Are you getting?

“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.