The Endorphin Factor

High School all over again

Here comes another cliché, it’s a win-win! Meaning, of course, that both parties get something out of the transaction. In the world of business that usually means the customer gets a product or service and the company gets the customer’s money. But what about the employee? What do they get out of it? The logical answer, would be that they get paid {especially in this economy). I don’t think that’s enough. Let me clarify.
I am not a fan of Tim Burton’s remake of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” but there is a scene within the film that helps make the point that money isn’t everything. In the scene, Charlie has gotten the final golden ticket and he’s decided that it would be smarter to sell the ticket than to take the trip into Willy Wonka’s factory. Charlie’s grandfather pulls him aside and says,” There’s plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket– There are only 5 of them in the whole world, and that’s all there’s ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. “ Even poor movies have great lines sometimes.
Ooh! There’s another movie with a scene that makes the point as well. I am one of the few fans of the deeply flawed but, I feel, greatly underestimated film “Joe versus the Volcano”. It starred Tom Hanks and a pre-plastic surgery Meg Ryan and in this scene Joe, played by Hanks, has just learned that he has a terminal disease and decides to quit his job. He begins to storm out of the office when he realizes that he should say something as a parting commentary, especially to his boss Mr. Waturi.
Joe: This life… Life, what a joke. This situation, this room…”
Mr. Waturi: “Uh, Joe, maybe you should just go.”
Joe: “You look terrible, Mr. Waturi. You look like a bag of bleep stuffed in a cheap suit. Not that anyone could look good under these zombie lights. I… I… I… I can feel them sucking the juice out of my eyeballs. Suck! Suck! Suck! Suck! Suck! $300 a week. That’s the news. For $300 a week I lived in this sink. This used rubber.”
Mr. Waturi: “You watch it, mister. There’s a woman here!”
Joe: “Don’t you think I know that, Frank? Don’t you think I am aware there is a woman here? I can smell her like… like a flower. I can taste her like sugar on my tongue. When I’m 20 feet away, I can hear the fabric of her dress when she moves in her chair. Not that I’ve done anything about it. I’ve gone all day everyday not doing, not saying, not taking the chance for $300 a week. And, Frank, the coffee, it stinks. It tastes like arsenic. These lights give me a headache. If they don’t give you a headache, you must be dead! So, let’s arrange the funeral.”
Mr. Waturi: “You better get outta here. I’m telling you.”
Joe: “You’re not telling me nothing.”
Mr. Waturi: “I’m telling you!”
Joe: “Why, I ask myself, have I put up with you? I can’t imagine. But I know. It’s fear. Yellow, freaking fear. I’ve been too chicken-bleep afraid to live my life, so I sold it to you for $300 freaking dollars a week! You are lucky I don’t kill you! You’re lucky I don’t rip your freaking throat out! But I’m not going to! Maybe you’re not so lucky at that, because I’m going to leave you here, Mr. Whahoo Waturi. What could be worse than that? DeDe?”
DeDe (Meg Ryan): “Yeah?”
Joe: “How about dinner tonight?”
DeDe: “Yeah, okay.”
Okay, I think I’ve drilled that point home enough, I don’t believe customer service employees provide service solely because of the salary. The supervisor might think so, they might think so, but I think many employees stay in customer service because they’re junkies. More specifically, endorphin junkies. It feels good to help people! And that, “feeling good” , produces endorphins and these endorphins are as much a drug as heroin, crack or meth. But they’re all natural!
It makes sense, humans are social animals. But to be social animals there has to be some benefits for the individual members of the herd. What does a herd animal receive when they assist another member of the herd? Endorphins! We say that it’s better to give than receive, but if all you’re doing is giving that’s not necessarily true. You’ve got to get something in return and the something you get is an endorphin rush. And that makes you want to help again.
I’m probably making this sound too clinical. But if companies and managers focus entirely on salary and benefits when trying to motivate the team they are missing a huge chunk of the puzzle. And I understand why, it’s not “cool” to talk about good feelings, it’s hard to bring up endorphins in a team meeting. However, if this area of customer service is ignored or avoided the company and the customer will pay the price. 2 book recommendations here, both in part written by Tom Rath, ”Vital Friends” & “How Full is your Bucket?” Both short, succint tomes that cover this subject better than I ever could. Look into it, you might get some Endorphins out of it. Score!