The Business of Expectations and Feedback
by Shivani Gupta,
Newcastle Herald Small Business Column,
published Monday, 29 November 2010
I have an airline horror story to tell that got me reflecting about how important expectations and feedback are in business.
I was at the airport early and the flight was delayed. Unbeknown to me, the gate was changed. Despite me checking in with airline staff about the flight and having my phone with me, I got no word from the airline and no announcement of my name was made. There was another Hunter business person who it turns out also missed that flight for the same reason.
So there I was, stuck in another city, away from my family, and unable to get back to run a workshop for an important client the next day. I was fuming. It was made worse by the customer service staff being a bit dismissive and incorrectly suggesting they would have texted me. In 20 years of travel I had never missed a plane. But that is a column about customer service, for another day!
I soon realised that anger was going to get me anywhere. Instead I politely gave the customer service staff feedback about how my expectations were not met. I asked them to record my feedback in their system to management while I stood there. I also outlined the consequences if it happens again, in their terms. I will avoid flying with them, taking my money, their revenue, with me.
In business, we all have occasions when we are let down by suppliers or staff. While getting angry is a natural first reaction it is not going to do anything except raise your blood pressure.
Firstly, it is wise to ask yourself whether you had clearly outlined your expectations. If you did, then give specific feedback on how that person or company let you down.
Something clearly went wrong with that airline’s systems that day. The other lesson from this experience is that we need to keep checking that our systems are working well and take steps to minimise breakdowns.
I also started thinking how open am I to feedback and to change? We are all guilty of letting people down sometimes. What is important is whether you acknowledge the issue and take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
The final lesson is that things are often not as bad as they first seem. My kids were safe at home with their dad, my client understood and rescheduled and I shared a nice bottle of wine and great conversation with a new Hunter business colleague.
Tips:
- When you are let down, give feedback
- Check your systems to minimise the risk of failure
- Make sure you are open to feedback and change