• How well do you do “not my job”?

    Posted on April 5th, 2007 by and currently 10 commenting.

    I know I sound like a broken record, but I came home from my recent trip to South Africa with many trinkets of wisdom. On of them came from Rich of Missing Link when he shared a story and pictures of his recent stay at the Four Seasons Doha. I in no way can do justice to how Rich shares this story, so I will cut to the chase:

    Rich got up one morning to do his swim. The pool was one of those funky abstract pools, so that by itself made it hard to do training laps. As Rich came up for a breath, he noticed a pool worker in the pool a few yards ahead of him. Rich turned left the worker turned left, so he turned right and so did the worker. As perplexed as Rich felt he could tell the worker was just as confused. He then noticed the pool worker moved to the edge of the pool, placed something down and turned away. As Rich swam to that side of the pool he finally figured it out: the pool worker was trying to figure a trajectory to place a bottle of refreshing still water.

    The next morning, Rich was getting ready for his swim and the same worker introduced himself. It turns out he was a swimmer for the Philippines National Swim Team and he asked ‘If you don’t mind, could I help you with your swim stroke?’ Rich said of course, as he explained to Rich how he needed to stretch his stroke out, etc… That’s when it occurred to Rich that everyday he swims at his gym. And everyday the swim instructor watched him swim by as he instructs his class of pupils. But has never offered the same obvious suggestions that this pool worker in Doha just did. I’m sure that Rich’s gym’s swim instructor does a fine job instructing his pupils, but doesn’t see that his job is offering some free advice to just another gym swimmer. Rich ties his story to the fact that it’s more than just doing your job well. It’s how you do your ‘not my job’ well.

    How many times have you been frustrated with that all-to-common response of ‘I’m sorry, it’s not my job.’ For me, I get this respond at the worst possible times like at the airport as I’m trying to get a problem solved that was created by the very people that now are telling me it’s not their job to fix it. Or better yet, to wait for 15-plus minutes on the phone to be told to call another department because they can’t handle your problem.

    You could make a long list of companies that do their jobs well. That’s the price for admission. But how many of those companies and their employees are empowered to do the ‘not my job’ well? I think it takes a commitment from the top to build ‘not my job’ empowerment. It’s safe to say its not my job but to step out and go beyond a job’s boundaries takes support from the top. I think that’s how great companies are defined.

  • http://www.mattonmarketing.com Matt

    I’m at a restaurant and I need a fork. I don’t care if the owner walks by, I expect to get my fork. That’s a customer-centric perspective on what “our jobs” are, and I 100% agree it’s how great companies are made. Great post!

    http://mattonmarketing.blogspot.com/2007/04/yes-it-really-is-your-job.html

  • Geno

    Matt, thanks for dropping by and making a comment. It is truly refreshing to be on the receiving end of active “not my job” thinking.

    Last Wednesday I was in JoBurg visiting for the day at Missing Link, Andre runs the head of the house for ML. When it was time for me to leave I asked if he could call me a cab. He said why I’ll drive you to Sandton. This was at the least a one hour round trip drive for him in alot of crazy traffic. I asked him if this was a common thing he did? He said not really but with any guest request or need he will find the best solution for them not him.

    Your fork topic is an awesome point. How many times have you had to ask someone other than your waiter for a water, a knife, a bottle of ketchup and that person would rather take the time to track down your waiter than just do it in a matter of seconds themselves.

  • http://johnbell.typepad.com John Bell

    Wow. A great observation. There is a generosity in the pool workers offer that you just don’t see inside the US much (I just did a bunch of travel through Asia and this type of help came up again and again).

    Is this the domain of luxury brands like the Four Seasons? Is it possible for the new workers at Circuit City (hired at a few dollars less than the original workers)to offer same? Is there an economic barrier to doing “not doing my job” well?

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com/ Geno

    Hey John, great to hear from you. Lets get together for a drink in New Orleans.

    Is there an economic barrier? God, I hope not. Do you see the same generosity in service in the states? I have to agree with you that I seem to find it more common in some other countries. I just spent 18 days in South Africa and I would have to say I had some remarkable experiences. From high level service at the InterContinental Sandton to an eagaging and educational shopping experience in a suburb shopping center in JoBurg.

  • http://www.vincecardillo.com Vince

    This is a great post, and a great point. My personal philosophy regarding this sort of thing is that of Nike’s: Just DO it. Don’t avoid it, complain about it, or form a committee. Just fix it. Solve the problem. In my experience, companies that follow this philosophy are generally more agile and more successful in their areas.

  • http://delivermagazine.com Nancy @Deliver magazine

    a little additional service is what makes the difference between a good company and a great compnay. Haven’t we all felt that when someone goes just a bit out of their way for us it made our experience there that much better?
    I know that when I’m given really great service or have someone willing to assist no matter if the request is “their job” or not, it has prompted me to be a repeat customer. We’re all just looking for a bit of good service, aren’t we?

  • Christy

    Geno, you make a great point that good service is the “ante to play.” We’ve spent some time studying companies that live what we call “the DIFF,” or companies that go above and beyond the call. So often, however, we are finding companies that are just bringing the minimum ante to the table. We’ve settled for mediocrity, or “getting the job done.” We’ve noticed this, and have started shaking the dust off our sandles…

    Focusing on how companies solve problems is a great way to identify those that provide great service. Do they whine? Or do they quickly and quietly solve the problem, without dragging the customer into it, then wow the customer with something extra?

    But let’s not get complacent when a company merely fixes the problem. Good for you. You get a cookie. But you don’t get an award just yet.

  • http://www.jonofisher.com Jono Fisher

    Great post Geno. The “not my job” epidemic I think causes many companies to lose major sales, regardless of how “effectively” they may advertise. Reminds me of a recent experience with REI when I was on a last minute shop for a certain product. After calling a few stores to try and find this rare item, I got everything from being put through to the wrong department, to the classic “I don’t think we stock that item, sir” (without looking for it) and then in one case, the phone not being answered at all. Then, I get this guy in the Portland, OR store who not only gives me some valuable advice about the product I want to buy, but also goes and hunts the product down in the warehouse himself, and when he finds that the sales department is too busy to process my credit card and shipping info, he does it himself and finds that he can give me a discount, which he gives me. And, then he personally packed and shipped the item overnight at less than half of what a competitive company could ship it for. Awesome! By not doing “not my job”, they have me as a loyal customer, and a member of their co-op.
    BTW – Glad you had a positive experience in my home country, South Africa.

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Amanda

    This drives me absolutely crazy. I was in Target the other day and asked one of their associates who was walking by for help. She looked at me and said, “I’m on break.” and kept walking. Talk about “Not my job”!!

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