08/18/2022
Being in business is hard, being a customer is hard too.
It seems that irritability levels of customers and business operators are at historically high levels right now.
Iāve been a business owner since 1985. Iāve experienced a lot in the 37 years as a business operator. Some of those times were quite amazing, while others scared the living hell out of me and tested my mettle. Being in business now is presenting challenges that Iāve never experienced before.
An abundance of customers that creates a need for more employees. But filling vacant positions is very difficult, in spite of record numbers of people being unemployed.
In New Mexico, we have the highest unemployment rate in the nation as of June 2022 at 4.9%, as reported by the US Bureau of Labor. We also have statewide job openings and signs up at almost every business (including mine) saying: āNow Hiring.ā We have a massive workforce shortage. This is a perplexing situation with no obvious answer being apparent.
Not only are we facing a current workforce shortage, businesses are dealing with employees that are, to put it nicely, less than stellar. These particular employees add fuel to an already stressful fire smoldering within the business. Iām talking about unpredictable employees that show up to work with a hangover because of festivities from the night before work, or unreliable employees that chronically call out of work with no prior notice leaving the business understaffed, to give some examples.
I know of people that worked a job for several days then abruptly quit, simply because it wasnāt what they expected it to be, or they did not like how customers treated them. The thing is ā they can do this because there are a lot of choices for their next job, as businesses are itching to find warm bodies.
Delivering experiences that meet or exceed customersā expectations is very challenging right now.
Now mix these challenges in with frustrated customers that feel āentitledā to a superior service experience, or an even more challenging expectation with some customers demanding āspecial treatmentā because their service or product need is of a more urgent nature than everyone elseās.
Of course there are a lot of customers that are patient and understanding of long wait times and underwhelming product delivery, they probably always have been and almost always will be in the future. Us business operators really appreciate all of you understanding angels! (Itās you angels that are the role models for all of the un-empathetic customers that visit our businesses.) We, as business operators and employees, wish that there were more of you.
Being a customer is really hard right now. Being in business is really hard right now.
Customers are paying more, and so they want more. A gallon of gas does exactly the same thing at $5.00 a gallon that it did at $2.00 a gallon. However, it seems now that inflation has touched every facet of our lives, consumers are demanding that higher-priced services provide much more satisfaction than before at pre-inflation prices. This may explain why there is so little tolerance with service that does not meet consumer expectations.
All of us business operators are working to accomplish the same or grander results with less resources.
Not just consumer products have been affected by inflation, so has the cost of labor. Iāve read social media posts by the media reporting that no one knows how to fix the problem of understaffed businesses filling positions while, at the same time, so many people are receiving unemployment benefits.
Almost always, some comments on these posts read: āpay us a living wage, then Iāll go back to workā.
I agree with that statement.
We are paying our employees the highest wages in the 37 years of being in business. Our business increased base wages 21% at the beginning of 2022, and have increased performance wages an additional 12% on top of base wages. We are doing this because the employees are working harder and more hours than ever. It is what we need to do to keep the best team players on the team. They are working harder because there are less of them to do the work our customers expect from us.
For most business operators, itās not that they intentionally want to deliver poor service or subpar products, it may actually be a result of the shortage of staff or product, or a combination of both. It is important to note that business operators are customers too, they wear both hats.
So please, the next time you, the customer, feel compelled to act out your frustrations and anger towards an employee or business operator because they did not meet your expectations, please keep in mind that it probably has everything to do with personnel and product shortages. Heck, maybe the substandard experience you just received was because the employees were just hired, are in the process of learning how to perform in their new role, and are awkwardly getting through their work day.
I believe the key to success right now for both businesses and customers, is some shared empathy and clear communication.
Imagine for a moment what it feels like to walk a mile in the other person's shoes.
Explain what your expectations as a customer are, and business operators need to listen very carefully and then explain to customers what expectations they can meet, and the ones they cannot deliver on.
Managing our expectations and emotions will be our saving Grace now and in the future.
