We have a morning radio show here in Boston on Jamn 94.5 that includes this gag called the Jam Scam. Each morning at 6:50, 7:50 and 8:50 you can listen to Ramiro calling upon some innocent listener and scamming them. His content comes from friends and family who lay out a current circumstance in the person’s life and he takes full advantage. As an example, a memorable one I heard recently was a woman who had left her car for an oil change. Ramiro called her acting as the garage and told her that the lift had broken while her car was lifted and her car was wrecked. If that isn’t enough, he told her that because her car hit other cars, she would have to pay for the damages.
While the storyline changes every morning, one thing remains constant I have noticed and that is the person asking to ‘speak to the manager’.
How many times have you asked this? Demanded this? ‘Let me speak to your manager’.
Is the manager going to tell you something different? We expect a different service when we speak to the manager. We expect something better; a happier ending. But do we get one?
Empowerment and Trust
When you think of the word empowerment what comes to mind? I want to empower my team to act without me having the step in.When I am hired for a position, I expect my company to trust me to fulfill my role. I expect them to trust me to make the right decision. I want to be empowered. It’s really the only way you learn. It’s the only way you fail. And it’s the only way you pave a path for yourself.
If the manager is always doing everything including your job, then how do you feel?
If we want to be treated this way in our own positions, why do we not trust others in the positions they hold? If you were in the position of the person at the oil change shop, would you feel good about someone asking to speak to someone other than you? Probably not.
You have been empowered to handle the situation, any situation. The same goes for the person you are speaking with.
The manager has better things to do. True, they are there an available if escalation warrants it but what are we doing when we demand to speak to the manager each and every time we don’t like the outcome? And why do we expect people to trust us when we don’t trust them?
