What single word describes this quality?
July 15, 2018 8:48 AM Subscribe
Here's a made-up scenario as illustration.
You work for a hotel where customer reviews are of utmost importance. A customer leaves a 1-star review entirely because of the lack of parking available to guests. However, free parking is available at a garage adjacent to the property, and that information is readily available online and in printed materials. Two employees have very different reactions to this review and I'm looking for the right word for the preferred reaction.
Employee A: "What an idiot! They have all of the information and failed to read it, and now we're being punished. That person is an a**hole."
Employee B: "Wow, I thought we provided all of that information, but clearly we failed. How can we do better next time to make sure our customers have a better experience?"
What word describes Employee B's attitude/perspective?
Toying with things like "solution-oriented" or "continuous improvement," but those don't quite capture the nuance of the intrinsic attitude. And also prefer one word solutions.
Employee A: "What an idiot! They have all of the information and failed to read it, and now we're being punished. That person is an a**hole."
Employee B: "Wow, I thought we provided all of that information, but clearly we failed. How can we do better next time to make sure our customers have a better experience?"
What word describes Employee B's attitude/perspective?
Toying with things like "solution-oriented" or "continuous improvement," but those don't quite capture the nuance of the intrinsic attitude. And also prefer one word solutions.
Employee B has a measured response.
posted by seasparrow at 8:55 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by seasparrow at 8:55 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Charitable.
posted by kitty teeth at 8:59 AM on July 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by kitty teeth at 8:59 AM on July 15, 2018 [10 favorites]
Omotenashi
posted by STFUDonnie at 9:02 AM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by STFUDonnie at 9:02 AM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Goal-oriented", the goal being to get better ratings.
"Uncompromisingly self-critical" or "allergic to excuses" might be more specific.
(If the real situation is close to the hypothetical, I might also just say "correct" - it's highly unreasonable to expect anyone of the hotel-staying demographic to have researched parking online -- they rely upon signage or the direction of the valets at arrival.)
posted by MattD at 9:08 AM on July 15, 2018
"Uncompromisingly self-critical" or "allergic to excuses" might be more specific.
(If the real situation is close to the hypothetical, I might also just say "correct" - it's highly unreasonable to expect anyone of the hotel-staying demographic to have researched parking online -- they rely upon signage or the direction of the valets at arrival.)
posted by MattD at 9:08 AM on July 15, 2018
I agree with "constructive." Employee A's response is understandable, but it won't help avoid the problem of future one-star reviews the same way B's will.
posted by rpfields at 9:13 AM on July 15, 2018
posted by rpfields at 9:13 AM on July 15, 2018
Constructive or positive.
posted by billiebee at 9:14 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by billiebee at 9:14 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
The difference between A and B is empathy and understanding. A does not attempt to consider the situation from the perspective of the customer, while B is trying to see it through their eyes.
posted by dis_integration at 9:24 AM on July 15, 2018
posted by dis_integration at 9:24 AM on July 15, 2018
Empathetic.
posted by sriracha at 9:30 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sriracha at 9:30 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Employee B shows ownership for the outcome.
posted by samthemander at 9:30 AM on July 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by samthemander at 9:30 AM on July 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
"Self-reflective" comes to mind, as does "mature".
posted by teremala at 9:40 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 9:40 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
If this were a social setting, I'd say B showed humility and put yourself in the other person's shoes. Didn't take criticism personally.
In a business situation, able to see things from the customer's perspective.
posted by M. at 9:47 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
In a business situation, able to see things from the customer's perspective.
posted by M. at 9:47 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's more than one difference between the two, as the variety in the comments shows. It depends on what aspect you want to emphasize. Passive vs. (pro)active response is one more (along the lines of non/constructive).
posted by trig at 9:50 AM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by trig at 9:50 AM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
I’d say diplomatic
posted by Valancy Rachel at 10:08 AM on July 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Valancy Rachel at 10:08 AM on July 15, 2018 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Actionable. Constructive. Realistic. Humble. Willing. Employee B's perspective allows them to manage what happens from here. Employee A may be right, but they have nowhere to go from that comment (that is controllable by them).
posted by ramenopres at 10:16 AM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by ramenopres at 10:16 AM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Pragmatic.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:27 AM on July 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 10:27 AM on July 15, 2018 [5 favorites]
In a way, this is about taking responsibility, taking ownership of a problem -- not blaming, but acknowledging that there's a role the hotel can play in making improvements. That's not one word, but maybe someone knows one word that gets at that.
posted by salvia at 10:28 AM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by salvia at 10:28 AM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Resourceful; having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties?
