There’s no way to watch what each of your employees does. So you have no idea if some of them are actively refusing requests from potential customers that would be pure profit.
I watched this concept in action this week. A friend and I ordered a shared limo after a conference from the Indianapolis Marriott to the airport. Each of us paid $17, as did the two other passengers from our conference already in the car.
A friend walked up before we got in the limo and asked if we wanted to share a cab. We replied we’d already prepaid for the limo, and noted there was plenty of room inside if he wanted to join us. We knew from our trip to the Marriott that the service was set up to handle last-minute passengers.
When we asked the driver to arrange for our friend to join us, he said there wasn’t room. We knew there was room for 6 more people. He said there wasn’t room for the luggage. Our friend had a carry-on bag and computer. We said it would fit inside the limo. He said he couldn’t put luggage inside without everyone’s permission. We were sure the two other colleagues would say yes.
But by this time our friend was so put off by the driver’s “can’t do” attitude, he took a cab.
Why would the driver pass up not only $17 in pure profit for his company, but some tip money in his own pocket? Why would he put up a wall at each question rather than finding a way to say yes? It was absolutely no more work for him, no more gas or wear and tear on the vehicle.
Maybe he was just in a bad mood.
Is your employees’ bad mood causing you to lose business — and pure profit? How would you know? Send out an email evaluation after every transaction. You’ll be amazed at what your customers tell you.