Category: Customer Service

When someone tells me to “Have a nice day,” I don’t think they mean it. I think they’re just saying it as a kind of mundane, almost impolite, form of politeness. Forced nicety. Said out of habit, not sincerity. To me, it’s not just thoughtless, it’s also meaningless What’s the Sincerity Level of Your Message?

. Heck, half the time people don’t even look at you when they say it.

Oh, they don’t mean it as an insult. People say, “Have a nice day,” because they don’t know what else to say. Or don’t care what they say. Or they are trained to say it.

If you are going to say something to me, or your customer, make it sincere, make it meaningful, and make it relevant. Otherwise, I mentally check you off – the same way you check people off. And the question here is, are you being checked off?

Consistency of message and expression is important – but NOT ROBOTIC.
Give people leeway to be human.

Boring and insincere typically has a way of permeating everything else in a company.

• The color of your logo.
• The politically correctness of your slide show.
• The stuffiness of your business card.
• The boringness of your job title.

Who cares? ONLY YOU! (Your marketing people, your ad agency, yada, yada) Anyone preparing “boring” marketing tools in this day and age should be forced to take that crap out on a sales call and see how CUSTOMERS perceive it or care ten cents about it.

The key word is SINCERITY.
The secondary word is DIFFERENTIATION.

Here are some GOLDEN opportunities to be creatively sincere:
• At the fast food window
• When customers walk in your store
• When customers pay for something
• When customers board the plane
• When customers are about to order in a restaurant
• When customers are sent an invoice

These are all opportunities to prove differentiation, be sincere, and even WOW the customer.

• Marketing and HR people: Get off your corporate hobby horse and saddle up your creative brain!
• Employees: You’re an individual, not some kind of automated answering device. (Don’t get me started. Reality, if my call is so darn important, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, don’t tell me about it.) Use your friendliness and creativity to craft a message that the customer perceives as real.

FORCED CORPORATE POLITENESS: I love it when service reps or managers say their canned piece (our policy, blah, blah), the customer is clearly right, but the manager won’t admit it because they are under corporate edict to be professional and polite (not friendly). You know they hate you, and their life, when they tersely ask, “Will there be anything else?” Makes me smile and feel sad all at once.

Southwest Airlines is anything but politically correct. Their people are happy, their customers are happy, their message is clear, and they make a TON of money. Jeez, I wonder if there’s a correlation!

What about you? How sincere are you?

Here are 4 things you can do tomorrow without anyone’s permission:
• Look me in the eye. Make sure there’s a locked-in moment
• Say something slightly different. “You’re all set.” vs. “Thanks for your business.”
• Shake my hand like you mean it. Firm, with eye contact.
• Smile. When you smile, it makes others smile.

IDEA: Make a goal to create 12 smiles a day through your words, actions or deeds.
Creativity and sincerity will automatically materialize.

Have a nice day!

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. His forthcoming book, 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling, will be available September 3rd, and will feature a national public seminar tour. Get the details at www.gitomer.com. It will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

Subject: A Bank Letter…

Below is an actual letter sent to a bank. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire salary, an arrangement which, I admit, has only been in place for eight years.

You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $50 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will, therefore and hereafter, no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete.

I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. Press buttons as follows:

1- To make an appointment to see me.
2- To query a missing payment.
3- To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4- To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5 -To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6- To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7- To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required.
Password will be communicated at a later date to the Authorized Contact.
8- To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
9- To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call. Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever-so-slightly less prosperous New Year?

Your Humble Client.

5 Steps to Friendliness and Great Customer Service

1. Say Hello
2. Say Thank you
3. Look Them in the Eye
4. Smile
5. Go the Extra Mile

 Friendliness doesn’t happen by accident. It is a conscious thought and action by one person to make someone else happy and pleased. It is a genuine acknowledgement that someone else is around you and is your way of showing your appreciation. It is taking the time to show someone that you care and that he or she is important to you. It is a welcome that reaches out and pulls the other person in. It is treating each and every person in a courteous and respectful manner. Friendliness comes from the inside of you, but is demonstrated by how you act toward others.

Friendliness may or may not be found in other companies, but it is critical that this company is known throughout the community as a welcoming and friendly place to shop. You make the difference in whether this is a fact or only a wish. Our customers observe in your actions and behaviors and determine whether to return again another day. Friendliness comes from the pride that you take in yourself, and the pleasure you get from serving the people around you.

