The Polite Society: Be a Nice Customer
?Shep Hyken
Customer Service and Customer Experience Expert | Keynote Speaker | NYT Bestselling Author | Shep helps companies deliver AMAZING customer service experiences!
Usually customer service is about the people working at a company being polite to customers. But how about customers being polite to employees? Be nice and maybe you’ll get nice back.
So, this article is from the perspective of the customer.
No doubt that a squeaky wheel gets the oil. For those that aren’t familiar with this old saying, it basically means if you are loud enough, you’ll get noticed. To put it in business terms, if you feel you’re not getting the customer service you think you deserve, stomp your feet up and down and you might get what you want. Sounds like a good plan, but there may be a better way.
There is another old saying: You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Being nice to the people serving you may beget nice customer service in return. If you don’t believe me, try it. It’s the right thing to do anyway.
The catching flies with honey concept comes to life in a couple of amazing examples I read about in an excellent article in Trendwatching.com Companies will reward you for being nice and polite to their people and the other customers around you.
Last year McDonald’s and Coca-Cola got together for a special promotion that rewarded diners for not using their cell phones. I don’t mind someone using their phone in a public area if they are discreet and respectful of others. The idea of rewarding a customer for their good behavior intrigues me. The promotion encouraged customers to take a “timeout” from talking, tweeting, Facebooking and texting. The longer you stayed in “timeout,” the more points you receive. Participants could win prizes, including a free trip.
I can’t vouch for the success of the app, but the premise is sound. Just the other day I was at the grocery store and standing in the checkout lane. The person in front of me was on her phone. She was loud and showed little respect for the people around her; specifically the cashier who had to wait to catch the customer’s attention to pay for her groceries.
In that same Trendwatching article, there was another excellent example. La Petite Syrah, a French café, had a pricing policy based on politeness. The customers who were kind to the barista and used the word “please” were charged less than those who weren’t so polite. The two prices were posted on their menu board. A cup of coffee for the polite customer cost EUR 1.40 versus EUR 7. That’s an 80% discount, just for being nice. Sign me up for that one!
Here’s the point of this article: Respect.
As a person, respect the people around you. As a customer, respect the people you do business with. They just may give it back to you, and sometimes even more so. Dealing with someone having a bad day? Smile. Be polite. Be the nice customer that’s easy to do business with, that potentially can make that bad day a little better. Then, watch how you’re treated.
Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus? customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
Partner @ PwC | Passion for Data Modernization | Addicted Sailor | French/Australian/Canadian Citizen
9 年Always the typical diametrally opposed approach of being reactive vs proactive. All companies should go for the later, usually directly dependent of how critical hence valuable is their relationship with their customers. Too often budgets are limited so strictly spent on extinguishing fires only allowing to deal with those who raise their voices. Thing is that this bare minimum policy deals only with those cases puting on the company's public image at risk. But being able to ve proactive and valuing nice customers takes a bold shift for most of the organisations. Thanks for sharing your experience, i wish it was a more globally adopted trend among the organisations around the world, the energy produced would certainly positively influence in a cascading effect. May be there is a need to create a WW label of virtuous companies which would become a key selection criteria for the consumers.
Experienced Healthcare Professional: CPXP | Patient/Customer/Provider Experience | Change Management | Education/Training Content Development | Small and Large-Scale Cultural Transformation
9 年Great post! Thank you!
We are living in an era where people's quickly press the 'send' button....Without even checking the facts first! shaming has become the #1 concern of most B2C service providers.
MBA-Driven Retail Sales Growth Specialist: Multi-Category | Consumer Insights | Channel Activation:
9 年True :). Customer is the king & service providers are humans too. Offering our fellow human service providers the decency, politeness and respect, means appreciation & who doesn't like being appreciated?!
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9 年Great point, and guess what being a nice customer works. You get much more from your supplier. I beleive someone providing a real true customer service is also a great customer. It works both ways. It is a mind set. It is called being educated, careful, kind, caring.... Thanks Shep Hyken