“Are you getting?” was how I was greeted in a fast food
restaurant recently. It was accompanied
by a scowl and it came after a three minute wait while I watched the
disinterested employee put a few orders on to trays.
Was I a valued customer?
Definitely not. Was I given a
warm welcome? Definitely not. Will I return? Let’s say, it won’t be top of my list of
“must return soon” businesses.
This assistant in the fast food outlet failed on a number of
reasons including:
1.
Although she was busy serving other customers,
she didn’t acknowledge me at all and say “I will be with you in a minute.” Instead, I had an uncomfortable wait while I
wondered should I walk out and go to a competitor.
2.
She scowled at me – I wonder was she able to
smile at all? It’s not hard to smile at
customers and let them know you are glad that you have come to your
business. It wasn’t the only restaurant
I could have visited in the area.
3.
She said “Are you getting?” That’s not even a proper sentence. “Hello, how can I help you today?” would have
been a much warmer and professional greeting.
Am I being fussy?
Perhaps so but if I was an American visitor arriving in Northern Ireland
for the first time, I wouldn’t be too impressed with the greeting that I
received. It’s definitely not the way
that we would welcome a good friend or family member to our workplace.
Over the next few weeks, it is silly season while the
Christmas rush is on. Even though you
are really busy, try to remember the WorldHost golden rule of welcoming
customers as they enter your premises with a friendly smile and a “Hello, how
can I help you today?” instead of “Are you getting?” Hopefully that will be part of the answer to
get customers to come back to your business in the future.
PS Check our website (www.customersensetraining.co.uk)
for details of WorldHost Customer Service Courses in January and February in
Craigavon, Newry, Antrim and Lisburn.
