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Brendon WalkerTAFE NSW Manager, Online Engagement

“That’s not my job” - You know exactly who

Let me tell you a story about a Manager…and it wasn’t his job

I used to work to in an Ambulance Control Centre. All 000 calls and ambulance dispatch happens from here.

It was a pretty busy place.

Sometimes, a call taker might need assistance from a clinician. Especially when medical scripting didn’t go to plan.

It was winter. Everyone was busy. The manager walks in to check the rosters.

There was an elderly lady on a call. Her husband couldn’t breath.

The call taker did her best to coach the lady on placing her husband into the recovery position.

But she was old and frail. She didn’t have the physical strength to position her husband into the recovery position.

The situation was hopeless.

“Oh god…his lips are turning blue”

The ambulance was still 5 minutes away…

“Please hurry…he’s not breathing”

The call taker tried to signal help from any clinician in the room. All were busy, except for one.

But frontline operations were no longer his job. He was busy.

And so the manager finished checking his rosters, then left the room.

Because helping on that call was not his job.

55 years of love, marriage, laughter, tears, family, joy…

All hanging in the balance.

But it wasn’t his job.

“It’s not my job”

The ambulance didn’t make it there in time.

And a life faded away.

Let’s take a step back

This story is true…to a point.

There was an elderly lady on a call. Her husband couldn’t breath.

The call taker did her best to coach the lady on placing her husband into the recovery position.

Sometimes, a call taker might need assistance from a clinician. Especially when medical scripting didn’t go to plan.

It was winter. Everyone was busy. The manager walks in to check the rosters.

The manager could SEE that it was busy. He could HEAR that it was busy. He was AWARE people could be under a lot of stress.

He NOTICED a colleague trying to get some help.

So he went over to help.

The manager takes over the call and asks the lady exactly where her husband is. At the same time he notices a history of breathing problems in the call takers notes.

As a former clinician, he knows what a typical home of a patient with a respiratory condition looks like.

The lady responded…

“He’s in his chair”.

And the manager said…

“Is it one of those recliners with the remote control”?

And she said “yes’!

“Oh god…his lips are turning blue”

So the manager asked the lady to recline that chair all the way back as far as it would go so her husband would be laying flat.

And once he was laying flat, he was able to talk her through placing her husband into the recovery position, which the lady was now able to do.

“He’s breathing oh thank you…he’s breathing”

“It’s not my job” And it didn’t matter that it wasn’t his job. Because everything that was important to that person was of utmost priority. It wasn’t that managers job to help one of their team who was struggling to help someone else. And it wasn’t his job to save that man’s life. Perhaps you’ll never come across a situation

like this in your workplace, but the attitude of caring is universal.

Customer Service, specifically Customer CARE is everyones job.

What is important to a customer at the time of their call or message, may not be important to you. But it’s important to them. Helping your customers should be the top priority of every person in an organisation or business. We all have a role to play.

It doesn’t matter if you’re customer facing or not. Just help. We, as people, have no idea about what challenges other people are facing. So when a customer reaches out for you to help…give them one less thing to worry about. And help.

No-one said changing the service attitude and culture of an organisation would be easy.

But you have to at least start. And that journey starts with you.

Take the first step and BE the change you want to see.

“a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

- Laozi

Key TakeawaysFour-Up

Begin Customer service excellence won’t happens unless someone actually starts doing it.1

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Lead Be the example you want to see. Forget what it is you’re doing for a minute, and help out.

Encourage Others may tell you that it’s none of your business. It IS your business. It’s EVERYONE’s business. Own it!

Perspective Everyone has a different experience. Don’t assume you know what’s going on in someone’s life. Just help! Give them one less thing to worry about.