Would you want to pay this attitude to work for/represent you?
Your employer is your customer
I was in a restaurant and couldn’t help but overhear a customer arguing with the host as he was paying his bill. I don’t know what the problem was. Who was at fault doesn’t matter. I did hear something to the effect of: “How hard is it to run a business? Don’t you know anything?” The customer was using a demanding and condescending tone. I wish I could tell you I told the customer to piss off. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I was tired, the waiter wasn’t a young coed, and my parole officer had just told me I couldn’t get into any more fights. When I left the place disgusted, the blowhard was still unloading.
I am unsure what went wrong, but this was not an expensive white tablecloth place. This was Diner Americana, where you can order pancakes all day, the coffee is $1.50, and the day’s special is listed on a chalkboard. In other words, nothing in this place was worth getting fired up about.
Two immediate thoughts
- “The one complaining the loudest is usually doing the least to solve the problem.”
- I was thrilled I didn’t work with this guy (the complaining customer). I am guilty of the profiling charge. I felt that this guy treated his employer and co-workers with the same attitude that he was treating this waiter/host.
Bringing this back to the world of HR, as someone who sees the workplace holistically, my observation is that employees fall into two general buckets. This may get confusing, so bear with it and try to keep up.
Two trains of thought
Employee as Service Provider: Some employees treat their manager and employer as their customers and treat them as such. They adopt their attitudes. The customer is always right, even when they might not be. If the customer is wrong, we can explain the situation diplomatically. These employees look to solve their customer’s problems and ensure the customer experience is positive. These folks are generally very successful.
Employee is the customer: This employee expects that their manager and their employer should deliver excellent customer service to them as an employee. The company and the manager are there for their success. Like most customers, they want more for less. More benefits, more pay, more attention. Per the opening paragraph, the one screaming the loudest is usually helping the least. Individual wins may come occasionally, but long-term success usually eludes these employees.
Which brings me to my point:
Too many employees expect the company to treat them like a VIP customer. As an employee of the company, I, myself, HRNasty, am the one who provides the service and sends out the invoice (time card). The employer is my customer. The employer pays my invoice (paycheck). I need to keep my customers happy.
In the employer/employee relationship, I consider the company and my manager to be MY customer. As an employee, I am the equivalent of a vendor selling a service. The company I work for is the one paying for my service. Make no mistake, as the employee, I am not the customer. The customer is the manager I report to. The customer is the company for which I provide services.
Who is paying who?
Yes, we would all like to think that the company is here for us individually as employees. At the end of the day, my employer/manager is paying for my services. As much as I would like to think that the company is here for me on a day-to-day basis, it is not. As an employee, I am here for the company and need to realize that I am replaceable. The last time I checked, the company was still running when I went on vacation.
How we got here
Delusions of grandeur stem from a couple of places. Employment laws, regulations, and unions are in place to protect the employee. As an employee, you shouldn’t be fooled because the government established the following to protect you:
- Minimum wages and required lunch breaks
- Protected classes and Leave of Absence regulations
- Employment laws for every demographic and size of business
Company recruited the employee
The other concept that generates a self-centered mindset is the emphasis on perks and benefits in the recruiting process. Do not be fooled. The cake is a lie. Just because they recruited you with the following doesn’t mean anything.
- Uniforms and Benefit plans
- Company Car, Parking spots, or subsidized transportation
- Company culture is filled with the occasional jeans day, pool tables, and company picnics
I completely understand where an employee of the company can get turned around.
The company/employer tries to provide a great working environment. This attracts and retains employees. But make no mistake, the employee holds the role of the vendor. As an employee, it is I who should be trying to provide extra value and amazing service. I should be trying to impress the person who is paying for my services. If I want to raise my prices (increase my salary), I need to deliver more than my competition and provide more value than I did the year before.
When we interviewed with the company as a candidate, we treated the company with kid gloves and made sure we followed common courtesy and protocol. We tried to wow the company with a great attitude and attention to detail. This included everything from the dress code to thank you letters to study what was essential to the company and the manager. In the first couple of weeks and months, we were conscious of how our words and actions were interpreted. This is a mentality that shows we are treating our employer as the customer.
Vendors treat customers differently
We worried about our customers during those first few months of new employment. We thought about our customer, and when the customer made a move (let’s say they picked Suzy, a new hire for a project, over us), we analyzed that move, agonized over it, and worried about it. This is the way a vendor treats a customer. They worry about losing accounts.
At some point in time, for some employees, there is an emotional shift. This employee moves from the mentality of the proud service provider to a bitter customer where nothing the employer can do is right and the customer is never wrong. There is nothing worse than a bitter employee. The employer doesn’t care for them because it isn’t productive, and after all, who wants to pay for a crappy attitude? Co-workers don’t like them, and the company’s customers don’t like them.
If more employees treated their employer as a customer and concentrated on trying to win the company’s business every quarter, reviews would go much smoother.
Remember that your employer is your customer if you work for a company. You are the vendor providing a service and invoice the company every two weeks as a time card. Your customer will make mistakes, some a lot bigger than others. We should make the customer experience the best they have ever had.
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.
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