This past week I had the pleasure of dining at two different McDonald's restaurants. The first was one those new fancy fully-automated kiosk-based stores, and the other was the traditional crew member cashier-based experience. These two situations spoke volumes about how we treat technology in service of the church and God's people.
First, my experience at the fully-automated kiosk was fantastic. The touch panel menu board was easy to use and visually appealing. I could select my items and make any personal modifications I desired. I then popped out phone and Apple Pay'd myself to technological bliss. The entire time I was waiting for my food, I was so thankful for technology and this new wave of the future. Then, my food came. The one person I had to interact with was the person who delivered the food to my table. She was rude, practically dropped the tray in front of me, and said, “Here ya go” in a condescending, non-caring manner. After she walked away, my entire meal was no longer focused on how great the technology or McRib was, but how rude I was treated. I no longer walked away happy with my technological experience.
Success has much less to do with technology or leadership, and a lot more to do with how you treat people.
A couple days later, I ate at a traditional cashier-based McDonald's. Here, I was greeted by a crew member with a big smile who took my order, and said, “Thank you, sir.” Upon receiving my food, the second employee again thanked me for visiting their store, asked me if I needed anything else, wished me a good day, and hoped I would return again soon. During the entire dining experience, I was so happy for good customer service, and thankful to be served by real people. I did not even notice the store was technologically lacking. My Sausage McMuffin never tasted so good.
I think you can see where I am going with this, but it is an important reminder when it comes to being an effective tech leader. Success has much less to do with either technology or leadership, and a lot more to do with how you treat people: the customer service experience. People remember interactions that are personally directed toward them—the McDonald's employees' personal behaviors—more than they remember the items they directly control—the menu board. Technology is not intended to replace the customer service experience, but enhance it.
When we focus on the production and not the person it affects, we lose the ability to lead the user to the desired end. In the case of the church, that end is Christ. How many times do we stand in the booth staring at the passersby without any acknowledgement of their presence? How often is the only smile we crack on a Sunday morning due to a tweet we read while not paying attention to the message being delivered? Are we thankful for the congregation, wanting to use our craft to direct them to God, or do we man our stations just going through the motions? Are we treating our church services like a menu board of options and efficiency, but lacking in personal interaction and thankfulness in our hearts for our visitors? The main question… how do we think our congregations would answer these questions about us if they were asked?
Our user experience, however, does not need to be an either-or; it can be a both-and. I can only imagine what I would be saying if my first McDonald's experience with the kiosk menu system was supplemented by an employee who brought my food with the attitude and gratitude expressed by the cashier-based store. When technology is paired with a people-first directive, only then does it achieve its intended goal. When we recognize we are customer service employees first, and tech workers second, the love of Christ becomes the delivered meal to our respective audiences.