The 5 Steps to Friendliness and Great Customer Service is an important part of meeting the expectations of our customers. Each step is explained and examples are given. This is not a complete list of everything that should be done, but illustrates a common sense approach to dealing with each and every person who comes into our store in the friendliest way possible. You make the difference in whether this is a fact or only a wish. People are aware of the way that you act and the actions you take. The 5 Steps to Friendliness and Great Customer Service outlines what the customer expects of us.

 

1. Say Hello
   • The most important impression is the first impression you make. When a customer or another associate approaches you, acknowledge them by saying hello.
   • Approach the customer first. Don’t wait for them to come to you.
   • “Good Morning”
   • “Good Afternoon”
   • “How are you?”
   • “Hi!”
   • “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
   • “Do you have everything you need?”

2. Say Thank-you
   • The last impression that someone retains comes from the last words that you say to him or her. Make the final words they hear a pleasant and cheerful thank you…. with an upbeat, positive sound in your voice. They will keep that last thought in their mind until the next time that they return.
   • “Thank you for shopping with us.”
   • “Have a nice day”
   • “Did you get everything you were looking for?”
   • “We appreciate you doing business with us. I look forward to seeing you again.”

 

3. Look Them In The Eye
   • Keeping eye contact with the person in front of you is a critical way that people judge whether you are sincere or just saying the words but don’t really mean them. Look each person clearly in the eye and acknowledge their presence… demonstrate that you recognize that they want something from you.
   • This is all about body language. This should be approached as if you are greeting a friend. You should present an open and welcoming movement; with your head directly facing the person.
   • It is important to make some positive movement to acknowledge that you see them. Then and only then do they really know that you are paying attention.
   • The right body language informs the person that they are not a distraction but that you are pleased to see them.
   • Pay attention; Listen to what they say. Don’t Interrupt
   • Discover their needs, fill them, and exceed them.

 

4. Smile
   • A smile is contagious. It spreads good feelings and encourages a positive and cheerful atmosphere.
   • The smile is more than a curl of the lip and showing your teeth. The entire face lights up and becomes a part of a genuine smile. There seems to be a sparkle in the eye and the entire demeanor of the person changes.
   • If the customer is confused, a smile begins the process of bringing clarity.
   • If the customer is angry, a smile begins to calm them down so that you can take care of the issue.
   • If the person needs your help in any other way, a smile indicates that they are dealing with a friend who wants to make things better.
   • So Smile and make them welcome. Would you really want to talk to a person who doesn’t want to talk to you?

 

5. Go the Extra Mile
   • Customers are not dependent on us; we are dependent on them. Take the time to make them happy.
   • Find a way to provide just a little bit extra service – to make a difference
   • Speak clearly. Never eat, drink, chew gum, or smoke while on the job.
   • Take the extra time to help them find the item they are looking for.
   • Deliver a little bit more than they wanted.
   • Help them when they are lost
   • Help them with the paperwork related to their orders
   • Find ways to make it easy for them to do business with us
   • Solve the problem – don’t wait for someone else to do it.
   • Deliver a product or service that they forgot to order
   • Read a label or a sign if they can’t read the small print
   • Clarify the rules
   • Answer the questions like it is the first time even if they asked it 10 times before
   • Help them understand how the system works
   • Show them to the shortest way to get their products or services delivered
   • Go to whomever you have to make it happen for the customer
   • Do whatever it takes to keep yourself, your customers, and associates safe from accidents and injury. Pick it up; don’t pass it up…. Papers, trash, products, food, ladders, equipment and anything else that is not where it belongs.
   • Know your company and the products and services you sell.
   • Find a way to turn each small interaction with a customer into a great example of friendly customer service.

 

Do each of the steps in the 5 Steps to Friendliness and Great Customer Service with everyone that you meet every time. This is true for each of our customers and each employee in the store. A great company will come from doing the right things over and over again.

Learn the 5 Steps. Live the 5 Steps. Our customers will appreciate it by visiting us again. This company will be a nicer place for everyone to work.

5 Steps to Friendliness and Great Customer Service

1. Say Hello
2. Say Thank you
3. Look Them in the Eye
4. Smile
5. Go the Extra Mile

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