Learned Behavior

The other day the AC stopped working in my truck and I had to use my wife’s car to get back and forth to work while my truck was being repaired. That particular morning it was raining outside and as I went to turn on the wipers, instead I turned on the lights. Over the next couple days I kept trying to put the key in the steering column rather than the dashboard where it belongs on my wife’s car, flashing my high beams rather than using my turn signal, etc, etc, etc.


This got me thinking about how many bad habits we get into as service providers. For our technicians this learned behavior could result in safety risks. For our management this same behavior could mean less responsive customer care. Let me explain.

With our service technicians, which can also apply to other industries as well, they get into situations where they are performing the same functions over and over again. This repetition causes them to stop thinking and just perform the learned behavior (trying to stick the key into the steering column). The reason this becomes a safety risk is that every job is not the same. Every job is unique even if it is the same action but in a different location. As an example, I have a technician that is on a job replacing wall packs on the outside of a building. The technician starts out on the back side of the building. In this location there is little outside influence. They are working in a dead end alley with no people around. As the tech goes up and down the ladder and back and forth to and from their truck they start a learned behavior. Moving along as the day progresses the technician starts to work on the side of the building. This side of the building has an entrance from a side street and parking spaces. If the technician is not careful they could come down off the ladder and walk into traffic, or drop something on a pedestrian walking to their car. Furthermore, they need to be more aware of cars that are backing in and out of parking spaces that could hit them, their truck, the ladder, etc. This is just one simple example but you can begin to see the danger in a learned behavior.

As managers we also get into learned behavior that can be dangerous. We continue to get more responsibility lumped onto us as the economy continues to shrink. We sometimes get into a rhythm of handling our daily activities. While this is beneficial to our efficiencies, when a problem arises, or a customer has a need, we can use this same learned behavior to brush over the problem or the needs of the customer. It is imperative that we never lose focus of the customer’s needs. We need to understand that every customer is different and every need they have is unique. Just like the technician scenario, if we get into the habit of dealing with every customer the same way every day we may figuratively get hit by a car.

We need to continue to stay focused on the task at hand and give it the attention it deserves. Let go of the learned behavior, and avoid repetitive thought processes. I am reminded of a story I read about a child who visited the circus with his parents. The little boy was in awe at the huge elephants being washed by the trainers. The little boy walked up to the trainer and asked her, “excuse me, how does the little chain around the elephants leg work?” The trainer said “why what do you mean little guy?” The little boy said “that elephant is huge, and I have seen in movies where elephants can rip trees out of the ground with just their trunk. It seems to me that the elephant could easily break that chain, or rip out the small wood peg the chain is attached to, couldn’t he?” The trainer chuckled and said “he sure could! But you see, when the elephants are little babies we chain them up like this and they are not strong enough to break the chain or rip out the stake we drive into the ground. When they are small they try over and over again to break free but they cannot and eventually they give up. The elephants have great memories and because of that, they never try again. They are convinced that they have already tried to break free but it is impossible.”

This story was retold by Ken Blanchard in one of his many great books on management and customer service. I am repeating it yet again because it has a valuable lesson about learned behavior. Not only are there risks involved with learned behavior as stated above, but what else are you not achieving because you have been convinced it is not possible through past experiences or years of others telling you so. Break free of the chains that bind you, and stop thinking as you once did, and start thinking of what could be. Only then you can eliminate all risks and open all possibilities.