Customers Are Your Benefactors
 As I entered the hotel, I thought about the last time I had been there. It was late in the afternoon
on a cold, wet, windy, winter’s day and I felt tired, cold and down. The young woman I spoke to
at reception was bright, bubbly, happy and friendly. She had such a positive attitude, and was clearly
having so much fun, she was a ray of sunshine on a dark day. After a few minutes of being in her presence,
I started to feel better. Before long I was laughing and joking with her and by the time I had completed
check-in, I was a box of fluffy ducks. In front of her boss, I told her, “You are regular Little
Mary Sunshine, and your positive and friendly attitude has really brightened my day. Thank you.” This
is what I was thinking about as I walked up to reception to check in.
At reception, one member of staff was at the counter serving another customer while two others were
standing and talking about two meters away. After a couple of minutes, one of them approached me. “Are
you being looked after?” she asked.
I gave my last name and said I had a reservation. She started typing at the computer. “First
name?” she demanded. I told her. “Who made the reservation?” she challenged. Obediently,
I answered. “Only one night?” she grizzled. I apologised for not being able to stay longer. “Room
429,” she announced, shoving the key at me.
Same hotel but two very different experiences, like chalk and cheese, with the bad one totally erasing
all the goodwill created by the brilliant one. Of course, I had dealt with two different people but
it could just as easily have been two opposite experiences from the same person because, as we all know,
we have our good days and our bad days. But professionals do not allow their personal moods to affect
the quality of the work they do. You would not be happy if Uncle Harry died during a routine operation
because the surgeon was having a bad day. So why should you accept your staff giving your customers
bad service because they are feeling a bit out of sorts?
More importantly, how can you prevent your staff from allowing their moods to affect the experience
they give your customers? Try having this conversation at your next staff meeting.
“Imagine you had a benefactor who was such a nice person, and liked you so much, that every
month they sent you all the money you needed to support your lifestyle. Now imagine that one week, they
telephone and announce they intended to come to visit the following week. Would you:
a. Tell them they cannot come?
b. Tell them they can come but only if they do certain things first?
c. Reluctantly agree to the visit and then dread them coming?
d. Look forward to the visit?
“I suspect you would look forward to the visit with some enthusiasm. I also expect you would
clean the house, mow the lawn and wash the car. On the day of the visit, you would throw the kids into
the bath, dress them in their finest clothes and warn them to be on their best behaviour or they would
be finding another place to live. When the doorbell rang, you would open it promptly, have a smile on
your face and welcome them into your home. You would give them the best seat in the house, offer them
something to eat and drink, and ask, with genuine interest, how they were. As the visit wore on, you
would thank them for the support they have given you, tell them how much you appreciate it and describe
what their money has enabled you to do. When they left, you would thank them for coming and, in all
sincerity, say, “Please come back again, any time, whenever it suits you, just drop in, love to
see you.”
Then ask your staff whether that is the way they would treat a benefactor. If they disagree, you have
made serious mistake in hiring them and you should take immediate steps to remedy that mistake before
they cost you your business. But they probably will agree with you so will be able to suggest they see
customers as their benefactors and treat them accordingly. Explain a customer is a person, just like
themselves, who voluntarily puts their hand in their pocket or purse, takes out some money and says, “Here
you go, my friends, use this money to run your business and keep a bit for yourselves to live on.”
You need to have this conversation because staff rarely see customers as benefactors. Often they see
them as interruptions, distractions, nuisances or unreasonably demanding people. If you help your staff
to see their pay really comes from their customers, not from you, it will be easier for them to be polite,
respectful, friendly enthusiastic and caring, no matter what else is going on in their lives.
You will need to have this conversation with your staff several times a year because, on a day to
day basis, people get so caught up in what they are doing they forget who they are doing it for and
what benefit they, the staff, get from doing it. If you have ever coached a sports team, you will know
that you basically have one conversation with your players throughout the entire season. At every practice
and at every game you talk about the few key things the team needs to do to win. It is no different
in business.
The day we forget 100% of our money comes from our customers is the day the customer experience starts
to decline. And that is definitely not good for business.
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