By Spencer Rubin
Last Month, I took my son and wife to a Portland Timbers MLS Soccer Game. It was sunny, warm and a perfect night to enjoy time together at a sporting event.
As we entered the stadium, I handed my ticket to the ticket taker, who had zero eye contact. She took the ticket, scanned it, handed it back to me…all without saying a word, looking at me, or caring. She didn’t care.
I have to admit, for a few seconds after entering the happy venue, we did not feel that happy. We got over that quickly as it was not a big deal. Or, was it a big deal?
After the Timbers won the game, we exited the stadium and the woman at the gate could not have been more different than the one who “greeted” us. She was smiling, attempted to engage as many fans (CUSTOMERS) as possible, she thanked everyone for coming, welcomed us to return, wished us a nice evening and told us to drive home safely! We felt like she cared. She cared! We walked away feeling great…both from the fun game and from how this lady engaged us as we departed!!
My questions for you are:
- How are your people greeting your customers (YOUR FANS)? They chose you! Those chose to visit and walk through your doors. Perhaps they even chose to gift you with their hard-earned money!
- How are your people engaging your fans? Are they having eye contact? Are they helpful? Do they care?
- How are your people saying goodbye to your fans? Your customers chose you. Whether they purchased something or not, how they leave your business often impacts how they view you and when/if they will return. Did your people look down and say nothing? Or did they thank your fan(s) for visiting? Did they tell them to have a nice day? Did they invite them back? Did they tell them to drive home safely?
It all sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it. But look at how employee engagement with customers has changed over the years…and not for the better.
Continue to train your people on engagement, care, and above status quo customer service. It is not to be contained to one staff or sales meeting. It needs to be on-going over time. You can even make a contest out of it, regularly recognizing and rewarding your customer service stars.
Online business is enormous! People are choosing to buy online for lower prices, fast delivery, inventory options, and quite frankly, many are fed up with awful, disengaged, uncaring customer service.
It’s your choice how you go from here.
How will your people engage your customers (your fans) going forward?
- Care! Care More Than Your Competition!
- Make It Easy for People To Do, And Keep Doing Business With You!
- Look Up…And Surprise Someone!
Spencer Rubin is a sales/marketing expert who has spent 27 years in the industry. Spencer has become a passionate advocate for the success of small, local business owners. To sign up for Spencer’s weekly Catalyst Newsletter. Contact 971-732-4745.
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