Office politics

One thing I have had little experience in until recently has been working in someone else's business, as an employee. Being self-employed for 15 years, it's easy to forget some of the finer points of being a "team member", like the petty and stupid world of office politics. You don't have to work in an office cubicle to experience it. I suspect that all businesses have their fair share of this destructive nonsense.
The company that I work for 3 days a week has branches spread across Sydney, so it's rare that people get to see each other much, if at all. Most of us work on our own, with occasional phone calls, emails and visits from the people at head office. This is quite unusual. We work face to face with our customers, keep the facility looking clean and tidy, and do all the usual reporting to head office. Such a business requires staff to have some emotional maturity, professionalism, and to be self-motivated. It is impossible to micro-manage such a dispersed workforce, which is one of the things I like about what I do: I have some room to move without someone always looking over my shoulder (which has been my experience in other jobs I've had in the past 3 years).
One of the longer-term employees was recently "terminated" - a large, male, former football player. I had met him twice, I think, when I was working at another branch. He seemed to be a roving manager, going where he was required for a few days at a time. He gave the impression of someone who was fond of a beer and who knew a fair few swear words - a good Aussie bloke.
There has been no formal announcement of his departure, although, of course, everyone knows. He even sent a "see you later" email to all the branches, which I thought was quite unusual. All I really know about him is what I have heard occasionally from other staff, and a few customers. His manner might have been a bit abrupt with some of our late-paying customers. It would seem that way from what I've heard. One guy came into the branch where I now work and asked if I was this person. I said no, I'm Michael. Which was possibly just as well, since the customer looked angry enough to have caused a real scene if I was the person he thought I was. This very angry and large man then told me the whole story of what had happened. He felt better afterwards, and we even had a bit of a laugh about a few things. I suspect, although I don't know, that this man had then contacted head office and made a complaint. This might have had something to do with the termination. There are other stories, too.
It's not easy being an employer. You want to be able to forget about your staff and get on with the important thing of running your business. So much of what you hear from staff sounds like moaning and bitching: silly, seemingly-irrelevant things which just chew up large parts of your day. You quickly lose respect for these whingers and stop really listening to what they have to say. It's all so understandable.
But, it's also stupid.
In any service industry, where your staff are dealing with customers (is there an industry which doesn't?), your staff are the most important part of your organization. Forget all the bullshit about "the customer comes first" or "the customer knows best", if your staff aren't engaged in what you are trying to achieve, then you have failed, period.
Staff who feel that they are involved and appreciated for their efforts will create a better return for their employers than any number of impossible-to-meet sales targets. Give them a sense of ownership, make them accountable for what happens in their department, and you'll soon sort out the ones who will prosper and the ones who don't want that level of involvement.
In my particular job, you need some genuine empathy with people. A part of what I do is look after customers who are behind in their accounts. I make phone calls, send SMSs and emails, post letters. This isn't any fun, but it's an important part of the process, and customers understand that. After a while, you get to know the people who are always late with their payments. Some are just hopeless at remembering, but most are unable to pay. The times are tough for them: tradespeople scrounging for work; health issues; family breakdowns - the list goes on. It is frustrating to send SMSs and emails, to leave messages, and these people never seem to respond. It's the ostrich mentality - stick your head in the sand and everything will be OK. Unfortunately, that never works for long.
People who don't pay will have their goods auctioned so that we can rent out their storage units again. This is a clearly defined procedure, which has real legal consequences. We are required to give notice to these clients about the consequences of their continuing non-payment, which is entirely as it should be. Auctions don't happen often. Usually the recalcitrant client pays up on the verge of the lock being cut off the door of their unit, but not always.
It is easy to become rather indifferent to the plight of these customers, and I suspect that this might have been the case with the terminated ex-footy bloke. He had probably heard the same old lies for too long (the cheque is in the mail; I'll pay off $200 tomorrow etc.). I hope that he'll move onto something more enjoyable. In the meantime, gossip will continue about the real cause of his sudden disappearance; head office will say nothing; and no-one will learn anything useful.
Does this sound familiar?