Our TV recently spluttered and died.
It was an unexpected death.
You get used to something always working. Maybe after 10 years of staring back at me in the lounge room each night, it had simply had enough.
Like any major new purchase, we shopped around, got advice from friends, read dozens of Google reviews, and eventually landed on a new LG TV from Harvey Norman. It’s very thin. It came with a “free” wall mount installation, which seductively secured the deal.
Delivery was quick and went smoothly. Nice. But then we hit a snag. Seems the wall mounting little extra isn’t as much of a priority to Harvey Norman as it is to us. Follow-up emails asking for help were greeted with a heartfelt apology:
👉 Good Day! We do apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. We really value your time and patience. If you need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always willing to help.
We got pretty much the same cut-and-paste email each time. I love these sorts of corporate-speak emails; they genuinely make me laugh. “We really value your time and patience” … so much so, we’re going to grab as much of it as we possibly can. “Willing to help” … well, not really, cos your problem is tricky and nobody here can be bothered sorting it out. Why? Because we’ve already got your money 🤷♂️
It made me appreciate how, when you’re managing a team, you occasionally get that one worker, that one staff member, who is a gun. You know the one: the reliable one who fixes problems, be they from customers or from staff in other departments (if you’re in a big business). But not simple problems; those that require a bit of graft. A bit of hard work. Some elbow grease. We have all got so accustomed to things being easy and immediate (myself included), that when it’s not like this you get a bunch of people sitting in a circle and staring at each other blankly, wondering who is going to step up and sort out the mess.
My favourite worker has always been that one; the doer with the fixer edge. It’s a mentality thing, an attitude, a work ethic that is so fabulous and rare you would be sipping margaritas on a beach if you could capture it and open your Amazon “best worker in a bottle” store. And whenever I’m lucky enough to have one of these staff members, I make sure I give them extra too. Not extra work, mind you – extra manager care, attention and effort. If this person exists in your team, take good care of them. If you don’t, maybe read this article out loud at your next meeting; see if anyone steps up to the plate.
Our new TV? It’s still sitting on the floor 😂 But in wonderful news: the wall mount guy is finally coming this afternoon.
I’m hoping he’s a doer and a fixer.
👇
Keen to make your life as a manager simpler, and easier? Contact us to find out more.
