Thank You for Reading This Title
Thank you for considering reading this story.
Thank you for considering reading this story.
And now, thank you for actually reading this article.
Yes, I am a business guy. And as such, I am especially sensitive to things that other people don’t always think about.
Even though they may not always think about them, they are conscious of them. The one that comes to my mind first, obviously, is making people know their worth to you.
The other day I visited a drive-through restaurant window, and when they delivered my sack-o-linch, the cashier said to me, “here you go.”
Now I know it was lunchtime and there was a long line of hungry visitors behind me. I know this person could have possibly been a new hire and not part of the restaurant owner. Or even more, this person may have been paid a minimum wage level salary.
But I shouldn't have to mentally run through a list like that. I had chosen this restaurant over dozens of others, sat in a long line, and then just handed over my precious money. A simple “thank you” would have been in order.
I didn't expect him to gush for ten minutes about how grateful he was that I had chosen his place of business in which to put my trust and commerce. I didn't even want him to lean out of his window and shake my hand.
But, “here you go…” (?)
This is stuff you learn in kindergarten or long before that. This is how people treat other people.
But this is especially important in business. The business depends on the customer having a good experience and doing repeat business and telling their friends about you. The experience probably has several phases where a customer can be made to feel welcome, needed, and comfortable.
Drop the ball in any phase, and you are risking the loss of future business.
This does not only apply to the fast-food industry. I have come to realize its importance in most industries, and strive to be grateful to my customers in my own endeavors.
I am in no way perfect, but I have learned to look at anything I am involved with and realize there are many ways, sometimes little ways, I can make a customer feel more important and be thankful for their being there instead of with a competitor.
And even though a customer may not realize it enough on the surface to verbalize it, on a deeper level they may realize it enough to go somewhere else next time they need a service or product like yours.