We’re all on this planet together, walking through life and encountering the world. We all bring different things to the table and have a completely unique combination of experiences that’s all our own. While all this is true, there’s still the blaring fact that we also have a lot of things in common; things like basic needs and basic wants.
One of these basic needs is to be ACKNOWLEDGED! We all want to feel like we’re seen, we’re recognized, and we’re heard! So, where is this going, you’re asking? Well, it’s all about acknowledgement in the world of customer service. Something soooo simple as acknowledging a person or not can be the pivotal key in the experience that they walk away with being positive or negative.
We all touch the service industry multiple times in a day, whether it’s at a restaurant, a retail establishment, calling your cell phone service provider, walking into a tasting room, or driving through a Starbucks. That simple, often subtle act of somebody saying “Hello, I’ll be right with you”, or “Hi, how can I help you?” is the first step in creating an incredible customer service experience.
The inverse of all this, is standing at a restaurant hostess stand waiting for somebody to notice that you’re there….or picking out a shirt that you’re excited to purchase and standing at the checkout counter while the salesgirl chats on the phone with her BFF…or even wandering around a tasting room wondering if the attendant is going to invite you up to the counter.
We all just want that acknowledgement, it’s simple and it’s basic, but it’s indeniably integral to each of us walking away with a positive feeling rather than a negative thing.
Nice post! This is soooooo true! When I worked in the service industry we were taught that a “guest” was to be acknowledged in the first 60 seconds. The reason was that people make immediate judgments of the establishment in that first minute. If they are not greeted…….the opportunity for that positive first impression takes a hard and fast nose dive.
People get busy and are sometimes understaffed which is often recognized by patrons. As you said, just a simple acknowledgment of “I’ll be right with you” can often buy time.
I recently visited Laetitia Winery in AG on a crazy busy weekend.Haely was solo in helping a mob outside and handled it amazing. She smiled most of the time we were there, and it was clear she was in 6th gear. Everyone was acknowledged quickly and she kept the wine flowing and the smiles going. Good service should always be acknowledged. Cheers guys!
Hi Shawn! Yeah, agreed…when people feel neglected, things go downhill really quickly! Then it takes a lot more time and energy to get the situation back to where it should be in the customer’s mind. Laetitia has always been a good experience for us, and they DO get busy! Love their sparkling!!!
Hey Shawn,
We couldn’t agree more my friend! This is a human thing, feeling acknowledged and accepted…which obviously than translates over to customer service. So it’s funny that so many people suck at it….we should “get it” more than we do!! Cheers buddy, glad you had a good time at Laetitia!!