I went into a McDonald’s yesterday and said, “I’d like some fries.” The girl at the counter said, “Would you like some fries with that?”……Jay Leno
This is quite funny, yet it carries a great message. Training the team members to respond in a way that suggests add-on sales to customers brings, I’m sure, a bunch of additional sales. Add-on selling is easy since the customer is already in “yes” mode. He doesn’t have to be taken there by a sales person. The order taker is converted to a soft salesperson.
The message is that the particular soft salesperson is running on automatic. He is apparently not paying much attention to his customer. The customer in this case should feel disrespected at a minimum. Granted this is a fast food place and the error may not have much consequence, however if this were your business, how would you react.
I feel that this incident demonstrates disengagement. Is it just one instance, one employee or is it pervasive among the other team members? Even in a business where most are repeat customers, the team members who deal directly with the customers must be fully engaged. Everyone wants to be treated as though they are special. Paying close attention to their needs, desires and wants is imperative to successful customer relationships.
It is also a good practice to spend time training and coaching your team members to ensure that they are engaged and working within your culture. It is easier to prevent small missteps from happening than to conduct a full repair process. This is true in machines and even more true in people.
Even if your people are fully engaged and have excellent relationships skills, as a leader you must also be involved with the customers often. In some restaurants the owners and chefs come out to greet the customers. In our healthcare technology management industry people call and visit people.
Bottom Line: Just because your people are taking care of your customers, it does not mean you can ignore your people or your customers. Enjoy your fries with that.
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