People either ignore your brand, or they judge it. When judging it, people usually judge with very little information or background surrounding your brand. When they do judge it, they will be judging it on the loudest, most brash, meanest, and selfish member of your brand.
When a waitress gives a customer poor service, suddenly the food is a little less appealing. The restaurant is a little louder, a little dirtier, and a little less likely to get a good review.
When a front desk agent over promises, under delivers, is unaccountable, unreliable, and unfriendly; suddenly the beds are more lumpy, the TV is fuzzier, the housekeeping is a little less than desirable, and the whole trip is suddenly forgettable – or memorable for the wrong reasons.
When a doctor rips off Medicare, suddenly all doctors are crooks.
When an individual, or small group, commits freelance violence, suddenly the whole nation is seen as violent and irrational.
When one Jack-In-The-Box employee spits on a burger, suddenly they all seem a lot’obit more unsanitary – and they nearly fold because of this one individuals actions.
Seems obvious, right? I wonder then, why loyal, and honest members of an otherwise outstanding service, company, or brand, hesitate to discipline, ostracize, or expel the negative members.
“You’re hurting us and the brand. This is wrong, you need to go.”
What do you stand for?
When the average end user only experiences 10% of your staff or product, yet judges the whole 100%, you can’t afford to be hiring (or keeping) people in the bottom 90% of candidates. Hire and train the top 10% of candidates available to you. A company should never be “not hiring”. There is always an opening for truly exceptional candidates.
Retain and reward passion and dedication – you can’t train someone to have that.
