The Power of Thank You... and Other Words!

The power of thank you is incredible. In fact the power of words like, 'please', 'sorry', 'hello', and 'goodbye' is amazing. So hello to you this week!

I noticed this on a walk this weekend. I stepped off the path to let some people use the path as it was single track and there was a nice little bit for me to get in to, and not one of the group said thank you, which balanced out with an earlier similar event where all of the walkers thanked me for doing the same thing.

(Another time, I moved over and the walkers coming towards me continued to walk three abreast, not even acknowledging me at all but some trying to walk two or single file. This shows to me that people are aware of others around and do consider others in our green spaces and importantly are not entitled enough to presume everyone should get out of the way for them.... but still don't acknowledge a nice thing to do! Grrrrh!!!!!!)

But back to the point...how did I feel after each encounter? How would a customer feel with an acknowledgment of their presence in a store, a 'hello' and a 'thank you' after they have purchased something. Probably how I felt, positive to the store (me to the people) as opposed to the people who said nothing.

So, by giving the customer some little positive words, you are more likely going to get them returning to you to purchase more. With no words of encouragement, what's the point? It is the little things in life that make the difference and in customer service and in creating an amazing customer experience, this is definitely true.

On a deeper note, I have been out to dinner a few times recently and I noticed that the waiters and waitresses who were most confident gave the best customer experience and also could engage better - crucial for front facing roles. This sounds like a given, but great customer experience requires confidence, the ability to talk, to listen to the customer and give them your time and most importantly to have great manners by saying please and thank you and hello and goodbye and sorry when it is warranted too. 

I know that confidence is not always easy but why go into a role that clearly states you will be interacting with the customer when it's not something that you are comfortable with.

So remember you can start with a few phrases such as 'Hello and welcome', 'How are you today' and 'my name is xxxxx if you need any help.' These are simple little phrases whether you are not great at chit chat or lack confidence. By the time you have said these the other person will have felt welcomed and relaxed and engage with you and in no time at all you will be in an easy conversation with them. All you then need to do at the end of the encounter is thank them and say goodbye!

So, thank you for reading my blog! If you need any help with any customer experience support, do get in contact using the details on the contact page on my website. Have a great week! Goodbye!