Annoying as it is not being listened to under normal circumstances, it's particularly disconcerting under potentially life-threatening circumstances, as I discovered at a hotel I was staying at while visiting a client. I'd stayed at this hotel before; this time, though, I was on crutches.

Walking was a tedious, tiring task; stairs were impossible. I had developed great respect for those for whom such conditions aren't temporary. I certainly wasn't looking for new story material. However . . .

After a pleasant dinner in the hotel restaurant, I went to my room. Moments later, I heard the jangling clanging of a fire alarm. Fire alarms are always distressing. When you're on crutches, they're positively terrifying. Then an announcement came over the loudspeaker in my room. (A loudspeaker? I didn't even know there was one till that moment.)

The announcement went like this: Garble.... static.... crackle.... static.... please use the stairs.... do not use the elevator.

Did I mention I was on the 8th floor?

From this announcement, I knew for sure that either there was a fire  or there wasn't. Maybe the announcement was that it was a fire drill. Or a test of the fire alarm system. Or a false alarm. Or a raging fire. In my condition, only one of these possibilities made me eager to evacuate the hotel. What to do?

Aha, I thought, I'll call Guest Services. A man answered. I explained, "That announcement was full of static, and I couldn't understand it. I'm on the 8th floor and on crutches, and I can't use the stairs. Is there a fire?"

His reply: "Please use the stairs.... do not use the elevator." Huh?

Talk about listening on automatic pilot! He had a script in his head, perhaps planted there during Guest Services Training. He had learned it well, but he had apparently missed the segment on Listening Before Responding. Since I had groused during check-in about traveling while hobbled, hotel personnel had ample evidence of my condition, and they were graciously empathetic. It seemed inconceivable the hotel didn't have a plan for helping guests with limited mobility during an emergency.

I said, "Let me try again..." and repeated what I'd just told him. This time he heard me. "We'll send someone up to get you," he said. What a relief!

When I heard a knock at my door, I pictured two big macho men carrying me down eight flights of stairs. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find a woman no taller than me (which is to say, short). "I'm from Guest Services, and I'm here to help you," she told me. Was she going to hand-carry me downstairs like a peanut?

I thanked her for her good intentions, but told her there was no way she could help me navigate eight flights of stairs. I asked if here was really a fire. She didn't think so. She called downstairs. No one had seen any evidence of a fire. Shortly thereafter, we received confirmation that it was a false alarm. Happy ending.

Have you ever become so wrapped up in your thoughts that you were oblivious to the outside world? Have you ever been so preoccupied that when someone spoke to you, you didn't hear a single syllable? Have you ever been so sure what a customer was about to say that you almost missed hearing the customer say something altogether different?

Listening to customers all day every day isn't easy, especially when some of them are demanding or pushy or grouchy. But if you hear not what they're really saying, but what you're sure they're going to say, you could be doing them (and your organization) a great disservice  and providing stories for speakers like me to relate to audiences eager to listen.


About the Author
Website: www.nkarten.com

Naomi Karten has always been fascinated by human behavior. Her background includes a B.A. and M.A. in psychology and extensive corporate experience in technical, customer support and management positions.

Since forming her own business in 1984, she has presented seminars and keynotes to more than 100,000 people internationally. Her services, books and newsletters have helped organizations and groups

• Manage customer expectations,
• Enhance their communications and consulting skills,
• Provide superior customer service, and
• Establish successful service level agreements.

She is the author of several books including:

Communication Gaps and How to Close Them, which provides strategies and guidelines for improved communication in such contexts as building strong relationships, delivering superior service, fostering effective teamwork, and managing change

Managing Expectations: Working With People Who Want More, Better, Faster, Sooner, NOW!, which offers a serious, lighthearted look (yes, both!) at policies and practices for successfully managing expectations in the workplace

How to Establish Service Level Agreements, a handbook based on more than a decade of experience providing SLA consulting and seminars internationally and which is designed to help you avoid the flaws and failures she encounters so often