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Lessons From The Deck
Chair #3:
Communication is More Important Than Action.
By Stuart Ayling
Other articles in this short series:
Lesson #1: Being Comfortable is Not Always Productive
Lesson #2: People Don't Follow Directions, and what it means for you
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On the cruise we would often be waiting for a short time.
- Queuing to disembark.
- Lining up to get on transport (sometimes in the rain).
- Waiting for the ship to depart from the dock beyond the scheduled departure time.
It was interesting to observe that,
when there was a delay, passengers started to get impatient when there was no
announcement.
When people didn’t know why there was an unexpected delay they started to complain.
(Key point: Even if the end result - the action - is OK, people want communication
along the way.)
In some cases there was a perfectly valid reason for the wait.
Situation 1:
We were overdue to leave the port of Wellington. It seemed that everyone was back on the ship (they scan your passenger card to keep track of who gets on and off). Then we started to hear a few names being announced… “Could passengers Mr and Mrs Smith from stateroom B705 please call extension 5000”.. and a couple more.
Clearly we were now waiting for a few passengers to get back on board. Further announcements confirmed the situation.
Watching the proceedings was a group of 40 or 50 passengers hanging over the rail on the Promenade deck, waiting for those latecomers – and cheering them on when they eventually arrived!
Situation 2:
On another occasion we were in a crowded open-sided shipping container (converted into a makeshift tourist
office) in the rain waiting for the shuttle buses to arrive on the dock. There were dozens of people, overflowing outside the container and tarpaulin, and the staff from the local tourist office did not explain what was happening.
No mention of how long we had to wait. No mention of how many buses were coming.
… and passengers kept leaving the ship to join the already rain-soaked crowd. People were getting worried about what would happen.
Situation 3:
Another time we disembarked quickly. We had pre-purchased our shuttle tickets and were keen to get on the bus to take us into the city. There was a line of people queuing for the buses. It appeared to be the right thing to do. But it wasn’t.
At the head of the line was one local staff member dealing with some time-consuming passengers. Everyone else was waiting. It seemed to take ages to get passengers past the staff member onto the waiting (and empty) buses.
There was no announcement, no explanation of what to do. People were waiting, and getting confused and angry.
The problem was the line was only meant for people who had not pre-purchased their tickets. But due to the lack of signage and lack of explanation by staff, everyone (including those like us who had already purchased tickets) was waiting, creating congestion.
Situation 4:
However, in Auckland, with the same shuttle bus set-up, the local staff member circulated along the line telling people what they were waiting for,
how long the wait should be, and answering any immediate questions. Everyone was happy – even while they waited.
What You Can Learn From This:
The lesson from these situations is to pay attention to your communication. Make sure your clients and prospects know what you are doing, and what they are expected to do. Especially when things don’t go smoothly, let people know what they should do. Give them options. Keep them informed.
- Do you have clear explanations on your website?
- What happens when people sign up to your newsletter?
- How long do they need to wait for you to reply to an enquiry?
- What happens when they place an order?
- How frequently will clients receive contact from you or your staff?
- What is the process you go through to deliver your service – and how does that impact your client?
Create clear expectations and minimise frustration… it’s a sure path to happy
clients and a successful business.
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