Leadership can change this. If the stores would take the time out to train them, then it would make a difference.  The training they mainly receive is how to process a sale and to stay busy on the floor. It rarely involves how to treat the customer so they will want to come back. I frequent stores where I am treated well, whether it is $1 or $100, it is still my money to spend where I choose. 

Speak up, if nothing is said, then nothing is done.

Peace

Reach out to the person who seems to visit others a lot, the cubicle where the crowd normally is or the person generating the most emails. You get the point – the “squeaky wheel”. Take them under your wing to be an advocate of the change you want to bring into existence. Leadership is all about getting others to follow or move into another place, idea, etc. Be willing to challenge others who may not know they are leaders too.

This works at home too -

Peace

Everyone has had an example at some point in their life, whether it was positive or negative.  Have the foresight to realize what you do has the opportunity to have great impact on your hindsight. Remember, be the example you want to see. Be a strong leader and take the high road in all that you do.

Peace

After the exam and x-rays, they told me that I needed a deep cleaning where my gums would be cleaned too. Of course, I looked at them as if they weren’t telling me anything because I normally get that level of cleaning (at least I thought so anyway).  Then they handed me an estimate. Why does a deep cleaning cost over $200 when my insurance company pays for an annual cleaning?

I believe that the integrity at the dentists’ offices has gone out the window. They are trying to get as much money from the customer as possible. The insurance company only pays a certain amount for the cleaning. The additional need for a deep cleaning is a hoax.

Where is the leadership here? Ethics? I did not see any. I have been going to the dentist on my own now for a while. This is a first for me. When did all of this change? Oh, and when was it required that you come back another time for the cleaning? I have been accustomed to having the x-rays, cleaning, and exam all in the same day. As I said before, Cha-Ching$$. The insurance company will pay additional money to the dentist’s office for multiple visits. This has been a very enlightening experience. Can I just get my teeth polished? That’s all I need.

Maybe the customer couldn’t get to a secure location before making the call because they happen to be in the store and need to ask a quick question that does not jeapordize their account’s security; or they may just want to pay a bill.  It is one of those things that I cannot understand, believe me, I have tried. Why not give the customers a security code after validating their information every 90 days? This will prevent someone from overhearing them recite all of their personal information over the phone.  Security questions are used online, why not use them over the phone?

If companies are so painstaking about securing  customer information, then why is the experience so painful? Who wants to be asked for their life’s history everytime a call is made to customer service to check a balance, or the status of an account? I don’t. There has to be another way to do this. People complain – not to each other – to someone that can make a change.

Look at what happened in the mortgage industry. An honest look is what we need here. The banks lend money to companies or individuals based on inflated assessments of the property value. If the banks (leadership in the banks) were not being “greedy” (I put this in quotes because it is what it is), the country would not be in this mess. OK, outside of George Bush seeking weapons of mass destruction (wherever they were supposed to be, we never found them), and wanting to fight because he could, the banks are mainly at fault for the state the economy is in today. 

A lot of the men and women who held leadership positions over the past several years should probably be in prison, state, not federal. They really need to pay for the mistakes made when they were the leaders of the company. Where are they now? Living off of the money they gained through unethical practices at everyone else’s expense.

Let’s get them to give up everything and collect unemployment for several years like many of the people who lost what they had based on decisions these leaders made.

Ask yourself who is responsible and be honest about the answer. Complain to someone who can do something about it – not your neighbor, unless he/she works in Congress.

The real question is why do customers put up with it?

I am hoping that my assumptions are not true, however, contrary to my blissful thinking, they are. In many organizations, employees who are favored for one reason or another get to do whatever they want, while the leaders in the company look the other way. What examples does this set for others who may be watching and looking to leadership to be the guiding light?  I am finding that the situation mentioned in this post is “status quo” and people expect this type of behavior. I don’t. People should be responsible and accountable for their actions, no matter what they are bringing to the table.

And we wonder why leadership in this country is taking us down a dark path; look at the actions we (the people) allow. People talk about what Bill Clinton did (or didn’t do) with Monica. Well, there are pleanty of others doing the same thing, they just don’t get caught. Do you think our late night friend would have been exposed if the blackmail issue didn’t arise?

The next time you decide to throw your morals (and whatever else is good) out the window, think about the cost. Somone told me that you can “pay now or pay later”.

We need a paradigm shift in the way we treat each other in this country. Sure, everyone wants to make a good living and take care of their families, but it should not be at the expense of others.

Leadership in this country is about taking responsibility for outcomes that impact others and not just for personal gains. I am all about spearheading this movement by passing on information that could benefit those who want to experience a paradigm shift.

Who knows what could happen. If nothing else, we can say we tried.

I had to exhale before I began typing this post. What in the world is going on with leadership that it appears to be hard to tell the truth? Recently, I  created a report for some work that had been accomplished and one of my colleagues, a leader (I use this term lightly) decided that the report could not have any variances; therefore he changed the numbers. Well, what is the point in creating a report if you are going to lie about it anyway. Why even bother? I see this in business all of the time. Leaders really believe they have to lie before even thinking about telling the truth. They make up the mind of the other person for them, as if they know what is needed.

All of these leaders with their self-centered, couch needing personalities are placed in positions that cause more harm than good. These people have so many issues that the mere fact of them doing something that wasn’t self-serving is totally out of the question. I digress.

I watched a project plummet to an all time low, the company go way over budget, and the CEO and CAO get escorted out. Why? Because they lied. They spent the money allocated for the project as if it were the last day in time.

What are we going to do? This is getting more and more ridiculous as the days go by. I did start a leadership institute. However, I think I may need to hire some therapists as contractors to get to the core of the issues before we address how to become a better leader. The first thing they have to do is stop lying and tell the truth. It is really OK to do this.

I was talking to a friend on yesterday about a house that was for sale (so she was told). The same day the sign went up, the realtor said that the house had been sold. Mind you, the gentleman putting up the sign had not even finished hammering the stake in the ground. If people weren’t so corrupt, then maybe. . . ? You tell me.