BE FRIENDLY, DON’T BE TOO PROFESSIONAL
BY
OLATUJA GABRIEL-WEALTH
I have been to many offices, selling points, shops and so on where I found some unfriendly sellers and customer help desk personnel who find it difficult to put a little smile on their faces. Some of them even find it difficult to answer their customers. They are hash and rude. I went to a mall where I met a different Lady who always laughs and gist with customers while she does her work at the same time. I have been to that particular shopping mall severally; the other ladies there are not interesting at all. When a customer asks them questions or make inquiries, they answer as if they are quarreling with the customers with a face that is not nice to look at. On the Other hand, this other Lady, who Later told me her name “Tere” always smiles, laughs and talk to customers as if she knew them before. One morning, I asked the other Lady if her name, She told me her name. I told her, I like your Hospitality and smile. She immediately frowned and smiled a little, and she said, “it’s a part of customer service” The facial reaction she showed meant that she wasn’t interested in attracting men, but to attract customers for return patronage. I told her, “That is a good one, but you know there are many other customer care personnel who are oblivious of this and they attend to customers anyhow” She replied, “I can’t do that to my customers”
Because of Tere, I keep patronize that mall and I know that is applicable to many customers that might have had encounter with here in that mall.
Let me ask you,
How do you treat you customers?
Are you the one that shouts on your customers and tell them to go if they want to go? You are about to close that shop permanently.
Are you the type that in your office or on your job, you treat customers with a sense of hostility and disrespect? You are about to be retrenched.
Your customers and clients are the reasons why your business or office exists and for you to quit the market or industries, just tell your customers through the way you treat them. They will assist you faster than you think. If no one comes to your office or shop to patronize you, what would you do? You close the business.
Do think that office is not owned by you and therefore, if customers come or not, that is not your own concern, there are sales or not, you will collect your salary by the end of the month? Don’t worry, because you would soon be fired.
Oh, banker, govt worker, you misbehave to people on your job and you think no one can do you anything? Don’t worry, when they are reshuffling that firm, ministry and department or wherever you are, you would be the first to be laid off.
In the course of my studies in customer relationship management, I got to know a principle call “Economy of experience” Economy of experience is one of the economic aspects needed for your business or organization to function effectively and compete well in the market or industry. Economy of experience evaluates how you treat your customers and the experience they had in your firm/business/organization.
If customers have a bad experience with you or your business, they will not want to come back some other time. If they don’t come back, its fair, but they will also tell potential customers their experience and divert your potential customers to some other places where they would be treated better.
On the other hand, when you treat your customers well, they have good experience, they will like to come back next time and have repeat business.
Moreover, they will refer potential customers to your business.
When you portray a good economy of experience to your customers,
(a) You your business will have super competitive advantage
(b) You will spend less on advertising
(c) The growth of your business will be drastic
Finally, let me close my saying that, when you have customer focus and care in your business, your business will definitely go to a next level.
Thank you.
This article was written and compiled by Olatuja Gabriel-Wealth.
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