The magic of leaving your comfort zone

I am writing this column from Bohol, a province on the southern side of the Philippines. By the time this issue goes live, I will have returned home and been fully re-Americanized. It will be my loss.

How it began

The idea first flickered about a year ago. My Leads Program was growing and I was concerned that soon, we’d be struggling to keep up with demand. I needed more workers to make cold calls.

I began researching outside marketing companies that would be qualified to service our specific niche. After an exhaustive six-month search, including some stops and restarts, I found a call center that seemed like the perfect fit. Their lead generators (aka “Agents”) were the highest skilled, most professional I had interviewed and evaluated. To boot, their parent company held interests in the hotel and restaurant industry. They also wanted an outside (apparently, way outside) perspective on their own catering operations.

The perfect fit…except they were located in the Philippines. Truth be told, I had to do a Google search to learn where the Philippines are located! As we worked together over the next few months, it was clear they were the right choice. We saw a noticeable spike of members who were re-ordering leads lists.

Ahh…mileage points

Itching to see the call center live, meet my lead generators, conduct in-person training, and also hoping to experience the magic that happens when leaving a comfort zone, I booked a flight.

My first stop was Bacolod City, home of the call center, where there is a 12-hour time difference between our two worlds. When our lead generators in the Philippines are calling businesses on the East Coast of the US, their shift is 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. When they are calling the West Coast, the shift is midnight to 9:00 a.m.

It’s an odd feeling working away at 4:00 a.m. in a buzzing office. Each night/morning, I found myself impressed by the energy, enthusiasm, and pride the agents took in their work. Teachable? They were like sponges, absorbing every piece of information I presented, continuously asking insightful questions about the art and nuances of getting qualified catering leads.

Every call the agents made was recorded. To that end, we’d listen to some recordings from the previous day and discuss strategies to common challenges, such as how to get a direct email address for the person who orders catering, even when the gatekeeper initially says, “We’re not supposed to give that information out.”

Internal systems

The management team wanted my thoughts on their internal systems and organizational structure. We also talked about the concept of an operations manual, a written step-by-step roadmap for their catering business, as they had parts of the daily workflow in writing, but not a complete manual.

Interestingly, my suggestion of instituting regular staff meetings with the employees on the front lines (servers, set-up staff) to get their suggestions and air out any issues was met with expressions of confusion. Over time, I realized this was a cultural difference between our two societies. There is a very clear professional hierarchy that is not crossed.

City of Smiles

I also become fascinated with the manners of the Filipino people. Bacolod City is called, “The City of Smiles.” It might as well apply to the entire country. Wherever I went, the consistent politeness and professionalism was like nothing I had ever experienced.

I’ve always preached that the recipe for a great staff is a thorough, thoughtful training program. I traveled to four different regions in the Philippines and it felt as if the whole country had been trained in politeness.

Example: a coffee purchase

“Thank you for your purchase today, Sir. I hope you enjoy your coffee and your day as well, in our city.”

“Thank you, I’ll be back. My name is Michael.”

“We will be happy to see you again, Sir Michael.”

“No, just Michael.”

“Oh, I am sorry, Sir Michael, that would not be showing you the proper respect in our country.”

America could take a page or two from the Filipino playbook in service!

Humanitarianism 101

At dinner with new Filipino friends, I received my answer. The whole country is, in a sense, trained in politeness. From kindergarten through high school, one hour a day is spent teaching “Being a Good Human Being.” No joke. For 12 years, every day, students are taught the ABCs of manners, politeness, respect (with an emphasis on respecting your elders), kindness, decency, honesty, and responsibility.

It feels as though a common thread of happiness exists there. The last night at dinner, a new friend summed it up like this: “We may not have much, but we don’t need much. We have each other and that is enough.”

If you would like more information about The Corporate Caterers Leads Program, go to www.TheCorporateCarterer.com. If you would like information about Michael’s onsite consulting services, contact Carl Sacks at [email protected].