Tell them why

Think back to when you were four or five years old, and you asked your parent the classic question, “Why?” Like most children, you probably got the almost as classic answer, “Because I said so.” You likely didn’t buy that response then, and as an adult, you certainly wouldn’t accept that answer now. Just recently, this was confirmed to me once again.

An unexpected situation …

On my way to work with a client in an isolated area of northern Quebec, I was on a flight that made three stops at remote communities before finally arriving at my destination. At each stop, we disembarked from the plane for about 20 minutes while it was refueled.

At one of these stops however, 20 minutes elapsed and stretched into 40, and the passengers in the small waiting room began to get more and more restless. Forty minutes became 60, and the level of frustration audibly increased. By this point in time, even I wanted to know the reason for the delay. The young man at the airline desk gave me several evasive answers, but upon my persistent questioning, finally told me the truth.

It was a logical reason …

In fact, it turned out to be a perfectly legitimate reason: a connecting flight from another community was late, and it contained several passengers that needed to connect to our flight. I immediately understood that because air service in these remote regions is once-daily, and hotel amenities in the communities are minimal, it is important not to miss a connecting flight when traveling in the area.

Now here’s the crux of this situation – if the young man had simply taken a moment to tell them why the delay was happening, most passengers would have immediately understood and accepted it.  Instead, by the time we finally boarded the flight an hour and fifteen minutes later, passengers were angry and irritated, and still in the dark! Not a recipe for good management, nor excellent customer service.

Tell them why!

Take the time to tell them why.  Whether it’s your staff, your customers, your peers, or even your boss. Tell them why you need their support, why a change is happening, or why something isn’t going as expected.  Chances are that most people will understand and accept the situation. It’s good leadership, and it’s good customer service.

Have you ever been in a situation where a simple explanation could have changed the outcome? How do you ensure clear communication with your team, customers, or colleagues? Have you found that taking the time to tell them why leads to better understanding and cooperation? Please share your thoughts by commenting below. I’d love to hear your experiences!