Tiffany Nielsen

Dining Etiquette, Business Etiquette and Children's Workshop

Customer Service: “Hello” and “Thank You” Matter

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"Hello" and "Thank you" Matter

“Hello” and “Thank you” Matter

You’ve all experienced receiving a welcoming “hello”.  It makes you feel good! More importantly, you feel appreciated. This is especially true when an employee of a business acknowledges you as you pass through their door.

You’ve also experienced walking into businesses only to hear nothing. Not a peep. Perhaps you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of a growl for interrupting them instead.

Some of you might not appreciate being acknowledged because you just want to be left alone. At least be aware it’s considered very poor service for any business not to take notice of their customers.

Customer service starts with a “hello” and ends with a “thank you”. Therefore, training your staff on how you want your customers treated is essential to staying in business. Don’t assume your staff knows your expectations. Don’t assume they even know to be cordial.

If you own a business, have you watched your staff interact with customers? What observations have you made? Have you set your ground rules and facilitated customer service training? Have you empowered yourself to be a role model your team can look up to?

Not every customer will respond to your pleasant greeting or show of gratitude; they either don’t hear you, don’t care or they live on another planet and therefore don’t get it. Rest assured, knowing when you take the high road in customer service, most people will drive a little bit farther to spend a little more money with you, because they know you value them.

Etiquette! Stay Positive

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Etiquette to the rescue!

Etiquette to the rescue

A local chain store cashier is responsible for managing phone calls and a long line of holiday bargain shoppers. At a check-out stand this past weekend, a cashier vented to me, “everyone keeps calling the store to find out what time we close”.

I know all too well what it’s like to work in retail sales during the holiday season. Yet, was it smart of her to complain about her job responsibilities to a customer? This is a big etiquette faux pas.

This interaction reminded me that our actions and words potentially impact how others view us.

Don’t vent about your job to people you don’t know. You don’t know who’s related to your boss, who’s on a ‘secret shopper’ mission or if the person you are venting to happens the CEO you are scheduled to interview with tomorrow morning.

Do be grateful for customers who call at 4:55 P.M. They are choosing to give their business to you, not your competitors.

Do face difficult workplace situations with professional charisma and etiquette. We already have enough charmless complainers in the world.

If you are hired to answer telephone calls and serve customers, then it’s your job to answer telephone calls and serve customers. Shine. Smile. Serve!

If you choose to be positively carry on you will succeed. If you choose not to be positive in the mist of difficult workplace situations you are only hurting yourself.

To Your Success!

Tiffany Nielsen, Your Favorite Etiquette Lady

 

 

Inspire Civility: Random Acts of Kindness

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Inspire Civil Behavior Everyday!

Inspire Civil Behavior Everyday!

Prior to launching my own company, I worked for other incredible businesses. My career was in sales and marketing which required me to travel at least three weeks out of the month. Once, while on a business trip in New Mexico, I received word that the company I was working for at the time was closing its doors and I was out of job.

I was sitting in an airport restaurant when the bad news came crashing down. As you can imagine, I was mad, scared, sad and numb all at the same time. To help calm my nerves and to get some sort of direction on how to deal with my suddenly difficult circumstances, I called a few trustworthy friends including my mother.

When the female server brought my bill, I plopped down my credit card without looking at the tab. I didn’t care what my meal cost; I just wanted to go home. With a twinkle in her eye, my server said, “There’s no charge today.”

“Huh, what?” I replied.

“The woman who was sitting at the next table overheard your conversations,” she explained.  “She felt you deserved a break and paid your bill.”

Up to this point, I had fought back the tears, but the flood gates opened.  Rather than crying over my job loss, I was overcome with gratitude for what is often referred to these days as a Random Act of Kindness.

I will never, ever forget the thoughtful stranger who helped me move forward with spirit and strength in order to overcome obstacles. I have paid for lunches for jobless friends in her honor and otherwise continued to gain a greater appreciation for civil behavior and what a positive impact it has on others.

