Category: organizational effectiveness

In a nod to the circumstances they face, our local Culver’s appears to be breaking up their new patio area and replacing it with a second drive-thru lane. They also added an all-weather hut to shield their staff from the elements as they manage the traffic and pick-up orders.

It reminded me of the Stockdale Paradox referenced in Jim Collins’ Good to Great: “Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality AND retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.” Culver’s is acknowledging that they need to invest more into the business, despite the fact that they recently renovated the inside dining room and added that patio, AND they obviously believe their changes will pay off. It would be easy to lament the disruptions brought upon by COVID but instead, they have instituted an approach that moves them forward.

Maybe it’s time to break up the equivalent of your new patio, too.

During the holiday season, many people took advantage of the ease of online shopping but now they are discovering the downside: trying to do returns. The process is complicated by the lack of paperwork, packaging, or receipts which leave in-store clerks helpless to return products they do not physically stock.

Walmart has ventured into third-party selling (as Amazon has long done) which is great for them on the revenue side but has caused untold delays in their stores. I had the misfortune of waiting behind several people trying to return an online order from a third-party and they were told they needed to have it boxed and ready to ship before the clerk could process it. There were miscommunications. Clerks didn’t know how to print shipping labels. For everyone involved, it was a nightmare.

The crux of the issue is that great ideas at the corporate level never got translated into effective training and implementation at the front-line level. The clerks at customer service were not equipped to effectively handle all the minute logistical details of what is essentially an entirely new business and everyone in-store has to pay the price.

If you create a process or system change in your organization, follow the path of implementation all the way through to the end. It’s not just getting the order there that matters, but how you handle getting it back.

“Never promise more than you can perform.” It has always been one of my mantras and it appears that UPS follows the advice as well. In an unprecedented move this holiday season, the shipper announced that it was temporarily suspending package pickup from some of the largest retailers, including Macy’s, L.L. Bean, Nike, and the Gap because they had exceeded “specific capacity allocations.” UPS said they would resume deliveries from these companies again when it had the ability to handle them.

UPS has been proactive in working with retailers to anticipate the extra volume generated by the pandemic and holiday shopping – the two conditions combining to create an expected surge in online orders. The delivery company has partnered with several stores including Michael’s, Walgreens, and Staples to serve as drop-off and pick-up points for packages. Other retailers are providing incentives for customers to get their orders curbside instead of delivered. It has been a year-long, systemic approach to avoid unrealistic demands that UPS knows it cannot meet.

People often think that companies can add, add, add services without acknowledging that the personnel and infrastructure do have their limitations. Rather than push both to the breaking point, UPS has devised a system that allows it to deliver as promised what it accepts. Take a lesson from the brown truck people and set realistic limits on what you promise.

There are billboards in town advertising a new product that I decided to give as a gift. I went to their website to see where I could purchase the item but that only referred me to a phone number. I called, but there was no answer so I ended up buying a competitor’s product.

In a separate situation, an ad on my Facebook feed featured an article of clothing that was of interest. I clicked on the link, but instead of being directed to that item, it landed me on the front page of their catalog. I gave up rather than search for the item I may have purchased.

A similar scenario occurred when I followed a link to an organization’s website and found myself on the homepage rather than connected to the specific resource the original article referenced. Even with their search function, I was unable to find what I was seeking and departed empty-handed.

Organizations invest so many resources trying to direct consumers to their offerings, but then falter during the last mile. Time is the most precious of resources. If you want people to act, not just be aware, you must make it direct and easy for them to do so.

I use my bread exclusively for sandwiches and suspect that many others do the same, but the bread that I buy has an uneven number of slices in the package. Consequently, as I come to the end, I find myself with a stray piece of bread.

I wonder if the baker ever considered that there could be a mismatch between what they offer and how the consumers use it. Not just for this package of bread, but in many other cases. Manufacturers add features that people don’t use. Clothes come with an assortment of pockets that remain empty. Software programs have tools that most don’t even know about.

You may think your idea is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but before you add the equivalent of an extra slice spend some time with your audience to see if they even want it.