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> Was there a manager in charge of the stores who did not notice the problem? Probably. But there are often three to six layers of filters between the CEO and
by indymike 4y ago
> Was there a manager in charge of the stores who did not notice the problem?
Probably. But there are often three to six layers of filters between the CEO and a service worker. Those managers may not see the effect of a small problem across the entire system. Sometimes those managers have incentive to hide problems to protect their bonus. Other times, the problem seems unimportant. In Starbucks case, a company with a great employer reputation is suddenly facing unionization, so there is a problem there. Unions don't happen because employees are happy.
> if the CEO needs to personally witness the issue for it to get fixed, then there must be thousands of other issues not being fixed.
In retail, nothing reveals subtle and not so subtle issues faster than being at the point of interaction with customers. Things that might look great on paper or sound good in a meeting at corporate sometimes aren't a good idea. Also, what works in one region, or even at a store across town, might now work well in another. You won't see any of this from a board room or flying in a Gulfstream.
- vlovich123 4y agoAgreed. I love these people that think that hierarchy is a substitute. It’s the only way to scale but it misses a lot. Talking and actually understanding cross-cutting issues or solvable pain points is the only way. Most people don’t take on a sense of ownership and they infect a culture into being too conservative (which management also encourages because as you get bigger mistakes get amplified).
- nijave 4y ago>But there are often three to six layers of filters between the CEO and a service worker. In my experience, each layer also tends to lessen the severity/criticality. Even when everyone is well intentioned and truthful, you end up with a lot different story/description when it reaches the end of the chain.
- bigiain 4y ago> Sometimes those managers have incentive to hide problems to protect their bonus. I guess one important thing to look out for to judge this as either a PR stunt, or an actual well meaning practice - will be toi see if store managers get any advance notice that the CEO is gonna be working there. If an ambitious career oriented manager knows the boss is gonna see everything that hopes on tomorrow, you can bet there's be extra staff rostered on the day before to make sure everything is better-that-normally prepped for the next day, that all the most compliant staff and the staff who are most beholden to the manager will be rostered on and they'll all be coached about what to say and threatened if they say the wrong thing, and probably a whole bunch of friends of the manager will show up as stooges on the day cosplaying happy and satisfied "ordinary customers".