How Do You Represent?
A customer once said to me, “You are PC Connection to us.” It was true everything that they knew about PC Connection, now Connection, was through my interaction with them. This was the CIO of a medium size hospital. It was a sobering thought, and changed my perspective as an Employee. This single comment made me all the more conscious of what I said and how I said it. I realized when I spoke to customers and they said, I hate this company or that company. Most of the time it had to do with their interaction with the salesperson, their responsiveness, how they handled problems that arose, how polite they were. An employee with a bad attitude or poor work ethic can impact an entire company’s view of your organization and whether they do business with you.
These days we are all fighting for business whether it is on the phone or in a physical store how do you represent, or are being represented? Are employees warm, welcoming, and always polite on the phone? If it is a physical store, do the employees welcome people who come in? Are they helpful? Are they clustered in little groups talking or using their phones ignoring customers? Does this describe you?
Q2 of 2018 Walmart saw 4.5% growth, huge, compared to most retailers. As amazing as it may seem I have gotten great customer service at Walmart, I ask an employee where something is they stop what they are doing and show me exactly where to find what I am looking for. One employee gave me terrific, creative ideas for gifts for my grandkids in the middle of Christmas rush. At Macys the sales people act like they are doing me a favor by taking my money. We have a Lowes and Home Depot near close to me. At Home Depot I am always approached and offered help. Once, executives visiting the store stopped what they were doing to try to assist me… Lowes, I always have to chase someone down and they are far less responsive. It changes my view of the company and my desire to do business with them.
Representing your company is a lot of responsibility, and as an employee your obligation. If you can’t represent your company well, if you are so unhappy that it impacts your interactions with customers, then maybe it is time to think about working elsewhere. As a business, I think it is vitally important to take a hard look at the front lines and see how you are being represented.