“Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” everywhere you look…
OK, so as I write I’m on the last leg of way too many flights in a 2 week period of time. All good reasons to fly, but even in the excitement, it can all get a little old. While I try to avoid my sleeping seat mate ending up in my lap, I’m noticing that in just my limited view from row 10 seat D I see this message posted at least 20 times. If I were to lean on my seat mate like she’s leaning on me, I’m sure I could see this message posted a least another 10-20 times, which begs the question, why?
From my Risk Management background comes the first answer…liability and due diligence to avoid an unsightly lawsuit from a toppled passenger. Who knows, perhaps even from my sleepy seat mate who thankfully found herself listing to her right now, all but prostrate on her supposed traveling companion. – might even sue the airline were she to land in the floor due to the lack of a seatbelt.
While liability dodging is often the reason behind signs of this nature and repetition, I think human nature is really the culprit. While I’m a “you told me once and that was enough” kind of person, most of humanity has to be reminded constantly of a variety of things, especially warnings.
I just spoke at a national conference on a variety of agency management topics and one of which was the importance and process of establishing core values and objective filters for your agency/business. We talked about all the places you find these important concepts woven through your organization – or at least you should. (If none of that makes sense, we need to talk….soon!)
Our staff is overwhelmed everyday by the pace that our technology today drives the world and their client’s expectations for service delivery. Many times they execute the routine tasks of the day by rote and not thinking about whether or not they are communicating the way you want them to communicate with your clients. Just like all the 20-40+ “Fasten Seat Belt While Seated” signs in the plane, your staff is blowing past the reminders of how you want your clients dealt with, so make sure to shore up your procedures, form letters, even role-play with them from time to time just to make sure your core values and objectives are being followed and obvious to your clients with every interaction with your agency – you simply can’t afford not to.
