The Cost of One Container

Welcome to the 135th edition of “In Touch”. As always, I would love to continue the conversation so please hit reply and let me know what you think.

Story of the Week: “The Cost of One Container”

One day many years ago, when I was working in our family business, I went with my assistant Maria to deliver an order of polycarbonate gastronorm containers to the Linopetra branch of PizzaExpress in Limassol. By coincidence, George Zambas, the General Manager of PizzaExpress Cyprus, happened to be there that day and came down to the warehouse area to check the delivery with us.

George started counting the containers and soon realised that we were one container short. Before I had a chance to respond, Maria immediately said that it wasn’t her mistake because I was the one who had counted them. I looked at George and told him not to worry, that we would go back, bring the missing container and, to make up for the inconvenience, we would give him an extra one as well.

As we walked back towards the van, I turned to Maria and told her: “You should never blame me in front of a customer.” She looked at me and asked, “Why? Because you’re the owner’s son?” I replied that it had nothing to do with who I might be and shared with her a simple saying: when one finger points at someone else, three fingers point back at us.

The moment colleagues begin blaming each other in front of a customer, the conversation stops being about the solution and starts becoming about a different problem. The customer begins to see distance between the very people they are supposed to trust.

Ownership means taking responsibility, even when the mistake may not entirely be yours. By doing this, you protect the reputation of the business and the people standing next to you. When those two things are protected, you end up protecting yourself as well. The business keeps its dignity and the customer keeps their confidence in you.

In the end, this thankfully minor incident was not really about one missing container. It was about something far more valuable: reputation and trust.

Words of Wisdom

“I praise loudly. I blame softly.” Catherine the Great

A Question to Ponder, dear friend.

Have you ever accepted responsibility for something that wasn’t entirely your fault… to protect the team?