Communications
Updated 13 August 2008
Recent Part 1 past examination questions – Communications
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Question: Is there ever a time when an FM professional can show frustration in writing to their customers, and if they do what are the implications of this?
The scenario below illustrates a situation:
Email from Customer:
"Phrases regarding drunkenness and breweries come to mind! I spoke to "X" regarding the move because we have an extra member of staff.
Today, we are advised that because we have not filled a form it will take up to two weeks for them to be given an email address. Did I know about the form? Has it ever been mentioned before (a number of staff have come and gone in the last six months)? NO!
Like many issues here we find ourselves in dark alleys with no exits through ignorance. My feeling is that there must be a whole raft of policies and procedures that are relevant to being tenants here, which we have never been given (to clarify we have never been given any), which relate to everything form room hire, to using the restaurants, to finance procedures to asking to have someone put on the Internet. I have had to ask for Absolution on past occasions for sins of commission and omission, which have all been unintentional. A handbook of some sorts would be helpful!
If the pressure is not on it is easy to "roll ones eyes" and accept manyana, but when we are working at full tilt I can feel my own heart attack brewing."
FM Manager's response:
". . . Perhaps I should mention that it would be easy to take exception to the tone of your e-mail. Personally, I disregard the tone and concentrate on the substance. However other service providers could quite justifiably feel that their professional integrity had been attacked. I am sure I don’t need to tell you that this is bound to be counter-productive if you are seeking to improve the service you receive . . . ."
Answer:
There is always a time when we need to express our feelings - although it is often advisable to do this in "draft" format, and revisit what we have written the next day, before we click on "Send".
A number of potential outcomes may arise including:
(i) The customer entering into detailed correspondence, focusing on process rather than outcomes. You may need to spend considerable time reassuring the customer that of course they will not be victimised just because they had the audacity to express dissatisfaction with what they perceived to be a poor level of service.
(ii) The customer discussing levels of service and procedural arrangements with other tenants. This could in turn help to validate the concern of the customer over lack of advertised procedures, and also bring dissatisfaction onto the agenda of other tenants
(iii) A development of a "them and us" culture, which in turn may result in increased conflict, workload and stress. This could impact on the FM team, reducing staff morale and increasing staff turnover.
In summary, the response given in this instance is likely to achieve very little, and risk losing a lot.