Why We Do What We Do.

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Why does listening to customers make sense?

Why does taking care of hundreds of little things matter?

Why does being interactive with fans help improve the organization?

Are you kidding me? :-)

I am not smart. I am not bright. I am not a good manager. As many of you say on these blog comments — I am “clueless.”

But I know people who are smart — namely YOU! And if I listen to our fans and more importantly our customers, I will be able to build an organization that is world class. It will win games. It will compete for championships. It will sell out its games. It will give back to its community. That is what it is all about.

I have great personal empathy and I am a good listener.

When a customer complains about something in a cogent email to me, I take the request seriously. I figure if this one person is expressing frustration with an issue, then many other people have that same issue. I don’t want any customers to have any issues with us. That is a pretty simple equation. I want to remove all excuses for people NOT to love our team — not to come to games. By the way, that is good “business” too!

I may not be able to control the outcome of a game and whether we win or lose, but I certainly can control whether the building is clean or the hot dogs are fresh or the lights are dimmed the right way.

If we win, if we do the right thing the right way, people will enjoy our game experience. It is, after all, ultimately programmed by you.

Take the issue of the ketchup dispensers NOT being cleaned and filled at every game.

I made that an issue as an example. Some people laughed it off. I was very serious about it.

Last week I attended a Mystics game. I walked around the arena. I went and checked on the ketchup dispensers and I am pleased to report, they were all clean, filled, and neat — as were the mustard dispensers too!

The bathroom hinges on stalls — they are being fixed.

We have compiled a list of more than 150 things to do to date. All generated by our fans. This kind of responsiveness isn’t something to be ridiculed about. It is to be celebrated, I believe. We care. We listen. We respond. In a world of bad service experience, I want us to be a shining example of a company that cares.

You wanted better iPhone connectivity? We have met with AT&T and they are handling the issues at our arena.

The list goes on and on.

I won’t ever lose sight of the big picture of how important it is for us to win and to build great teams. But we also know that having great fan relations and being an organization that is helpful, empathetic, and one that cares, is equally important.

I also look to our employees at Monumental Sports and Entertainment for their advice and counsel. I hate suggestion boxes where 1 out of 100 suggestions is implemented.

I want to create a culture where 99 out of 100 employee suggestions are implemented. I want our employees to be proactive. To walk a mile in our customer’s shoes. To fix issues before a customer even sees it and has the time and frustration to complain directly to me.

I believe this is the kind of service customers should expect in any industry.

I dare anyone out there to take a differing position and tell me why NOT listening and responding to customers on any and all requests is a better strategy for success.

Soon I will work with our cleaning staff after a game. I want to literally clean up after our fans. Mop the floors. Pick up the garbage and clean the seats. I want to understand what goes into the process of keeping the building clean. I want to have personal data of what is involved. I want to have real life experiences of literally every job in the building.

I think that is authentic, honest, and educational. And truly productive.

Thank you to all of our fans and customers of all of our teams for your emails and suggestions. Keep ‘em coming. I am thrilled with how smart and caring our fans are about our teams.

25 thoughts on “Why We Do What We Do.”

  1. Good job Ted, you are an inspiration to me and you are the perfect owner, I wonder why more business people dont listen to the people who pay the bills.

  2. Impressed you will clean the arena to learn the details. When I got my first job selling office furniture my first two weeks were spent doing every other job in the company. Delivering furniture, working in the warehouse, HR, accounting etc. Boy, was that an eye opener, and it sure created empathy on my part for my colleagues and customers. Maybe good for your staff too as Monumental takes shape.

  3. I could care less about using my iPhone at hockey games….I really just want to see OV hoist the Cup.

    Although, if people are making suggestions, I might as well add mine: Can we put an end to the stupid hockey song? Maybe once a month? For 20 years I’ve been hearing that song, it’s terrible, please end this.

    Oh, and go back to the intermission shootouts. I got to do that as a kid, it was awesome, think it’s much better than 16 kids on an ice sheet that is way too big for them.

  4. Thanks for sharing this. We’re always looking for smart resources to share with clients and my coworkers, and this article is certainly worth sharing!

  5. Is it too late to ask that more vegetarian options (and not fried) be added to the offerings at VC be added to your list?
    Many thanks for considering.

  6. Mr. Leonsis this is why you are liked (even loved) as an owner in the DC area. Try to make a suggestion to that other major franchise in DC and you don’t even get an auto response saying thank you for your suggestion. Thank you for listening, it is why you are a great business leader.

  7. Hi Ted,

    First of all – I wanted to echo my fellow fans in saying thank you. I have been a Wizards fan since I was a little girl and I am really excited to finally see the team take off in a good direction!