Image Impact International is the proud sponsor of Global Civility Awareness Month which is officially featured in the month of May.  I have joined Image Impact International’s Civility Council team to help create positive civility messages, including the inspirational quote seen at the top of your page. Positive messages are supposed to stir-up positive memories, as this one did for me!

Do you recall a random act of kindness directed towards you? What was it and how have you paid it forward?   Tweet it, forward it, blog about it and most of all, talk about kindness and civility.  Help inspire civility by starting conversations that keep this tradition of caring for others alive and well. A little sprinkle of civility goes a long way.

 

Tiffany Nielsen, CEO of Premier Etiquette, is a public speaker, business etiquette and children’s manners consultant, and image stylist!

© 2013 Tiffany Nielsen. All Rights Reserved. www.tiffanynielsen.com

Ask Tiffany: What Do I Do When I Can’t Remember a Name?

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Tiffany, is there any way of handling what to do when you run into people and you have to introduce them to the people you are with, but you can’t remember names?

– B. Hart- Three Rivers, CA

Dear Thoughtful Introducer,

Some people are exceptionally proficient at remembering names, making the art of introductions look like a walk in the park.

Take Franklin D. Roosevelt. His staff members were amazed at his ability to recall the names of people he had met only once. When asked how he did it, he simply imagined seeing their names written across their foreheads.  I wonder… who taught him this level of social etiquette?

My husband and I have an unspoken rule that helps us avoid the uncomfortable situation of not remembering names when really; most of the time, we ought to know names of people standing before us. Having this rule (and I hope you will borrow it) influences us to choose the principle of etiquette: respect.

If David is supposed to be introducing me and doesn’t, that’s my cue to stick my hand out and say “Hi, I’m Tiffany Nielsen.”  This helps put him at ease, I gain a new friend and etiquette prevails in making us all comfortable.

Another helpful tip…

Say to your nameless friend(s), “Hi, I’d like to introduce you to our good friends Tiffany and David Nielsen.”  David and Tiffany will say, “Nice to meet you” and then will ask “What is your name?” Ta-da the name mystery is solved and people form a new relationship!

My most thoughtful mother in law Charlene has this art of introductions nailed down and I rest on her plan for solving icky meet and greet situations.  In her words, “As for my own failures in this regard, sometimes I just blush and say, ‘Forgive me, I can’t believe I’m drawing a blank,’ or whatever, as I request the name of somebody I’ve known forever.”

The good news for Charlene, as well as for us all, is an often gracious response that we aren’t the only one with this affliction.

The Power of Civility offers resources for learning more about how to get through introductions “Suzi” style. Who’s Suzi? Guess you will have pick up your copy of this brand new book to find out.

Fretting Over Introductions

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Dear Tiffany,


I’m always attending work-related events and find it royally confusing, and sometimes intimidating, to introduce myself to strangers. I also notice that there are a lot of people not being introduced to others, leaving them to wander about alone and unsure. I’m confused about who should introduce who?

Dear Not-As-Confused-As-You-Think,

There’s something really uncomfortable about attending a work-related event and finding yourself unsure how to break the ice with new people. It is worse to be a veteran at the event allowing a never seen before or “new-be” linger along the wall alone and timid and doing nothing about it.

All I can say is you should be the one who gets introductions done so everyone feels at ease, including yourself. Never let “wallflowers” blossom too long alone in a corner. Draw them in like a good scout to help them make new friends. If you want to stand out, always remember that everyone was the lone wanderer at one time and a good leader recalls and remedies this uneasy situation by connecting people.

Say the most important person’s name first. For example: Congressman ________, I’d like to introduce you to our Vice President______. If you don’t know who is most important, better to guess than duck the introduction.

Refer to The Power of Civility as a great guide for the dos and don’ts of introductions.  I promise, you will love this book!