Always Be Serving

“It has always been my belief that a man should do his best, regardless of how much he receives for his services, or the number of people he may be serving or the class of people served.” – Napoleon Hill

We have all walked into a business (or contacted a customer service department, etc.) and felt insignificant, ignored, or unimportant. This is unacceptable for many reasons, but fundamentally because no matter what industry we are in, our primary job is to provide a service in exchange for money.

Simply put, every customer counts.

Here are five helpful things to remember when you’re working with a customer and providing great service is the last thing on your mind:

They are trying to give you money. When a customer is asking a million annoying questions about a $2 widget and you just want to give them the damn thing so they get out of your face, remember that small sales often lead to large sales down the road.
Everyone has friends. And who knows, their friends may have more money!
Negativity spreads like wildfire. If you treat someone poorly, they are much more likely to tell their friends, their peers, Twitter, Facebook, etc. People love to gossip about other people’s negative experiences—if we didn’t, then publications like US Weekly wouldn’t exist.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. We have all been willing to make a large purchase in a store, and all the salesperson has to do is answer a few questions. Instead of answering those questions, you get ignored (because you look too young, too old, too poor, too whatever) so you simply walk out and take your business elsewhere. Don’t be that ignorant salesperson!
Think about how you would want to be treated. When all else fails, and you still can’t get into serving this customer, humanize the person. Imagine if you were in her shoes, and all you wanted was to purchase XYZ but you had a few questions. Or perhaps she just doesn’t understand your sales process. Take the time to explain it to her and you’ll both be happier.

photo credit: Robert S. Donovan