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Have you ever really thought about how you sound to others, especially the customers who come to your place of business for help?
It is the tone of your voice that sets stage for those you encounter. Take a moment to think about when you have encountered an employee at either a store, restaurant, or office, who you could tell was either having a bad day, or just didn’t seem to care how they came across when encountering you, their customer, what did you think?
I know for myself that there has been times that I was really busy, or dealing with other problems in the office when I needed to stop and either answer a phone call from a customer or encounter a customer face-to-face and I was just a bit off from being as pleasant as I normally would be and I could tell the customer was a bit put off by my less than cheerier welcome.
From past experience, I have learned to take that extra second (maybe two) to gather myself together and re-focus before saying, “hello” or “how are you doing.” It is my encounter with our customers that can make the difference as to whether they stay our customers or leave.
If they like our business and the service they receive, the chances are that they will refer their friends and family to our business. If they leave it is a sure thing that they will tell others why they should not come to our business.
Studies show that a person who likes a place of business will tell about 2-3 people about it as a good reference to go to. If they received bad service they will probably tell about 10 people not to come to your business and why.
You can see from these facts that it is very important how you set the tone from the beginning of your encounter and how you treat your customers overall, every time.
A good thought to have each time you are going to encounter a customer is “The first line I deliver sets the tone, mine will be friendly and helpful.” You cannot go wrong when that is your primary goal with your customers.
The link below is to a great article on the Inc. website. I think you will find several nuggets of gold to use at your next staff meeting.
“Choose to deliver amazing service to your customers. You’ll stand out because they don’t get it anywhere else.” -Kevin Stirtz
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