Are CEO's Only Told What They Want To Hear?
As I sit in the D.C. airport reading an article in the U.S. Airways Magazine, I can't help myself smirking at the irony of the moment. The editor of the magazine had written about what an awesome year it was for the airlines. He noted that complaints to the airlines had dropped since last year. Things were improving, and they were getting better.
He could not have been further from the truth.
The irony of all this is while I'm reading the article I am sitting waiting because my flight is delayed. Not because of weather, but maintenance. This is not a surprise as out of my last 15 flights almost every one has had at least one section either delayed, canceled, moved, late boarding, or a host of other excuses that made little sense. The best one was when they ran out of de-icing fluid. Delayed the flights two hours until the supply truck arrived.
The article continued, "For customers of U.S. Airways there's plenty of good news in 2010 , the airline showed remarkable improvement," said editor Lance Elko, "and a large drop in customer complaints as measured by the Department of Transportation". I'm not sure whether I want to laugh or cry as the frustration in 2010 was so bad it had to be one of the worst flying years, so I am wondering just how disconnected these guys can get.
Rhonda, my business partner, and I were discussing how we missed connecting at the airport back home, due to screw ups at two different airlines. She told me about her conversation with a gate agent at the airport the night before. She asked the agent, "Doesn't it get frustrating for you that almost every week this same flight, week after week, is either delayed or canceled?". To her surprise, the gate agent exclaimed, "Ms. Rhonda, it's not every week--it's every day! I don't know how I can face customers every day over and over again--some cry, some scream at me, but the level of frustration is just awful."
Therein lies the disconnect. Complaints to the government have indeed probably gone down, but not because there aren't any. People have just given up. The poor service has reached such an everyday occurrence that they quit trying. You would literally have to go through a multiple step complaint process after every flight.
Things didn't get better--they became the norm.
The one thing U.S. Airways apparently did really well was shield the CEO from reality. The phone line to file complaints has been discontinued. Going to the government website is not listed anywhere yet that's the source of performance improvement. Their own customer service folks shield letters from leadership and "handle" complaints for leadership--I know I have sent multiple letters requesting a copy of receipt from the corporate office and have yet to receive a single one.
CEOs of companies want to hear good news. People immediately below them want to only deliver good news. So where the upper echelon sits and reality begins is a long disconnected mile apart.
At a local chamber meeting not long ago we sat with the chamber president as he gave us the rundown on chamber initiatives. My partner and I sat amazed at the incredible misunderstanding of where fellow members stood and what he believed was happening. Upper ranks living the good life, hearing the great news, and when prompted, spilling the incredible disconnected message.And we sit in awe at the confusion of it all.
If you're a CEO and you really want to know what is happening you only need to listen. Listen to your customers, and listen to the staff who actually do the work. Not the PR folks, not the head of customer service, and not your direct reports. Ask to see the actual letters and comments--but tell them to forget the great ones, as we know they are there. Ask to see the terrible ones. Meet with staff and have an open honest talk about what they hear. Insist they skip positive remarks for the time being--give you the stuff that can give you an opportunity to learn, and grow, and change the way you do business. Insist on it.
And then finally do yourself a favor. Call your own company from someone else's phone and see how they do. Make a request out of the ordinary and see if they take it on. Order something you know you don't have in stock. Make an appointment at the busiest time of the day. Call at lunch hour to see what happens. And finally, if you're the CEO of a major airline, book a flight the day before a major holiday, late in the day, and just see if you get home to your family as promised. It might just change your world.
Or better yet, it might change ours.
