#ServiceEconomy

#ServiceEconomy. It's past time we rediscovered a service based economy beyond serial transactions. At the end of every business activity or process are human beings with an expectation or need to be filled. Most of us would lose count each week of the number of times an error or omission was explained by saying, " I sent the e-mail", "left a message" or "sent a Text", without results. This "check the box" definition of work is a direct result of a work culture which inserts a technology to "streamline" the process eliminating both human contact and judgement. Voice mail trees and retail cashiers are vivid examples of this conundrum. Consider checkouts that can't make the sale because the SKU scanner is down. I recently spent 2 hours on the phone unsuccessfully, with no less than 4 reps. of a major phone carrier to link phone accounts for which they had contracts! This gradual re-definition of work as a narrow series of transactions or digital steps is an erosion of the fundamental goals of business, "to help people". The goal of simplification is to improve the customer experience. We once moved toward a total quality culture where the outcomes and impacts on our intended customers mattered most. We need a major reset of the goalpost.