I just read an article in the local paper this morning about a young lady who went on a trip to the Philippines and used her cell phone while she was away. She was shocked when she got home and realized that her $800.00 phone bill cost more than her airfare.
My first question to her would be - did you really need to talk on your cell phone that badly? I mean, don't we go away to get away?
We are in such an instant gratification world today. Now, maybe I am dating myself here; but since when did we need to be in such constant contact? How did I ever survive this long without talking and texting and twittering all day long? Has technology created so many choices that even the very simplest of tasks becomes a promotion to one's level of incompetence?
Remember the Peter Principle? Maybe this is what's happening in business today? It seems to me that everyone is so busy multi-tasking that they can't focus on the task at hand.
A business acquaintance and I were talking the other day about how incompetent so many people seem to be today. He has been a consultant with a couple very large clients for a number of years. Lately, all of his invoices have been getting messed up. He calls to get things corrected, and can't talk to anyone because it's voice mails responding. Push this button; push that button and heaven forbid if the problem you have is not one of their choices. When he does finally get through, he receives quite a rude response and no apology for the errors.
So, you may ask, what is the connection between the cell phone bill and people reaching their levels of incompetence?
It's merely an illustration of how connected we all feel we have to be and possibly an explanation of why there are so many people making the errors they do on a daily basis. I think there are some very brilliant minds out there but we're doing too many things and constantly feeling pressured to do more. Having to talk on a cell phone while away on a trip is an example of that pressure.
Mistakes have always been made - invoices lost - calls dropped - mix up of an order - but I have never seen the levels of incompetence and complete disregard for service that there appears to be now. I am a business person myself. I am shocked at some of the service I've received from fellow business folks. They really don't seem to care. Service is non-existent or poor at best.
I had a problem with a product I purchased and when I initially made the purchase, I was told I could receive help 24/7. I first noted a problem in May - to this day - the issue has never been resolved even after numerous attempts at getting through to the provider. In fact, the issue wasn't even responded to. What happened to the 24/7 service I was promised?
Levels of employee engagement are the lowest they have ever been in history. Email and social media is impossible to keep up with. Businesses are going bankrupt on a daily basis. Part time jobs appear to be all that can be found. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to get a smile when I go shopping now. Try to make small talk or be friendly and you're taking a risk that the salesperson thinks you've lost your marbles. What is going on?
In my opinion, we need to slow things down. We need to do one thing at a time... do it exceedingly well and then move on to the next thing. We need to think things through instead of having an instant knee-jerk reaction. When you're on a trip - put the cell phone away - save some money!
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