What a difference a smile makes
I arrived at work today to the smiling face of Hot PJ’s Business Development Manager, Mark Lincoln. Quite a relief really because last time I saw him he was looking and sounding ill. He has been away from work for several days and as Mark is not one to shirk, it must’ve been quite a bad bout.
Anyway it served to remind me of a post I had been thinking about writing for a while about the difference a smile makes, and its place in business.
Some businesses recognise the power of this simple human action, and have shaped their marketing around it. AMI Insurance rebranded around the concept of friendly service, incorporating a smile into their logo and advertising campaigns.
Friendly service and a smile (in the case pictured from staff at Just Desserts Cafe) improves the customers’ experience, resulting in repeat business and recommendations to others.
Yet why is it that so many front-line customer service people fail to recognise the power of such an easily used tactic with their customers and clients?
Last week, while waiting at the bus stop, a bin truck pulled up close by. The driver greeted me, apologised for blocking the stop (he wasn’t), said he wouldn’t be long, emptied a bin, then jumped back in his truck but not before wishing me a pleasant day. Now I wasn’t even his customer (but I could be some day), yet his friendliness has stuck in my mind, so much so that even though I can’t quite remember the name of his business, I would make an effort to find out and use him should I ever need a bin service.
In contrast, at the gym I frequent about 3 or 4 days a week, I will be lucky if any of the 3 staff hanging around reception look up from their work or personal chats, to smile and say hello upon my arrival.
The trainer who set up my programme behaves the same, even though I see her on the gym floor most days. However one of the other trainers always smiles and comes over to help me out if I am not using the equipment correctly – yet I haven’t even met or worked with her.
Now it’s fairly obvious which trainer I would choose should I ever want the services of a personal trainer.
People buy from people. And the person or business who recognises the power of a smile and greeting will, in my view, win out over one who doesn’t.
Posted on July 21st, 2009 by Wendy Riley-Biddle
Filed under: General
Thank you, Wendy, and very true!
Back in the early stages of my career, I worked as a sales assistant at Placemakers, Cranford Street. When talking with a customer, I found I could set the mood for the entire conversation by simply approaching with a smile and giving the sense that I myself was in a good mood that day.
Colleagues would always complain that they were the ones getting the grumpy customers but, for me, I liked to think that I helped to establish the mood right from the beginning.
Time and time again, a staff member would come running over to me and say “Wow, this guy’s really steaming. Can you go and sort it out?” and all it would take would be for me to show some empathy, and present a solution with a smile and a sense of urgency, to turn an aggressive situation into a great result for all and start another good relationship with a new customer.
Nowadays, I find myself turning into that “grumpy” customer, even on a quiet Sunday afternoon when wandering through shops with my wife, simply because I’d be the one doing all the work to make a purchase while the sales assistant does his or her best to lose the sale!