Two weeks ago I walked into a Petco in Waterbury, CT. I had picked up the new puppies earlier that day and needed to purchase a few things. I grabbed what I needed, headed to the cash register, (which coincidentally is right by the door) and stood there for five minutes – yes five minutes – until someone showed up to help me. Myself and the woman behind me thought this was a riot. We could have lifted the cash register and walked out the door. Good thing I wasn’t feeling strong that day.  

Well the cashier didn’t help me all that fast; she proceeded to tell me how this wasn’t her job and that the manager knew that; yet the manager did not want to come out from wherever and help. Perhaps he or she was with the Southington store manager I thought?  The entire length of my transaction involved this woman sharing her disgust for her manager. Who gives a crap, I thought? After all, he/she doesn’t, why should I? But then I thought I would do something good for this woman. I suggested she be proud that she helped a customer, rather than remaining frustrated with her boss. She proceeded to express her frustration. Hey, I tried.

Just this past Saturday, I went back to that Waterbury store. Upon checkout I told the cashier I wanted to purchase two Pet ID tags. They have this machine which engraves the pet’s name and phone number on an ID tag. You need to pay at the register before using the machine. While ringing me up, the telephone rings and the cashier picks it up. Personally, I think the right thing to do is put that person on hold, but who knows what the store policy is on that. So I wait.

And wait.

And wait. (The door is looking good right now.)

He finishes the call and tells me my total. I swipe my credit card, sign on the dotted line and he says thank you. He turns away. I stand there waiting for my tokens to use the machine.  He turns back and looks at me. I stare back. He continues to look at me. C’mon little boy, you can open your mouth. You can say something along the lines of “is there something else?” You can do it. I know you can.

He couldn’t.

So I ask for my tokens to use the machine. He hands me two tokens and a small ring for one tag. I ask him for another ring, thinking the two tokens were for the two tags. He tells me I only “bought” one. I told him I “bought” two. He says I only “bought” one. I said “okay I asked you for two.” (I’ll take part of the blame here; when he gave me my total it sounded reasonable. I usually look at the receipt later.) He now asks for my receipt. “You only “bought” one” he says to me in a somewhat arrogant tone. Now I’m thinking you little snot nosed kid. To which I responded…………..

“No, you only “charged” me for one, when I “asked” for two, so don’t you go getting annoyed with me. I’m the customer.”

I paid for the second, got 2 more tokens, one more ring, engraved my two ID tags, said good-bye to Petco and started thinking about how you were going to learn something from this.

Now I have to tell you after the two experiences of management not giving a crap, it did not surprise me in the least with Attitude Boy. People are a direct result of their environment. If you create an environment that is fun, you create an environment that people want to be a part of. If you create an environment where people see you as unavailable or they do not feel supported, you’re destined for low morale, lots of trouble and loss of business.  When a manager does not respond to the words “customer service”, why should the rest of the team offer it? Good fuels good and bad fuels bad. It is that simple.

When is management/leadership going to get a grip? And this just doesn’t apply to Petco. This applies to many organizations, even governments. Leaders are so impressed with being leaders that they forgot where they came from and that they are there to manage, serve, mentor and coach. Leaders are not supposed to hide in backrooms, behind telephones or in houses that are white. Leadership is about setting an example. No wonder employees are running amuck these days.

And yes, I know that a good leader is supposed to be a visionary. Well sometimes a visionary needs to set the tone and pace for the vision. Many years ago, back in my accounting days, I worked for Avon Products in a finance position. Not many people knew this, but the CEO of the company spent some time going door-to-door with the “Avon Lady” each and every year. That to me is a visionary. That’s how you understand your business and get your people to work hard for you. You spend some time “working the business.”

Leaders are quick to blame the team when things don’t get done; perhaps it has to do with something else. If the team is expressing frustration or not getting things done maybe it is time to look in the mirror – long and hard. Perhaps it’s the leader’s fault?

And maybe it is time that you, the reader, have the guts to pass this message along to someone who deserves it. Don’t be chicken! Or maybe you’re the leader and need to take this to heart? I’ll let you decide. In either case, you’re the winner. Don’t you agree?

So……………………….On the way out of the store my dog crapped right by the front entrance. Part of me wanted to just leave it there; it seemed appropriate. I walked over to my car to get some napkins to pick it up. By the time I returned it had already become a victim of a car tire.

Rich DiGirolamo is a professional speaker from Wolcott, CT. He calls himself The Big Kid and promotes "fun" as a key component of employee morale, retention and productivity.