The Leaders Intent

A customer bought two steel tool cabinets at a retail store. Because the store did not stock the items, they had to be transferred from a nearby warehouse. The customer was told to return the next day and pick up his purchase.

On the anticipated day, the customer arrived, hopeful to collect his purchase. He was directed to the customer pickup kiosk, where a sign instructed him to use the scanning machine. Unfortunately, as he had yet to bring the ticket, he scanned his credit card. This confusion could have been avoided with clearer instructions from the store personnel.

The customer, aware of the store’s Five-Minute Guarantee, was hopeful for a swift delivery. The framed sign proudly displayed additional customer service information, boasting a 99% success rate in delivering orders in less than five minutes. This highlighted the store's commitment to fast delivery and raised the customer's expectations.

At four minutes and forty-five seconds, a warehouse employee came through the door and asked the customer for the last four digits of his credit card. The customer promptly provided the information. With no additional conversation, the employee disappeared into the warehouse. Another seven minutes pass.

Another customer came to pick up their order. As the first customer watched, he saw the customer scan his receipt and wait. While customer number one looked up at the time clock, he noticed something unusual. His order processing time they had stopped at four minutes and forty-five seconds. That was eight minutes ago when the warehouse employee had appeared and asked for the last four digits of his credit card.

After a short time, the warehouse employee reappeared and asked for the second customer’s last four digits of his credit card. Quickly looking at the processing clock, the first customer noticed the timing clock for the second customer had stopped at three minutes and five seconds. The first customer’s timing clock stopped four minutes and forty-five seconds into the delivery process. Additional time passed, and neither customer had received his order.

Despite the leader's excellent customer service strategy, the warehouse employees failed to execute it as designed. This turned an idea to highlight fast customer service and build goodwill into a way for employees to provide tangible proof (the timing clock report) that they were fulfilling their mandate. This execution, or lack thereof, was a source of frustration for the customer.

The leader’s intent was good, but the warehouse personnel’s execution was disappointing. Make sure that you get the intended results.