“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.