    As it seems that you are taking steps to correct small inconveniences around Verizon center – I wanted to mention my frustration with the small kiosks around the concourse that do not take credit. For example – I frequently purchase ice cream at Verizon center but am always forced to run around looking for an ATM first and paying fees as I do not typically carry cash around. I don’t know if it would be possible – but could those vendors please accept credit cards? I hate to miss pivotal moments of a game just to satisfy my sweet tooth…

    Thank you! I look forward to an amazing season!

    Anna

  8. Ted,

    These all look great. I’m so glad you’ll be fixing things up. Is there any chance food/beer prices will come down to a more reasonable level? I think we can all agree sporting events, do come with a convenience charge but, sometimes, that convenience charge is a bit outrageous! Also, how about, since your first love was the Caps, we change those awful purple seat covers to RED? Let the arena Rock The Red too?!!

  9. I am sure you’re working on it, but healthier food options around the $10 mark would be WONDERFUL. We often dont have time to eat between work and the game due to traffic, etc. and I really think the food got worse last season. My husband hasnt stopped raving about choices at arenas. Just a prepacked side of salad would be great.

    A monthly parking pass- for afterhours parking at some of the other parking garages would be good too. Verizon itself is too crazy to park in (or so I hear)

    Thanks! It really is the small things that help me enjoy the game..

  10. Thanks Ted. My wife and I are both so excited about the iPhone connectivity. Having smartphone access that is reliable will be great! So many times we’ve tried to keep on top of business emails but to no avail.

    We’re both really excited also to hear what you said about the participating in the various jobs around the Arena, but think you should stay away from cheering on the Caps as a Red Rocker :)

  11. Thanks for continuing to improve the experience at the Verizon Center, which was already great and the best game day experience in town by a long shot.

  12. Hi Ted,

    Thanks for taking care of the details.

    I think with John Wall to anchor the Wizards’ marketing campaign, it’s about time we change the “average looking” uniform we have. It’s been 10 years and even the Cavs in the Lebron years had several jerseys to wear & sell to fans. I honestly believe the Wizards’ jerseys are kinda dull. The last Wizards jerseys I bought were Michael Jordan’s.

  14. Thanks, Ted, but I’ve got to ask, why does anyone need cell phone connectivity at a hockey game? To annoy your neighbors who are trying to watch the game?

  15. Best. Owner. In. Sports. Why do you “get it” and other owners don’t? It seems like providing a better experience for fans ultimately rewards owners with a better overall ownership experience. Will addressing these matters blow the profit margins? Why don’t other owners around all sports see that? What’s the difference I guess? Seems like some people are missing some part of the concept that makes them resistant. Wizards fans are in for a different experience with Monumental if the past 5 years with the Capitals are any indication.

  17. Ted,

    First of all thanks! Thanks for buying the Wizards. Thanks for making D.C. sports relevant. Thanks for signing Alex to a huge deal. Thanks for caring about your customers. It’s a rare thing to find around here. It is actually quite amazing the difference between trying to go to a Caps game and a Redskins game. I believe you actually want me at the Caps game and happy that I’m there too! I’m pretty sure Dan Snyder just wants my money… (actually I won’t even go to a Skins game anymore, but I love visiting the Caps!)

    Thanks again for caring about your customers! Go Caps! Go Wizards! (Go Skins!)

    Sincerely,

    Joel, Greenbelt, MD

  18. you rock Ted…I am proud to have you as an owner of two of my teams…anything you can do about the one that plays football in this town?

  19. Okay. I’m in. Where do I sign up? Oh, you’re in that OTHER Washington, aren’t you? Good on you, though. Smart biz.

  20. Ted, thank you VERY MUCH about addressing the iPhone AT&T connectivity at Verizon Center. My friends and I laughed it off as a planned Verizon interference on the AT&T bands! I sit in the club level and my seats are above ground relative to the outside. It always irked me that I could not get a cell or data network connection in my seats. Thank you for working with AT&T on this matter. I look forward to improvement this year – with the Caps – and with my iPhone connectivity during games.

  23. I said it before, I will say it again. Ted Leonsis for president. Heck, it will save tax payers money because it would be an in-town move.

  24. Great post!!!!!!!!!! To be honest your posts in the recent past seemed to be more about how stupid some fans are. At least that’s how it was coming off. A post like this was perfect timing for me. Thank you and as I have said to you in an E-mail before you could go down as one of the icons of D.C. history if you keep this up and win some Championships.

  25. No need to pander — you are smart, you are bright, and you are a good manager. But thank you for recognizing that the fans, too, can be smart and have good ideas. Your focus on fixing the little things is spot on, and I can’t wait for the first Caps exhibition game to enjoy the new Phonebooth experience.