A Tale of Two Companies

I absolutely love Chick fil A.  They are the epitome of customer service.  This past Friday, I took my daughters to get dinner.  As we pulled in, rain started coming down.  Wet and cold, the staff was beyond friendly and eager to help. 

Throughout the pandemic, Chick fil A has been the place to go.  They re-engineered their drive thru operations to be able to serve as many customers as possible – seriously, it is a well-oiled machine.  But most impressive are the employees – always smiling, polite, friendly, and well trained.  Often times, there are a number of employees in their teenage to 20s years.  How do they do it?!? 

Fast forward to Sunday – I visited a Walmart for the first time in a while.  I was quickly reminded why I typically avoid that store – greeters talking to each other as opposed to in-coming customers, too few check-out lines open…and employees walking around with scowling faces.  It’s just not a pleasant environment.  If I don’t like being there for an hour, imagine how the employees must feel!

It would be easy to blame the Walmart employees and store management for my less than favorable customer experience.  But I’m in HR – I know better.  This is not exclusive to my local store; these issues span the chain.  The executive leadership team of Walmart should be ashamed of themselves.  When was the last time they stepped foot in a store?  They can’t think this is acceptable. 

When the leadership of an organization truly values its people, it shows.  You can see it in the eyes and smiles of employees.  You can hear it in the way they talk about their work.  When you feel valued at work, it radiates within you.  You, in turn, give your best each and every day.  A fairly simple chain of events. 

No company is perfect.  Every employee is not going to be happy all of the time.  But if an organization wants to be competitive and truly wishes to live out its values, it has to put people first.  Don’t just say it, do it.