If you want to offer 5½ star customer service, then you should BE a good customer yourself!
Years ago, I was traveling home from Las Vegas after teaching a concierge workshop. When I arrived at the airport, I was greeted with a delayed flight that caused me to miss my connection in Dallas. Sighing loudly, I went and stood in line to see if I could get another flight home.
As the line slowly crept forward, I started chatting with the people next to me and cracked a few jokes to lighten the mood a bit. My solution in situations like this has always been to laugh. No need to be angry about it, as it rarely does any good, so you might as well make the most of it.
When I finally got to the front of the line, I stood in stunned amazement as I listened to the guy in front of me yell at the young lady behind the desk. I’ve never seen anyone so angry! He was screaming so loud that the crowd behind me was silent as we all watched it play out in front of us. The young lady handled it well, and eventually, the guy stormed away.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but is it wise to yell at the person who has the power to send you home? We’ll ignore the fact that it also wasn’t her fault that the flight had been delayed. In my experience, shooting the messenger never works.
As luck would have it, I was next in line. When she motioned me to her station, I walked up and noticed that she was desperately trying not to cry and was attempting to pull herself together. So, I smiled broadly at her, said good morning, and then placed my briefcase on the counter directly in front of her face so the people behind me couldn’t see her. I then told her that it looked like she needed a break, so I encouraged her to take a few moments before she found me a flight. I could wait. My only thought was that if that were me, I would like a few minutes to get myself together.
You could see the gratitude in her eyes. She nodded her head in thanks, took a sip of water, sniffled a bit, and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. We then chatted about the man who was just there, and I got her to laugh a few times. After a few minutes went by, she started looking for a flight so I could go home. The next thing I knew, she handed me a first-class ticket! Since I was traveling coach, I was stunned by her gift. She smiled and told me how much those few minutes meant to her and then said she would like to buy me dinner as well. Then she handed me a gift certificate to a restaurant in the airport.
The moral here is this: To be a good customer, you should treat other people like you would like to be treated yourself. You just need to be nice to people.
The top seven things you should do to be a good customer
- Just be nice. Please treat the cashier or store clerk like a human being.
- Please don’t snap your fingers or whistle to get someone’s attention. It’s rude and goes back to number one—treat them like a human being.
- Treat people like you want to be treated.
- Don’t talk on your cell phone when you are ordering food or standing at the checkout line. It’s incredibly rude.
- Try to be patient if you are standing in line. Getting angry will not make the line move any faster.
- Remember your manners. Please and thank you go a long way in this world.
- Even with a mask on, people can STILL see you smile by looking at the way your eyes light up.
