The Secret Behind Jeff Bezos's Million-Dollar Wedding

Why Customers Matter More Than Employees

Rosie O’Donnell called the wedding “gross.” Saying it, “turned my stomach.” Charlize Theron agreed, saying she too found the extravagant wedding between Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, “gross.” Katie Couric chimed in to say she thought it was “tacky.” But Ben, a Financial Analyst at FinTelegram took it to the next level writing, “This is a spectacle of wealth that borders on the absurd.”

Now as most of you know, I’m not one to normally comment on such things as weddings and pop culture. And quite honestly, had there not been so much negative press about the wedding, I wouldn’t have even known it was happening. I checked my spam folder; I did not get an invite.

“One man rents a city for three days? That’s obscene,” some faceless activist said to The Guardian. That’s the one quote that got me thinking. Absurd? Obscene? Gross? Tacky? Let me get this straight. Someone creates a business that affords him the ability to rent out an entire city for his new wife, family and friends and this is somehow wrong? I’m not so sure.

While I am not here to comment any further about the wedding or the attendees or whether or not they did the chicken dance, I am here to talk about Amazon and how Jeff Bezos uncovered a universal truth that gave him the opportunity to rent an entire freaking city for three days. Here it is:

Jeff Bezos understands that employees may come and go, but customers “can” last forever. I put the emphasis on the word “can” for good reason. Life long, loyal customers, people who use your products or services again and again and again; those customers who love your products and services so much that they tell their friends and family members to use them, are possible. In contrast, when it comes to finding, hiring and employing loyal, life long employees, it doesn't seem as possible. Especially when you consider the average annual employee turnover rate in the US is estimated between 33 - 35% and in senior care (the industry I work in), the average turnover rate is even higher, estimated to be between 50 - 53% annually.

If you had to choose, who would you choose to focus on?

In all organizations there are (at a basic level) three areas of importance. The organization itself, the organization's customers, and the organization’s employees. The question is, if you had to choose in what order would you list these three areas of importance? Who would you say is the most important? Who is the second most important? Who is the least, or third most important?

While some of us try to treat all three areas of business as equals, (which is akin to trying to learn how to juggle using chainsaws), Jeff Bezos (and Amazon) has made it clear right from the beginning who they put at the top of their list:

“If you want to get to the truth about what makes us different, it’s this: We are genuinely customer-centric,” Bezos said at a press conference.

But what does that really mean? What does it mean to be “genuinely customer-centric?” And exactly how did Amazon grow from a single (one man) operation, selling books out of a garage, to becoming one of the most successful internet businesses in the world, with over 310 million customers worldwide?

Amazon’s success is not based on lower prices, or even free shipping. Amazon’s success is based on a focus on customer experience and a genuine curiosity on how to improve the processes that directly impact their customers - which has created an online platform that is the most straightforward and easiest for its customers to use. “...we genuinely like to invent,” Bezos said when speaking about the culture of Amazon.

Just look at all the small details and process refinements Amazon has addressed over the years, and it’s easy to see the benefits of being curious, driven and customer focused. Consider things like how Amazon gives customers more than one option when looking to buy a product, by creating a search bar that lists as many product options available. Or the feature they created that includes “similar products” and a list of “other products” other customers purchased in addition to the product you are searching for; like you are going to buy marshmallows, maybe you would also like these nifty sticks, graham crackers and chocolate bars. It makes sense, if you are going to buy that, you might also need this.

Amazon also learned from the beginning that customers trust other customers, more than they trust the companies behind the products, so Amazon started adding star ratings to products, alongside the products title. Of course, one of Amazon’s most amazing creations was the “Buy Now” button. With the creation of this button, (the first of its kind) Amazon has taken a difficult, multi steps buying process and reduced it to a single click of the mouse.

Keep in mind, Amazon did all of this while battling staffing issues, call outs, no call / no shows, employee theft, HR disputes, vehicles breaking down, supply chain challenges, increased regulations, protests, and staffing shortages. At the same time, they remained steadfast and focused on one thing… you, me and all of their customers around the world.

This got me thinking… What if we followed Amazon’s lead and not only put our residents first, but what if we started using our quality assurance & performance improvement program (QAPI) to focus on the most important (key) processes that directly impact our residents' experiences?

What if, instead of using QAPI to find and react to problems, we used our QAPI program to proactively evaluate and improve the processes we use to assess ADL decline, or the processes we use to create and serve meals, or the processes we use to collect, wash, fold, dry and return personal laundry, or the processes we use to assess resident satisfaction, or the processes we use to create a safe operating environment, or the processes we use to assess rehabilitation needs? What if we could find ways of doing things better, faster, and easier - despite having to deal with staffing issues, call outs, no call / no shows, employee theft, HR disputes, vehicles breaking down, supply chain challenges, increased regulations, threats, and staffing shortages?

What if putting your customers first, really is as easy as evaluating and improving the key processes they use everyday?

As always, I hope I made you think and smile.

Ralph

PS: If you’re interested in learning how to use your QAPI program to transform the resident experience, let’s talk.