I was on a staycation last week in a beautiful property adjoining the angry and beautiful ocean. Our rooms were sea facing with a balcony. Every morning and evening I sat with my tea mug in the balcony. The dining space is one of my favourite spaces. The side facing the sea is all glass. I go there at 7am and do all my routine activities – colouring, drawing, reading, and of course just taking in the sights from around. The greenery around is so vibrant and breathtaking. With the rains, the leaves and branches sway as if they are dancing. And I can see not only the sea but also the blue, swimming pool.
We usually avoid the buffet lunch and go to an adjoining restaurant which makes delicious Chinese food, which we all love. This day it was raining very heavily and we decided to have lunch in the property. There was a dimsum festival and my daughter K loves dimsums. We ordered one for starters. For the main course she ordered a burger and fries. I ordered fish and sauteed vegetables. Half an hour passed. I know that the dimsums take time to cook. I told our server to get the other stuff if they were ready. My guess was right. They got us the burger and fish in 5 minutes. And as we were finishing our meal, the dimsums arrived. K eagerly served herself. She took a bite and said – Mom, the meat is not cooked. I inspected her plate and took one myself to confirm the fact. I politely returned the dimsums making a mental note that I should give the manager some constructive feedback. Being a coach, I am trained to give feedback appropriately. 😊
What happened next took me by surprise. The server had anyway apologised. He now got the chef to our table who apologised. The only words that came from my mouth were – It’s OK; It happens! We chatted and I found out he had used a covering of potato starch and rice flour. How creative was that! And he had manually minced the meat and so there were some larger pieces which did not get cooked. He realised that he should find another way if he did not want to use the machine to mince the meat. I realised that there was no need to give any constructive feedback, only appreciation for the attitude of the staff.
It takes courage to be vulnerable and take responsibility for your actions. And these employees were empowered to provide a high level of responsiveness and “customer satisfaction”. Their responses were not defensive. They were spontaneous with their respectful interactions. It was refreshing to see their learning agility. They had been able to tap into their natural potential for learning performance and growth. They were aligned to the business goals of offering the customer a superior experience.
How can you shift the mindset of your people from judgement to awareness? How can you make their actions to be responsive rather than reactive? How can you change their attitude from merely surviving to flourishing and thriving? Will be posting more on how you can help your people to make the transition from fragmentation to alignment to harmony. You can connect with me on WA +91 9769355585 or write to me at joyhamesha24x7@gmail.com.
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