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 10:50 AM on July 15, 2018
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 10:50 AM on July 15, 2018
I'd agree with constructive. It's also not reactionary or defensive.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:12 AM on July 15, 2018
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:12 AM on July 15, 2018
Invested. (Or kissass, depending on how awesome the company is, and also whether that kind of emotional labor is part of the job description. Since it's a hotel, I expect it probably is a requirement.)
posted by surlyben at 11:24 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by surlyben at 11:24 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Look at Locus of Control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control
posted by ZackTM at 11:35 AM on July 15, 2018
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control
posted by ZackTM at 11:35 AM on July 15, 2018
solution-oriented?
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:16 PM on July 15, 2018
posted by spamandkimchi at 1:16 PM on July 15, 2018
Or kissass, depending on how awesome the company is, and also whether that kind of emotional labor is part of the job description.
This, it reads as completely insincere corporate nonsense to me. Something like "Ugh, they left us a one star review because they couldn't be bothered to read our materials or ask about parking? Is there something we can do for those people?" reads as pragmatic.
posted by hoyland at 1:18 PM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
This, it reads as completely insincere corporate nonsense to me. Something like "Ugh, they left us a one star review because they couldn't be bothered to read our materials or ask about parking? Is there something we can do for those people?" reads as pragmatic.
posted by hoyland at 1:18 PM on July 15, 2018 [3 favorites]
Responsible.
I know it's not how the world works, but all customer solutions should be obvious, so if they have to read a specific thing on a specific page to know what they need to know, then it's the hotel's problem. Employee B recognizes it's the hotel's responsibility to create an easily navigable user experience, while employee A views the situation as unavoidable and is not invested in the betterment of the company.
You could also go with self-focused (A) vs externally-focused (B)
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 1:31 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know it's not how the world works, but all customer solutions should be obvious, so if they have to read a specific thing on a specific page to know what they need to know, then it's the hotel's problem. Employee B recognizes it's the hotel's responsibility to create an easily navigable user experience, while employee A views the situation as unavoidable and is not invested in the betterment of the company.
You could also go with self-focused (A) vs externally-focused (B)
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 1:31 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would say "evidence-based" since they are focusing on the only thing that matters, the 1 star review. Other possibilities would include "optimistic" (in the sense that they believe that the feedback has opened a new avenue for better satisfying customers) or even "opportunistic" (in the sense that they see opportunities to enhance the performance of the organization, as opposed to the sometimes negative connotation of that word).
posted by forthright at 1:58 PM on July 15, 2018
posted by forthright at 1:58 PM on July 15, 2018
Customer obsession.
Employee B is focused on how to deliver the best experience to every single customer.
posted by forforf at 2:10 PM on July 15, 2018
Employee B is focused on how to deliver the best experience to every single customer.
posted by forforf at 2:10 PM on July 15, 2018
Best answer: I would call this approach user-focused or user-centered (human-centered or customer-centered might also work, depending on your actual situation).
From the Wikipedia page about user-centered design:
posted by stefanie at 2:36 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
From the Wikipedia page about user-centered design:
The chief difference from other product design philosophies is that user-centered design tries to optimize the product around how users can, want, or need to use the product, rather than forcing the users to change their behavior to accommodate the product.B seems to understand that meeting the needs of your users, at least in this example, requires thinking about how your customers are actually consuming the information you give them as opposed to how you thought they would do it.
posted by stefanie at 2:36 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would say "proactive" with a disclaimer:
Employee B's choice of words, while empathetic to the customer experience, is unkind to the employees and would probably not be good for morale.
There are ways to say "Let's see what we can do to prevent this from happening again" without telling your team they failed and acting like they don't care about the customers. Especially in a situation like this example, where it sounds like they really did try to make the parking directions clear, but maybe there's more they can do to get the message across.
posted by wondermouse at 5:39 PM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Employee B's choice of words, while empathetic to the customer experience, is unkind to the employees and would probably not be good for morale.
There are ways to say "Let's see what we can do to prevent this from happening again" without telling your team they failed and acting like they don't care about the customers. Especially in a situation like this example, where it sounds like they really did try to make the parking directions clear, but maybe there's more they can do to get the message across.
posted by wondermouse at 5:39 PM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Compassionate.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:06 AM on July 16, 2018
posted by ActingTheGoat at 12:06 AM on July 16, 2018
« Older Locksmith vs. Dealership: How to get bike u-lock... | Promoting a membership campaign for a community... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:52 AM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]