So a couple each buys a Lexus. (sorry GM, Ford and Chrysler; they told me they had no faith.)
Have they know bought Lexii? Luxuses? Lexus’s? Or do they own two Lexus?
What is the plural of Lexus?
And what are The Big 3 Automakers doing to restore faith?
So I broke down; I got the Blackberry. I said I wouldn’t do it; mainly because of the behaviors I have observed by those who possess these devices.
Now for my friends who are about to read further, please read this with the humor that is intended; it is not a dig at you but a learning for me (okay, maybe a learning for you too). After watching years of Crackberry Addiction and doing my best to avoid it I have come up with my Blackberry Pledge.
As a new owner of a Blackberry, I, Rich DiGirolamo,
Well I think that is a good start. Oh and for those of you who now know I have this device; this is ample warning that I will not be returning your call/text/email in a nanosecond; as I will not be glued to it. I’m hoping to still be glued to great conversation with stimulating fun people in a face-to-face environment.
Note: If you view me breaking these rules you have the right to figure out a way to keep my mind off of such device.
Saturday night I received a text message from my friend Jimmy. Could I bus tables at his restaurant on Mother’s Day?
My mom was away and I was heading home from a funeral. Caught off guard I said yes. I have never in my life been a busboy; but I’m always up for a new experience. I spoke to Jim on the phone and mentioned he must be desperate if he is asking me. We both chuckled. He also needed one or two more people as he wanted to give the regular busgirls the day off to celebrate Mother’s Day. I found him two more people. See, it’s all about networking and who you know.
The Sicilian dvd I’ll admit I am exhausted when I present a full day program, but this manual labor thing really hurt – and a lot! That evening and the next morning I felt like Dr. House as I was popping pills to make the pain go away.
We started the day with a team meeting. All the servers were told that 15% of their tips would go to the bus staff and $8 per person to the salad kid.
Woo-Hoo!! I yelled. No one found it amusing. I did. I was there to have a good time. And this thing about the bus person being seen but not heard………………. That certainly wasn’t going to happen.
So Michelle, Adrian and I busted our butts for 7 hours. None of us had done this type of work before. The compliments we were getting from the customers and the staff were all positive – even when I spilled water on the lady. I was laughing with people; one even asked if I was the owner as I was being so attentive.
When tip time came around four of the seven waiters handed over what was probably 15% or more. Three of the staff stiffed us and took off out the door. Big Time.
The Restaurant Manager was looking out for us and did ask what we were given from each person. We told her. The ones who remained were horrified by their teammates actions. One even talked about the hypocrisy of a waiter stiffing the busboy when he or she knows what it is like to be stiffed by a customer.
Michelle and I were cool with this. We did this to help out a friend. Adrian on the other hand got a first look at how and why people who work on the same team often end up not liking one another.
Rich & Gail with Al & Ruth (center) from North Carolina.
We picked them up on Broadway in Nashville; asked to take a group picture. They said yes. I love fun people.
Walking the streets of Nashville today I came upon the friendliest people. But we always knew that people in the South are friendly. Now being a Northerner I know there is also a sentiment that people from the South are stupid.
Well when this nice man said hello today I replied with a “How’s your day going.”
To which his response was “Better than I think it is.”
I stopped to talk to him. I asked him to explain his comment.
He explained it to me with an example. He said lets just say I’m thinking my day is going great and then I go into my pocket and find a quarter. It just got better.
I smiled, shook his hand, told him I love his attitude and walked away. Walking down the street I thought to myself maybe these people in the South are a lot smarter than Northerners give them credit for.
And then I was stopped dead in my tracks by this:
I won’t even tell you how far back down the street I had to go.
It was clear that the cruise ship I was on was not going to Cozumel last week. (That Swine Flu Thing)
How did I know?
- Could it be that we left Key West at 1:00 and at 4:00 the sun was behind the ship rather than above it or in front of it?
- Could it be that the little ship positioning arrow on the TV Channel in my cabin was somewhere off the east coast of Florida rather than somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico?
So I did what every Smart Alec would do; I walked over to the Information Desk and shared my information with them. I commented that it is clear we are not going to Cozumel and asked where we were going. To which the young man answered me that no information has been released yet and the captain had not yet made the determination if we were or were not going to Mexico.
Okay, let’s get real here. First of all, I highly doubt that decision was the Captain’s decision, but that of the top leaders at Carnival Cruise Lines. Second, you and I both know we are not going to Mexico even with evidence and you still deny it, because that is what you’re supposed to do – not break the chain of command and say something that you are not authorized to say.
So instead of breaking the chain of command, the Captain and the top leaders make you look misinformed and get you frustrated. I just don’t get it. Leaders need to realize that your front line is frustrated with the slowness or lack of information – especially when the information is clear to your customer.
Was this really a top secret decision? Okay, maybe the leaders didn’t know where we were going, but they knew we were not going to Mexico; and a lot the passengers knew it too. (Now of course there were the one or two crazies that were wiling to risk going to Mexico.) So instead of disseminating this information, any information, you leave the customer in suspense and your front line looking clueless.
Attention leaders!!!! Your team really does want to support you and do a good job. But sometimes you have to do a better job than you’re doing. Holding information is not power. Information is only power when everyone receives it. Everyone.
