Let’s do a little exercise, go out to 5 different businesses in Haiti and act as potential client or just go request information, and you will notice that 2/3 of front office staff, cashier or secretary will give you a sad, unpleasant or unwelcoming facial expression. That was the conclusion of a study we did by analyzing the costumer service of 75 businesses in the metropolitan area.
Unfortunately, unwelcoming greetings are becoming a bad trend in Haitian businesses, 64% Haitian customers we surveyed; affirm they are not welcome properly by front office staff. This situation creates unpleasant relationship with customer even when the service is delivered knowledgeably and timely, a business owner should understand that the initial facial expression matters the most as it can indeed strengthen or ruin the company’s image.
You should know good customer service implies that your service are delivered friendly, competently and timely, that is, a 3-in-1 success formula. If any part of this formula is absent, particularly the friendly part, the business will begins to suffer. What is the solution?
No need to look in your principle of marketing books or research a customer service theory, just simply SMILE. When you are smiled at, you feel, appreciated, energized, and in high spirits even when the world is crumbling down on you! Additionally a true smile has an inductive effect on the recipient causing him or her to pass the smile baton on and on.
The SMILE strategy is widely used by telemarketing sales person; did you know smiling on the phone changes the resonance of your voice? Customers can literally hear you smile through the phone. Telemarketing sales person use this strategy to make their potential clients comfortable while conversing to them.
When you smile you make your costumers feel appreciated and welcomed. All front office staff of business outlets such as banks, supermarkets, bakeries, hotels etc., must constantly provide training to their customer service agent to learn how to smile naturally and welcome their customers. A smile complements a good service, and together, combines to ensure customer retention, customer loyalty and more profits! Persons in customer service job positions must understand that it is the customer that pays the salary. Without the customer therefore, there will be no profits, no salaries and consequently no jobs!
Smiling is priceless; hence it is a wonder why many front office staff and customer service personal fail to smile. If your bakery or shop is losing customer it might not be because of the quality of your product, you simply need to invest in a SMILE!
