Be On Your Best Behaviour
Customers are not dissatisfied; they are outraged. Customer rage is a documented phenomenon researched
at universities such as Waikato, New South Wales and Queensland. In New Zealand, research by Colmar
Brunton has found that over 50% of people rate the level of their rage as being 8 or higher on a scale
of 1 to 10 after having a bad experience with a company. An American study found that 73% of customers
feel rage after calling a company with a problem.
I believe we have forgotten that business is an activity between two or more people. We are not dealing
with customers, suppliers, associates, visitors prospects or colleagues, but people. And, as your mother
probably told you, there are right and wrong ways to treat people. What I am beginning to realise is
that you cannot be sure your staff were told this by their mothers, or that they remember what those
right ways are.
Here are a dozen ways your staff should be behaving towards others.
1. When meeting someone face to face or answering the telephone, state your name. I am amazed at the
number of people who come up to me and start talking to me, using my name, but never giving me their
name. This puts me in the embarrassing situation of having to admit I do not recall their name. Make
it easier for the other person, tell them your name.
2. Speak slowly and clearly. If people do answer giving their name, it is often said so quickly, you
cannot grasp it. The same applies to leaving your name and telephone number on someone’s voicemail.
3. When something goes wrong or you have failed to meet someone’s expectation say, “sorry”.
It is not hard to do and it makes a big difference. The common practice seems to be either to ignore
the whole issue and hope it goes away or to make excuses. People want to hear, “I’m very
sorry that …”
And when you say, mean it!
4. Say “please’ and “thank you.” Research in New Zealand by Colmar Brunton
shows that customers believe they are not hearing those words often enough. In our culture, it is rude
not to say these words.
5. When talking to someone, even over the telephone, smile. We would all rather be around happy people
than those who are miserable. Show you are happy and smile. If you do not feel happy, smile anyway.
The other person does not want to share your misery.
6. Use people’s names. They are the words people like most to hear. If you do not know their
name, use Sir, Madam or Ms. If you are dealing with older people or people from another culture, I would
recommend using their surnames unless they suggest otherwise. Many non-New Zealanders or older New Zealanders
find Kiwis too informal.
7. If you have to move past someone, bump into someone or need to interrupt someone, say “excuse
me.” If you do not, you are treating the other person as if they did not exist. People do not
like that.
8. If you are talking on a cell phone in a public place, keep your voice down. You may be having a
fascinating conversation but chances are others do not want to share in it.
9. Make eye contact with people when talking to them. It is a sign of respect. It gives you the change
to engage the other person. It shows you have self-confidence and believe in what you are saying.
10. Tell the truth. People in business lie. “The cheques in the mail.” “It went
out this morning.” “The courier must have lost it.” Lies destroy trust and trust is
essential for a long-term relationship. Air New Zealand’s safety videos say, “Even if you
are a frequent flyer, please watch this safety video as it is specific to this aircraft.” It is
not. They show the same video whether you are on a 737, 747 or 767. As a passenger I think, if they
are lying about
that, what else are they telling me that is not true?
11. Request do not command. Say, “Would you mind …..,” or “Could I ask you
to …” instead of “You’ll have to …,” or “You must …” The
idea is to give the other person the feeling they are doing you a favour not that you are ordering them
about. A good follow up comment is to say, “Would that be all right with you?” or “Do
you mind doing that for me?”
12. Stress the gain not the loss. Tell people how they will benefit if they do something instead of
telling them what they will lose. It is better to say, “If you go to see…., they can give
you ….” instead of “You can’t get that unless you go to see ….”
You cannot assume your staff are behaving in these ways all the time but you can assume that if they
are not, it is weakening your business relationships and damaging your brand. Your job as the business
owner is to sit down with your staff and make it clear that this is how you expect them to behave. Then
observe them. If you see them doing these things, praise them. If they are not, correct the. Not in
front of the person they are dealing with, but right after. Immediacy matters.
Most importantly, you need to lead by example. Not only must you make sure this is how you behave
to your customers, colleagues and suppliers, but you must behave towards your staff that way. Sam Walton,
the man who founded the giant retailer Wal-Mart, used yo say there is a three week gap from the time
you start treating your staff properly to the time they treat your customers the way you want them to.
It is these little social graces that make the difference.
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