n o v/d e c • 2 0 0 8 - Subscribe

» craftsmanship
36
Mood Assessment
as a Tool to Empower your Company
Part 2 - Team Mood
Part 1 of this two-part Mood Assessment series was first
published in the May-June issue of DECO Magazine and
focused on Client Mood Assessments as a tool to empower
field personnel to be a positive force in raising the level
of the customer service experience. Part 2 sheds light on Team
Mood Assessments and how this tool can be used to help create
and maintain alignment between the team and the company’s
mission of service.
I believe that producing an extraordinary customer service
experience cannot be sustained without placing equal
importance on producing an extraordinary employee
experience. Maintaining a high level of alignment between
the people delivering the service and the customer receiving
the service is the primary mission of the business. Disharmony,
dissension and poor attitude of the team can take away from
or derail the best-laid plans and sink the most seaworthy ships.
On the other hand, a harmonious and inspired team, focused
on its mission, can achieve extraordinary results. In the long
run, extraordinary customer service cannot be sustained
without creating an “extraordinary work experience” for the
people delivering the service.
Producing such a work experience requires company policies
and systems that support, encourage and nurture employees
in “doing the right thing” for customers. The importance of
that element cannot be overstated. Team Mood is a shared
responsibility between management and its employees. In this
article, I will describe how a Team Mood Assessment System
can be used to help fulfill that responsibility.
An Illustration
A recent service experience I had helps to illustrate the points
I made above. Recently, I decided to make a change to my
| pdca.org
by Mario Guertin
President, PDCA Craftsmanship Forum
President, Painting in Partnership, Inc.
family’s phone service. I chose to go with our cable provider,
who also offers digital voice and high-speed Internet. Gus,
the installer for the cable company, came to hook up the new
service. He had to install a wire between the cable box and our
main phone line located in the family room. He said that the
cable could be run inside the house. I said “Where?” He said,
“Along the wall.” I said, “The cable would run along the wall
and be visible?” He said, “Yes, but the wire would be black.”
I said “Can we run the wire outside the house?” He answered,
“Yes, but he would have to drill a hole in the wall.” I said: “No
problem, you will just need a 25 foot wire and drill one hole in
the wall.” He said “OK.”
As he went to his truck to get supplies, my wife and I commented,
“Gus wants to be out of here the fastest possible way, doesn’t
he?” Otherwise, he would have sensed our disapproval. He
would have taken time to discuss our needs. Indeed, he was
out in 20 minutes; we could not believe it.
When Gus arrived, I had mentioned that there were three other
lines in the phone box and they were not to be touched since
they were the business lines and were staying with the other
carrier. After he left, I went to my office and noticed that the
Internet was not working. I thought it would clear up soon.
However, the next day, the Internet was still not working. It
then occurred to me to check the office lines. Nothing was
working! I called my old carrier to alert them to the problem
with my business lines. Within four hours, a phone company
employee named Dillon came out for the service call. I
explained to Dillon what had happened the day before. He
opened the phone box and discovered that the three business
lines had been unplugged and left unplugged by Gus. He
verified that the lines corresponded to my business numbers.
Upon reconnecting the lines, he asked me to call each line