Identifying and Correcting Your Inherent Weaknesses Will Make You a Stronger Laundry Owner
My guess is that most laundry owners privately think they do a great job and feel they have few, if any, weaknesses.
However, if the truth be known, it’s very likely they all have some cracks in their armor that will show up in their managerial style – whether or not they are aware of it.
Fortunately, if they are able to identify these personality “weaknesses,” it’s highly probable they can become better at their jobs and, therefore, their laundry businesses will benefit.
It’s a psychological truism that none of us can turn around fast enough to see ourselves objectively. Therefore, to truly learn more about yourself, you must solicit that information from others.
Human imperfections come in all shapes, sizes and varieties. For example, here is a very small list of just some of them:
• You may be a procrastinator.
• You may be a persistent micro-manager.
• You may have a fear of being caught off guard.
• You may read into things far too much.
• You may have a wandering mind.
• You may fear change.
• You may have a problem with rejection.
• You may be overly perfectionistic.
These are but a few of the many “imperfections” that exist within the human species. Although it’s highly unlikely that one person is “guilty” of having all of these, let’s pretend that you do and see how these particular examples – either singular or in combination – could likely negatively impact your self-service laundry business.
If you tend to procrastinate, perhaps you put off repairs to machines, rather than attending to them quickly. Or maybe you never quite get around to updating your advertising materials.
If you can’t avoid micro-managing, your attendants may feel you don’t trust them, have no confidence in them or think they aren’t very good at their jobs – and also that you are thwarting their creativity. Hence, they may become less than loyal or even resign and go to work for a competitor.
If you have a fear of being caught off guard, perhaps when a customer voices a complaint, you react badly and put yourself in the position of losing that customer.
If you read into things far too much, you might misinterpret a customer or attendant comment or facial expression and, in turn, react improperly.
If your mind tends to wander, your listening skills will suffer – and the individuals you speak with will sense this problem and possibly become insulted by your lack of attention to them.
If you fear change, it’s quite likely that your laundromat, your marketing and/or your store’s services may not be up to date.
If rejection is your problem, it’s probable that your reaction to feeling rejected will be inappropriate for the situation, and you will either over- or under-react to various situations that arise at your laundry.
And, lastly, being a perfectionist no doubt will put a strain on you and your employees – causing you to be perpetually frustrated (because the desire for perfection and mental tranquility are always at odds with each other) and your employees to be perpetually annoyed.
So, what’s the solution to the problem?
Ask various individuals to critique you (with assurance of no fear of reprisal, of course) in a brutally honest manner. If you ask enough people from various aspects of your daily life – such as your spouse, your employees, your friends, your customers, etc. – you likely will see some patterns or common themes develop.
Perhaps even develop a questionnaire and make the process a bit more formal and structured. It’s a cool thing to do and can actually be a lot of fun. And, if done properly and in the right vein, you can learn a lot about yourself – and, hopefully, make some changes where necessary.
“Achilles’ heel” is defined as “a weakness in spite of overall strength that can actually or potentially lead to underperformance.”
Nobody’s perfect.
Those of you familiar with the fictional story of Superman know that the Man of Steel is rendered virtually harmless when coming in contact with rocks from his home planet of Krypton. These rocks are referred to as Kryptonite, and they are the superhero’s only weakness.
We all have our own real-life version of “Kryptonite.” The key is to figure out what yours is – and to then develop ways to overcome its negative impact on your laundry business.
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