When the car dealer learned what had happened, he went what can only be described as ballistic.
He gathered every employee who wasn’t with a customer—and he has several hundred people working for him—behind the showroom, explained what had happened and literally yelled—using language most of them didn’t know he knew—about how this was NOT how his company did business.
He explained that every customer was to be informed every time their car was damaged, no matter how minor.
If the customer thought the repair was sufficient, fine. But if they wanted a credit or a different car—if they were buying a new one—then the employees were going to make them happy. Period.
That was 10 years ago, and there has not been a problem with this since.
Here’s the takeaway.
The importance of communicating has been drummed into everyone who considers themselves a leader. And there is no doubt that communication is important.
But what is even more important is the leaders’ behavior.
Employees really do spend more time watching the boss than most bosses realize.
Everything about the way you lead is studied.
That means every action you take is important.