The woman in the Earthfare deli had no problem with me taking her photo. But she said, "Don't just take our pictures - buy something from us so we can show you the kind of customer service we really can provide."
Sunday, March 29, 2009
More fun
One sign that a team is really clicking is how much fun they are having.
In one retail job at a large gift shop, there were as many as five of us at a time working next to each other in one long bank of cash registers. One of the real challenges was how much you could mess with your neighbor's work station when they momentarily stepped away (or, even more challenging, when their heads were turned): steal their pen, toss a wadded up piece of paper into their work area, hide their phone behind the cash register - it got harder and harder to stay creatively messy, but we worked at it.
Our cash registers were actually fairly sophisticated computers. One day i returned from my break to find my mouse so wrapped up in bubble wrap and scotch tape that it took about three minutes to extricate it - and, when i got a couple of customers as soon as i came back on, i had to try to make the mouse work while it was still in its little nest. My coworkers watched the whole show and only barely managed to hide their delight.
One day i was playing trick after trick on Peggy, who worked the sales floor. After one especially creative little tease, as she walked by my register i just beamed with how pleased i was with myself. She turned to me with a look that was equal parts fun and menace as she said, "It's not over yet." It was one of the funniest and sassiest and coolest things i have ever heard a co-worker say.
In one retail job at a large gift shop, there were as many as five of us at a time working next to each other in one long bank of cash registers. One of the real challenges was how much you could mess with your neighbor's work station when they momentarily stepped away (or, even more challenging, when their heads were turned): steal their pen, toss a wadded up piece of paper into their work area, hide their phone behind the cash register - it got harder and harder to stay creatively messy, but we worked at it.
Our cash registers were actually fairly sophisticated computers. One day i returned from my break to find my mouse so wrapped up in bubble wrap and scotch tape that it took about three minutes to extricate it - and, when i got a couple of customers as soon as i came back on, i had to try to make the mouse work while it was still in its little nest. My coworkers watched the whole show and only barely managed to hide their delight.
One day i was playing trick after trick on Peggy, who worked the sales floor. After one especially creative little tease, as she walked by my register i just beamed with how pleased i was with myself. She turned to me with a look that was equal parts fun and menace as she said, "It's not over yet." It was one of the funniest and sassiest and coolest things i have ever heard a co-worker say.
Internal customers
Good supervisors and managers know that the folks they supervise or manage are also their customers. These front-line folks also need to be served - with information, support, guidance and (perhaps most important) acknowledgement.
When i worked one holiday season as a "retail sales associate" (shop clerk) in a large gift shop at the Biltmore Estate (Asheville's largest tourist attraction), the supervisors and managers in the retail departement seemed to understand this. They treated the front-line folks like gold. And it worked: it was then easy and natural for us to treat each other well - and to treat our customers like they were gold.
When i worked one holiday season as a "retail sales associate" (shop clerk) in a large gift shop at the Biltmore Estate (Asheville's largest tourist attraction), the supervisors and managers in the retail departement seemed to understand this. They treated the front-line folks like gold. And it worked: it was then easy and natural for us to treat each other well - and to treat our customers like they were gold.
Being acknowledged
Business was slow at the pet supply store and Melanie looked like the hours were weighing on her. But a little attention from a guy with a customer service business card and a camera brought her back to life.
I really like the store where she works, but i wonder how much cheerleading she has gotten recently from her supervisors. When i treated her like she was interesting and valuable, she responded as if that was exactly what she was needing that afternoon.
Attitude
Chris at the CVS drugstore was from the start very engaging, but really lit up when i gave him my business card with this blog on it, asked him about his job and asked permission to take a photo.
"Sometimes I don't really look forward to coming in for 12-hour shifts like today. But attitude makes all the difference in the world: if i'm determined to make it a good day, it is one."
While i do agree with the whole FISH customer service tenet of "Choose your attitude", i also think it's over-rated. it puts, for me, too much responsibility on the server and leaves out all the systemic factors that influence a worker's ability to "choose a positive attitude".
But Chris was a gas - and a showman.
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