I never realized how amazing Chick Fil-A is until I attended Entreleadership with Dave Ramsey last April. I began to learn what things to look for in great companies and traits that I want to emulate in my own.
Every time that I go to Chick Fil-A I am impressed by something else that I see. Several months ago, I went in during the crazy lunch hour. The lobby was full of people waiting to place their orders. I watched carefully to see how the managers would handle it. I saw an older lady who was cleaning a few tables in the lobby head through a door behind the registers with no prompting by the management. She appeared about 15 seconds later with a tray full of brownies. She walked into the crowded lobby and began handing the samples out to the waiting customers.
Over several following visits I began to notice the careful choice of words that EVERY employee follows. "How can I serve you today?" Not, "Can I take your order?", like all of the other fast-food restaurants, but "How can I serve you?" Also, after you thank any employee for prompt service, attention to detail, etc., you will always hear a "My pleasure" with eye contact and a smile.
Another impressive moment was when my company ordered food for our 1-year anniversary. Our office manager called in an order the day before and I was going to pick it up on Saturday before the celebration. I noticed when we picked up our order that the cheesecake was not included. I told the manager (who had already brought out the rest of my order) that I didn't receive my complete order. He looked at his order sheet, said that they didn't take that part of the order over the phone, then asked if I could wait about 10 minutes. They prepared a cheesecake tray and gave it to me -- no charge. I was more than willing to pay for the tray but he said that it was on them.
Most recently, I noticed a change in their drive thru on at the Man-O-War location. They now have LCD monitors on the drive thru that show you the person taking your order. It's kind of creepy at first but really provides a more personal feel to that service.
I am very impressed with Chick Fil-A and hope that my company can emulate those qualities of service and innovation.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Ugly: GMAC
I've recently learned why GMAC is in its current state.
My grandmother passed away at the end of November. Several years ago she purchased a minivan that was financed through GMAC and also purchased insurance to pay off the loan in the event of her death. Not something that I would recommend but whatever.
So my mom begins calling GMAC on December 4th to receive the payoff balance so that she can send to the insurance company. After dealing with several broken-English employees and several managers, she finally was able to receive this information around December 22nd. At which time, my grandmother's account with GMAC had become past due and the collection calls began to my mom as she was in charge of the estate.
My mom received multiple calls a day demanding that she send in the 2 months worth of payment (roughly $300). The callers were very rude and didn't pay attention to my mom's explanation of the whole insurance thing. When she asked to speak with managers she soon heard a dial tone on her end.
The last straw came when they called her in the evening on her cell phone while she was at my sister's basketball game. The employee threatened my mom that not paying the bill would hurt my grandmother's credit. OK, go ahead. I don't think my grandma's credit score is stored in the book at the Pearly gates. She then proceeded to threaten my mom's credit score for being in charge of the estate. Fine, try it. After no luck at getting a payment, she proceeded to tell my mom that "Your mom is looking down on you and disappointed that you're not paying the bill." WOW. Do you have to sign over your soul when you begin work there?
My mom, being in complete disbelief, handed the phone to my dad. He advised the lady that if they were that desperate for money, he would try to speed up some of the bailout they were set to receive (roughly $6 billion). Mom then told dad what the lady said about looking down from heaven. He questioned her about it and she stumbled over her words. He then told her that the conversation was over and hung up the phone.
That is absolutely ridiculous and I now understand why the company is in need of a government bailout. I also hate the fact that as a taxpayer I now own part of such a horrible company.
My grandmother passed away at the end of November. Several years ago she purchased a minivan that was financed through GMAC and also purchased insurance to pay off the loan in the event of her death. Not something that I would recommend but whatever.
So my mom begins calling GMAC on December 4th to receive the payoff balance so that she can send to the insurance company. After dealing with several broken-English employees and several managers, she finally was able to receive this information around December 22nd. At which time, my grandmother's account with GMAC had become past due and the collection calls began to my mom as she was in charge of the estate.
My mom received multiple calls a day demanding that she send in the 2 months worth of payment (roughly $300). The callers were very rude and didn't pay attention to my mom's explanation of the whole insurance thing. When she asked to speak with managers she soon heard a dial tone on her end.
The last straw came when they called her in the evening on her cell phone while she was at my sister's basketball game. The employee threatened my mom that not paying the bill would hurt my grandmother's credit. OK, go ahead. I don't think my grandma's credit score is stored in the book at the Pearly gates. She then proceeded to threaten my mom's credit score for being in charge of the estate. Fine, try it. After no luck at getting a payment, she proceeded to tell my mom that "Your mom is looking down on you and disappointed that you're not paying the bill." WOW. Do you have to sign over your soul when you begin work there?
My mom, being in complete disbelief, handed the phone to my dad. He advised the lady that if they were that desperate for money, he would try to speed up some of the bailout they were set to receive (roughly $6 billion). Mom then told dad what the lady said about looking down from heaven. He questioned her about it and she stumbled over her words. He then told her that the conversation was over and hung up the phone.
That is absolutely ridiculous and I now understand why the company is in need of a government bailout. I also hate the fact that as a taxpayer I now own part of such a horrible company.
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