Mosaic Core Value – Structure Must Submit to Spirit

Washington State Transportation Commission

David Lee-Geist finally broke down in tears. His pleading with the ferry worker fell on deaf ears. The medical priority letter from his wife’s doctor did not meet the Washington State Transportation Commission requirements.

His 42-year old wife Kathleen lay dying in the back of his van on that hot summer Friday in 1998. She finished three days of arduous treatment on her brain tumor. They were now waiting to catch the ferry to their home in San Juan Islands, Washington. Unfortunately, Kathleen was refused the priority status. The letter was not faxed 24 hours ahead of time.

David attempted to contact a ferry supervisor. He connected only to a recorded message. By the time he was given a working number, it was after 5 pm – too late to talk to a supervisor.

When the ferry finally arrived, Valerie Boyd, who had priority status, offered her place in line to the Lee-Geists. But citing “the rules”, workers turned Boyd down. So the Lee-Geists waited for the next ferry. Five hours later they arrived home. Unfortunately, Kathleen died the next evening.

Washington State Ferries spokeswoman Susan Harris said the incident should not have happened. “Certainly, we should have put her on the vessel,” she said. “There should have been a certain amount of compassion involved here, which there was not.” Ms. Harris, however, refused to name the supervisor who denied the Lee-Geist’s boarding. She said he “feels terrible” and is “on vacation.” But “the rules are the rules, and it’s important that people know the rules,” Ms. Harris said.

“I’m afraid the Lee-Geist family didn’t fit the Washington Administrative Code and didn’t fit our instructions,” conceded Joseph Nortz, the director of marine operations for the Washington State Ferries. The agent was faced with a choice, Nortz claimed: “Do I make an exception, or do I follow these instructions?”

Ferry employees said the Lee-Geist episode was unavoidable because their system rewards employees who apply the rules and don’t use their own judgment.

Nordstrom

Another Seattle-based organization has a different culture. The department store retailer Nordstom is world renown for its exceptional commitment to its customers.
Nordstrom has only one rule. Use your good judgment in all circumstances. Jim Nordstrom says that rules disempower people. When you establish a rule you give an employee a reason to say no to a customer.

The company motto is: Respond to Unreasonable Customer Requests. Employees learn to relish the challenges of serving the customer. Nordstrom encourages these out-of-the-extraordinary customer requests by recording these “heroics”.

Robert Spector tells the story of the customer who made a last-minute shopping stop at the Nordstrom store in downtown before heading out to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to catch a flight. After the customer left the store, her Nordstrom salesperson discovered the customer’s airplane ticket on the counter. The saleswoman called a representative of the airline and asked if they could write the customer another ticket at the airport. Have you ever lost an airplane ticket? Of course, the airline said they couldn’t re-ticket the customer. They have rules against that sort of thing.

What did the Nordstrom saleswoman do? She jumped into action. She took some money from petty cash, hailed a taxicab, which took her to the airport, where she was able to page the customer and hand her the ticket. That was one appreciative customer. And it’s important to remember that the saleswoman, who works on commission, took at least an hour-and-a-half out of her day to do a good deed.

Mosaic’s third core value is that structure must submit to spirit. Our organization and operating principles are designed to serve the guest. Sometimes we forget that point and allow the structure to interfere with serving others.

Questions

1. Who are your rules designed for: visitors, members or paid staff?
2 Who can override the rules? When can the rules be overridden? When was the last time any rule was overridden?
3 Does your culture reward following the rules or taking initiative to “break the rules”?
4 What stories can you cite about either following the rules or taking initiative?

Lessons from the Nordstrom Way
By Robert Spector
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New York 2000
Book Link