diminish your commitment to being a good teammate to those you serve.
Providing quality service doesn’t require you to subscribe to the belief that the customer is always right, but it does require you to accept the premise that the customer always deserves your best service.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
