It’s 8 pm on a Sunday. Three cars are driving on the M5, slowing down as there is a 40km speed zone due to roadwork.
A Hyundai, Mercedes and Rolls Royce.
Let’s focus our attention inside the cars.
Each driver is of the same mindset and character. Coincidentally they’re identical. This is important because you may argue or point out that individual reactions can change a chain of events.
As the cars speed up and transition to the 100km zone, they experience something slightly different.
The Kia is veering to the left, and the steering wheel is starting to wobble.
The Mercedes has a warning light that the front left tyre has lost pressure.
The Rolls Royce has instructed the driver to stop and call the service line.
Things can occasionally go wrong in business. I believe it’s how you deal with it that’s important.
Last week our business assisted in six property purchases.
When I break down the process, there are over fifty different critical stages.
From when the client first makes contact asking for assistance to the moment they first turn the key in the door of their new home.
Recently I’ve wanted to do things a little bit differently and take inspiration from the world's best process builders, problem fixers, and proactive bug detectors.
Clients that have begun their journey with us in the last two months have joined a new process. This process limits errors, misunderstandings and lets us see potential “flat tyres” coming. There are also systems in place if things don’t go to plan.
The Kia, Mercedes and Rolls Royce have since pulled over in the next emergency lane.
Let’s add some drama. It’s raining.
Torrential.
Flat tyres.
The Kia driver gets out of the car and tries to figure out which tyre is flat. They start kicking the tyres and can’t seem to figure out which one it is. Soaked, they get back in the car as they need a light.
The Mercedes driver clicks open the boot; the dealership gifted umbrella conveniently tucked into the side net.
They open the tyre repair kit, and there are two options.
Open the inflator kit, plug into charger point, inflate tyre, and drive under 50km until repaired. Repeat the process if the tyre is flat again.
Hydraulic jack system to replace the tyre with a spare.
They attach the inflator, turn the car on and wait 30 seconds for the tyre to inflate. They jump back out, pack up and drive off.
The Rolls Royce owner opens the door and pulls an umbrella out of the door card.
They don’t see anything wrong with their tyre. It looks fine.
They get back in the car and the system is prompting them not to drive and to call a service line. They decide to deal with it later and drive off.
The Kia driver jumps back out. They wish they had an umbrella, they see the rear left back tyre has deflated.
They pull the tyre cover out of the boot but they don’t have anywhere to put it.
They roll the tyre to the side of the car.
It’s too dark and wet to see the mounting point for the jack so they grab the spare tyre cover and drop it on the floor to locate the right spot. Locked in, they start spinning the jack but the bar keeps hitting bottom so they have to do quarter turns until it’s high enough to spin freely. The wheel is up.
They undo the bolts, grab the tyre, and throw it in the boot. The cover doesn’t fit over it as it’s larger. Doesn’t matter. Just wedge it in and worry about it later.
They put the wheel on. It looks like it was made for a motorbike.
Jack the car back down. Throw everything in the boot and jump back in the car.
Wetter than after a swim at the beach.
They slowly drive off. The car is loud and uncomfortable, and they don’t exceed 50km as it feels unsafe. Cars are high beaming and honking all the way home.
The Rolls Royce has since parked at home, they have received a message on their phone to call back the service centre. They call back and a gentleman greets them by their last name asking them if everything is okay.
Just a flat tyre, no stress.
A pick up is organised the next day to repair the tyre and a courtesy vehicle is offered if needed. The car is back within 6 hours and it has been detailed inside and out.
Why am I writing this?
We made a mistake the other day, we caught onto it, admitted the error, fixed it and apologised to the individual.
They said:
“Shit happens, I wasn’t for one second concerned. I liked you before, but I like you even more now, you dealt with it like a Mercedes.”
I’m annoyed at myself that they didn’t say Rolls Royce.