Allow me to require you on a quick journey that demonstrates why communication is so important if you would like to interact and ke...
Allow
me to require you on a quick journey that demonstrates why communication is so
important if you would like to interact and keep loyal customers and employees.
I'm
at the airport, standing in line, expecting my address order a much-needed cup
of coffee at 6:10 a.m. I make my thanks to the counter and greet the cashier
with a cheery, "Good morning!"
Nothing.
Thinking
she simply didn't hear me, I repeated, "Good morning."
A
glare from her is my return greeting, while she actually clamps her lips
together to point out me she isn't getting to utter one word. Okay, so she
obviously heard me; she just doesn't want to talk to me.
After
completing my purchase, i can not help myself and comment, "You know, it's
pretty disrespectful to intentionally refuse to talk to someone once they speak
to you."
The
manager overhears my comment, asks what the matter is and apologizes for the
cashier once I explain what happened. (Flash forward one week: an equivalent
cashier is there, behaving an equivalent thanks to every customer in line, so I
buy my morning coffee from a special vendor that day, albeit i prefer the
primary vendor's coffee better. However, on my third visit, I notice that she
is not any longer there... big sigh of relief... and that i return to my
favorite coffee vendor.)
I
know, a number of you're rolling your eyes and saying, "How are you able
to be that cheery within the morning?!" Point taken, but if you're one
among those people that doesn't want to be cheery and greet people within the
morning, then this is often not the position for you.
The
point is that an easy word or two would have created INSTANT MAGIC for
everybody she addressed . A greeting of "Good morning" or "How
may I help you?" (in fact, almost any words) would have eliminated the
impression of rudeness and an uncaring attitude that puts off customers and
associates alike.
It's
not just "everyone else" who must follow this practice. We must roll in
the hay ourselves in our everyday lives, as well. for instance , i used to be
recently standing ahead of the self-service counter and drink machines (again
at the airport) once I spilled coffee on my coat. While I fumbled with bags,
food, and wet napkins, trying to get rid of the coffee before the stains set, I
could feel my fellow travelers getting a touch impatient with me for blocking
up the world .
I
turned and said, "I'm sorry, I just spilled coffee on my coat."
INSTANT MAGIC! My fellow travelers went from slightly annoyed (and getting more
so as my silence went on) to instantly understanding and very helpful! One
offered a WetNap she had in her bag, while another offered me her cup of water,
saying it might be more convenient on behalf of me to use that (and she was
willing to inconvenience herself to travel back to the counter and request a
replacement cup).
WOW!
a few of words of explanation was all it took for people to travel from annoyed
to instantly compassionate and helpful.
The
same concepts apply within the workplace when handling our team members and
colleagues. a couple of simple words to point out we care about others as
people, instead of employees who exist solely to figure for us, does wonders
for his or her attitude and willingness to travel the additional mile for
patrons , for every other and for us.
Consider
the scenario of the golf club staff members who are gathered a brief distance
from the Manager's office, planning their morning duties. within the office,
the Manager and two other leaders are similarly engaged in planning their day.
When the leaders' meeting ends, all three exit the office and walk right past
the staff members - without one word of greeting - as if they didn't even
exist!
The
staff members feel disrespected and undervalued by their own leaders. How hard
wouldn't it be for those leaders to make INSTANT MAGIC by acknowledging them
with a "Good morning" or "Thanks for being here right time -
we've a busy day today" or "Good to ascertain you!"? and the way
inspired will these staff members be to subsequently greet and interact with
customers during the day, instead of treating them as if they were simply a
part of the scenery they needed to steer past on their thanks to perform their
duties?
In
one final case, a way beloved Facilities Manager with many locations spread
across his facility had no problem engaging his workforce and getting them to
travel to the wall for him - even the Millennial generation that a lot of Baby
Boomers and Gen Xers find difficult to interact . But this boomer manager
talked to them and visited them (even when he didn't need anything from them)
just to mention hello and see if they needed anything from him.
Nice
change, right? rather than posing for something from them, he asked if he could
do anything for them! Because he cared about them (and showed it), they cared
about their jobs (and showed it) because that was a method to demonstrate what
proportion they cared about him reciprocally .
When
that manager retired, he trained his replacement, telling the new manager what
an excellent group of men he had, and offering his best piece of advice: visit
the various locations once during a while, ask the blokes , get to understand
them, allow them to get to understand you.
About
a year later, he heard from the new manager, who complained bitterly about how
he couldn't get the blokes to try to to anything without repeatedly asking, and
even occasionally threatening, because they weren't doing their jobs.
What?
This didn't sound like his team, so he asked the blokes (many of whom still
kept in-tuned with him) what was happening . They told him they never saw or
heard from the new manager unless he needed something from them. He hadn't
bothered to undertake to speak to them or get to understand them in the least .
In fact, their exact words were:
"If
he doesn't care about us, why should we care about him?"
BOOM!
Same team, same duties... different results. The tragedy is that this new
manager could have created INSTANT MAGIC together with his team members if he
had just taken the time to sometimes visit and say a couple of words to them to
point out that he cared about them as people first, and employees second.
Instead, his silence was deafening because it sent the subtle message that he
wasn't even getting to bother lecture them unless he needed something from
them.
The
above stories are great lessons because, while we all understand that leaders
cannot be "best friends" with their team members, we frequently
forget that there's an enormous difference between friendship and friendliness.
Friendship involves doing things with and for every other, even outside of
labor , and will be perceived as fostering favoritism inside the workplace. But
friendliness simply involves being human and caring about others, no matter
their position, status or relationship with us outside the workplace. When
we're friendly, our humanity dispels the impression of indifference and
disrespect inside the workplace.
Remember,
every person on the earth wants to be valued, appreciated and listened to... in
other words, respected.
Keep
in mind that the way during which employees perform their work reflects not
only their work ethic but their leader's attitude, caring and respect for them.
A
few simple words of greeting, acknowledgement, or explanation are usually all
it takes to make the moment MAGIC that stops the interior , one-way (often
negative), dialogue happening in someone's head and alter it to a positive,
two-way, conversation that has you.
The
big lessons here?
Customers
will leave of their thanks to avoid even their favorite vendors if they do not
want to affect a rude or uncommunicative team member on the battlefront . (The
same applies to team members, who will refuse to supply helpful ideas and
suggestions so as to avoid handling even one rude, disengaged and/or
passive-aggressive co-worker or leader.)
It
is imperative to place the proper people within the right positions so as to
maximize their best abilities and serve everyone at the very best level.
Proper
training is significant if you would like everyone to appropriately represent
you and your brand. Set expectations up front and offer feedback regularly (not
just one occasion a year at performance review time) to allow them to skills
they're doing.
If
you do not "walk your talk" and function a positive model by keeping
your own lines of communication open, people won't know you're human and care
about them as fellow citizenry , and they'll stop caring about you reciprocally
.
Keeping
these lessons in mind won't only allow you to make INSTANT MAGIC for everybody
you encounter, but it'll inspire and show them the thanks to do an equivalent
for everybody they encounter, which has the facility to vary the course of our
businesses, our personal lives and therefore the entire world, a couple of
respectful "human" words or phrases at a time.
No comments