There were two customers backed up. One was impatiently standing behind the customer currently being served. Another was seated in one of the visitor chairs seemingly enthralled by her iced coffee. The employee behind the rental car counter didn’t seem like she would be named Chris, the person Bobbie was supposed to meet. She was the only one working the counter. The employee was so thin that Bobbie wondered if she was some kind of gym rat when she wasn’t working.

Bobbie was the fifth person in the expansive waiting area. She wondered why there wasn’t a second person behind the counter at Wheeler’s, a rental car business that had been around since well before Bobbie was a kid. She remembered their advertisements from billboards and television, and more recently online. Perhaps she was supposed to be the second person behind the two-employee counter. She wasn’t overly nervous on this, her first day of employment at Wheeler’s. She sure wished Chris would make an appearance.

The skinny woman finished with the three customers, each time pointing through the big windows to the appropriate rental car out in front of the building. She’d then hand over the keys and wish them a good day. Bobbie was surprised that the slender woman didn’t walk each customer out to the car and inspect it for damages with the renter. Instead she handed over the keys and let the client drive off the lot. It looked like there was only one rental car left in front of the building.

By now, Bobbie had decided she wouldn’t ask for Chris, she’d just introduce herself to the woman standing behind the computer station. As she approached the counter, the woman inquired, “Do you have a reservation?”

Bobbie did her best to smile. She shook her head “no.”

“I’m the new gal. My name’s Bobbie,” she said.

“Sure, good to meet you, Bobbie. I’m Alex,” the employee said.

“So much for her not possibly being Chris,” Bobbie said to herself. She recognized that even her own traditional name was considered gender neutral today.

“Nice to meet you, Alex,” Bobbie replied. “I got an email telling me to check in with Chris, the branch manager.”

“Oh, we don’t have a branch manager and Christina hasn’t worked here for six weeks. It’s just me,” Alex said.

“You’re the only one working here?”

“Well, we do have a driver who went to pick up a customer. He’ll be back in about half an hour,” Alex told Bobbie. “If you want to have a seat, we’ll just wait on him.”

“My email said Chris would take care of my onboarding experience,” Bobbie offered, hoping that perhaps Alex could fill in some of the bigger blanks. She was puzzled about what she was supposed to do on her first day on the job besides wait for a driver to return with a customer.

Bobbie had worked at three different banks and knew a few things about customer service. At her last bank she had even been involved in the onboarding and training of new employees who were hired as tellers. All three banks had processes in place – some better than others – for bringing on new recruits. She was surprised that a global rental car company like Wheeler’s was so casual about her experience as a new hire.

Alex offered a glimmer of hope to Bobbie, “We do have some training you’re supposed to do on the computer. Did HR email you your logon name and password?”

“No, they just told me to meet Chris to start my onboarding,” Bobbie replied.

A customer pulled a rental car up just out front. Alex knew the woman and referred to her by her three names. Only the last name, Gregory, seemed like it would fail today’s gender neutral name scheme. Bobbie didn’t know whether to sit in a visitor chair, step out of the way near the windows or stand behind the counter near Alex. Being proactive, she assumed her personal power and confidently went behind the counter to observe whatever Alex might do next.

Bobbie was impressed with Alex’s ability to interact with the customer. The customer seemed happy with her rental experience. Alex observed that this regular customer had written her return mileage on Wheeler’s rental car folder. Alex inquired if the tank was full; it was. Adroitly, she checked the woman’s car in as returned using the computer. She printed a receipt for the customer. If nothing else, Alex was efficient. Bobbie would be glad when the day arrived when she could do things efficiently. She just had to get the training on the computer completed it seemed. Bobbie was curious why Alex didn’t go out to inspect the car with the woman upon its return. She would learn later that Wheeler’s really was adamant about the car inspections both before renting and upon returning.

“So, I’m curious, Alex,” Bobbie said, “Shouldn’t there be some kind of walk around the car when it’s returned? You know, like see if there’s a bent fender or broken window or something?”

Alex replied, “Yes, there’s supposed to be. But then again, Chris was supposed to be replaced about three months ago.”

For Discussion or Reflection:

At a strategic level, one purpose of employee onboarding is to create a powerful, positive first impression. On a scale of 1 – 10 (with 10 high), how well did Wheeler’s execute this strategy? What could be done differently? Who at Wheeler’s is responsible for this?

Bobbie will learn along her journey into leadership that there are four primary reasons why employees don’t perform their jobs: 1) lack of knowledge, 2) barriers that get in the way, 3) choice (e.g. simply chooses not to do so for any of hundreds of explanations), or 4) lack of competence. Which reason explains why Alex didn’t perform the walk-around, car inspection before renting it or upon its return?

Do you think Bobbie should return to work for the second day?

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