The What Goes Around Blog

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

I’m just back from my first baseball game. I and a few thousand others spent the afternoon at Yankee Stadium, where the home team lost 4-5 to the visiting Oakland Athletics. The game lasted several hours and kept my attention for most of that time. When I used to go and watch football you could pretty much guarantee that when I went for a wizz, the home team would score, and today was no exception. Nick Swisher (what a fabulous name for a baseball player) scored the only home run for The Yankees when I was…otherwise engaged. Despite seeing the home team lose I had a good time, and a few things stood out for me.

The National Anthem

Although it took place, the National Anthem was a pre-recorded version. Some people sung along and It didn’t work for me compared to the live ones I’ve seen previously at Madison Square Garden, and the Ohio SHRM conference to name but two. No goosebumps this time, note to The Yankees, live is better.

The Crowd

The crowd at Yankee stadium is really mixed. Kids, men, women, younger people, older people and a wide cross section racially too. Football crowds in the UK are overwhelmingly white and male, at least they were when I was a reasonably regular attendee a few years ago. A more diverse crowd made for a much friendlier atmosphere then you’d typically experience at a football game in the UK.

The Beer

Beer is served at your seat. So are hot dogs, peanuts, candy floss and popcorn. Was I so inclined I needn’t have left my seat for the whole game, except to miss the home run of course. You’re not allowed within sight of the pitch with a beer in hand in the UK.

The Tickets

Ticket prices start off pretty cheaply. I could have paid less than $30, though I chose to pay $110 as a one off visit, and I could have paid much more. The Yankees are probably the biggest team in Major League Baseball and could charge more, but by offering a low starting price they attract a broader audience to the game. I think Manchester United standard tickets cost around $90.

The Conclusion

A good crowd, a good game, good beer, and even the pizza slice I had was passable. It strikes me that we could learn a lot from over here about how to put on a good regular sporting fixture over there.

You’re Welcome

It’s the final day of the Ohio SHRM conference and I’m looking forward to it. When I get to New York I’ll write about the event and my experiences in more detail. For now, I just want to share my first and what will likely be my most abiding memory of the whole thing.

I’ve been made so very welcome by everyone I’ve met. I’ve been high fived and hugged, had great conversations and great laughs and been given loads of encouragement. If I had to sum it up in one word – I’d call it friendship.

And this mood has pervaded the whole experience – there’s simply a great vibe here in Ohio – I’m so glad I came to visit. The organising committee is doing a fantastic job to ensure that all of us guests have the best experience possible.

‘The guy with the accent’ just wants to say thank you.

Disconnected

So a transition through Newark airport which was supposed to take two hours ended up taking twelve. Sure there was some bad weather involved but eventually our flight went from delayed to cancelled because of a broken seat. Seriously – that’s what we were told. Here are the lowlights of my United Airlines experience.

Inconsistency

As the flight delays lengthened so the story changed. ‘Your connecting flight is on its way’ became ‘Your connecting flight has not left Cleveland yet’ became ‘Your connecting flight is on its way’ and so it went on. Delay times shifted and so did the story. Six hours after the flight was supposed to depart we were finally given the news that the flight was cancelled.

I was surprised and a little angry that the airline staff kept feeding us these inconsistent lines and was left wondering what kind of workplace culture means that a) it’s OK to mess customers about like this and b) no staff seemed willing to question the garbage they were being asked to share with us.

No Ownership

A couple of fellow passengers were speaking with the boarding gate staff and looking for assistance to help fix broken travel arrangements caused by the long delay. ‘I have no authority to deal with that, you need to speak to my supervisor’ was the broken record reply. ‘Where is your supervisor?’ asked the passengers, ‘Round at Customer Services’, came the reply. I followed my fellow passengers out of curiosity and they put their question to the Customer Service desk and got this answer, ‘I have no authority to deal with that, you need to speak to my supervisor’. The conversation stalled and United Airlines were saved by the bell as we were finally asked to board.

When Dave Carroll wrote United Breaks Guitars, the song emerged out of Carroll’s frustration at United’s ability to react beyond what was effectively ‘I have no authority to deal with that, you need to speak to my supervisor’.

On the basis of what I experienced, nothing’s changed. There appears to be no engagement between customer services and HR – and in a round about way I suppose I should be grateful as United gave me a great story to start my talk on rehumanising the workplace with at Ohio SHRM. When mistakes happen, you get a chance to see the real version of the company you’re dealing with. How they react and respond when the shit hits the fan says a lot about how a company treats its people and its customers. Ultimately what really bothers me about this story is that United Airlines think it is OK to put people in the customer service line of fire with no proper training and no power to sort even basic things out for the customer.