Company Blog

We’re on the same team here

by Adam Zack — November 20, 2018

We are not adversaries

We moved into a new house in May. The loan process today is, how should I politely put it? A complete cluster$%#!. In the past it was never a problem, but supposedly because of the mortgage meltdown in 2008-9 loan applicants are treated more like adversaries than customers. Needless to say, after two weeks of delays and a couple three-day notices to close escrow or lose all our deposit combined with packing, moving and working full-time, tensions were running a bit high with me and Mrs. Zack.

Patience was at an all-time low and the ease of irritability was at an all-time high. We lost sight of how great it was to finally get this process done and get moved. During one particularly testy moment I had a realization. We were not adversaries. I said, “You know, we’re on the same team, right?” Frustrations with the process combined with the stress of moving and the physical exhaustion of moving a whole household ourselves obscured the fact that we are indeed on the same team and have the same goals. It was a moment of clarity that we reference 6 months later when things may not be going completely as planned. WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM, and when the teamwork gives way to irritation, the team loses.

The same thing happens in our stores. Departmental bickering for space, for sales, for employees, clouds the goal of delighting the customer. The fact that we are on one team, together is something that needs to be reinforced occasionally. We succeed together, or we fail together. After all, we all get paid out of the same checking account.