Every day is another story
One of the things about being a speaker on business topics, including the customer experience, is that every day presents an opportunity for a new story. Treat me well and you become a story. Treat me poorly and you definitely become a story. However, every day we get exactly what we expect, nothing more, and nothing less, and those experiences just fade away. They’re erased by the next mediocre customer experience.
One of the things that’s struck my wife and I lately is the complete lack of any expression of thanks by so many businesses. You go to their store. Help yourself to find what you need. Bring those purchases to the cashier. Make your payment, with no haggling. And then, instead of being given the common courtesy of a smile and a sincere “Thank you for your business”, maybe a “Please come back again”, you’re rewarded with, at best, a neutral expression and handed your receipt.
If you were the boss
Isn’t my purchase paying the cashier’s salary? Isn’t my purchase keeping the store in business? Would the owner of the store be so callous? I doubt it. Rather, would the owner of the store greet you with a smile that says “thank you for choosing our store today”? So often we find ourselves being the one to say “Thank you” to the cashier… for giving us our change and receipt… after making a purchase. What’s wrong with that picture? Why are we thanking them for doing their job? Why aren’t they thanking us? Why am I up on a soapbox?
When you’re the business owner, especially in the early days of your business, you appreciate every sale. Often you’re the one who made the sale, performed the service and collected the money. You greeted the customer. You looked them in the eye and said “Thank you”. Inside those two words are the meaning: Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for feeding my family. Thank you for keeping my dream alive for another day.
A sense of ownership
What’s missing is a sense of ownership. If every employee were instilled with a sense of ownership, a connection to the business, more than just a paycheck, we’d all be better off. It’s not just the minimum-wage employee, I’ve experienced this with management, as well. Where’s the sense of pride? Where’s the feeling that what you’re doing is important? Important not just to your employer, but to the people who patronize your business. Pardon my cynicism, but if you’re that miserable at your job… leave and find another one. Don’t make the customer feel like we’re intruding on your day by coming in to your store, or calling your business.
Smile when your heart is breaking…
One of the easiest ways to make a customer feel good is to smile. It costs you nothing, yet pays significant dividends. Can you can tell if someone is smiling on the phone? Of course you can. That’s why telemarketing companies, who make sure to follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, would have mirrors above the phones in their cubicles, with the sign “Smile before you dial”. What a different experience to walk into a store and be greeted by smiling employees, rather than with scowls. How nice to call a business and be greeted by a smiling, happy employee, who sounds genuinely happy to hear from us.
What does your business sound like?
So, what image does your business project? What does it sound like to do business with you? When a prospect, or customer, calls your business, what does it sound like? Do you know? Have you “secret-shopped” your own business? Does every employee embody the image you want your customers to hear? These days it’s too easy to take your business somewhere else. Once someone has shown an interest in your business, don’t give them a reason to go anywhere else. Put simply: Be the business you’d want to do business with, when you’re the customer.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
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One of my favorite presentations to give is “Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience”. If you haven’t heard it, you can see a short preview of the presentation, and it’s available on DVD and MP3 for download here
If you’d like me to present this, or any of my topics for your company (private training), group or conference, please contact me at [email protected], use the short contact form on the top right of this page, or call 732.422.6362 international 001 732 422 6362
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