Sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

It might be considered old fashioned, but thanking Customers seems like the least we can do when they pony up hard earned money for our goods and services. Whether you’re in banking, cheeseburgers, or widgets, the ask is the same.

When people come into your business be sure you thank them kindly for stopping by.

How often have you left a business without a Thank you? Too often, I’m sure. This can be a huge differentiator – and let’s face it, someone plunking down hard earned money to frequent your establishment deserves nothing less.

There is a lot of power behind the thank you – and not just because of the gesture of showing gratitude. Some may see this as a closing, but I see it as an opportunity to start the next interaction. This is a chance to wish your Customers a great rest of their day and invite them back tomorrow. So in a way, you are sowing the seeds of a repeat visit here. This is a chance to make sure they not only know you appreciate their business but to nudge them toward their next visit. You are also closing on a great note that makes them recommend you to their social circles.

So there is thanking and there is THANKING. In lieu of nothing, I’ll take the perfunctory gesture, but we all need to strive to be better than that.

1. Great eye contact is key. Let’s face it, just the right amount of eye contact is reassuring and gives an air of authenticity to the gesture.
2. Smile genuinely. A smile is a great default position, let that speak volumes about how happy you were that folks stopped by.
3. Use a friendly tone of voice. Don’t mumble and certainly don’t try to be sarcastic. Neither of those things will make your Customer feel sincerely appreciated.
4. Make the gratitude specific. Thanks for coming in today. I appreciate you trusting us with your account. You can even deepen the gesture by using your Customer’s name.

There is no doubt that as Leaders you likely do this on auto pilot – and probably really well. If not, this is something that practice can easily fix. You have to commit to the gesture and use it liberally. The real impact comes when you have your team in lock step here as well. Many of the folks I see on the front lines in businesses around the country haven’t been coached on this and definitely haven’t been inspired or held accountable.

The best way to move forward here is to make sure your entire team knows that a sincere thank you is the close to every transaction. They should have the freedom to give it their own flavor and integrate into their patter how they see fit, but it isn’t negotiable.

Then you have to validate its happening and coach daily to make sure it continues. Once you get your team in the groove it will be as second nature as those warm welcomes we discussed earlier.

Finally, you can impact this by thanking your team for their good works. Those who feel undervalued and underappreciated are not likely to give away thanks in any great measure themselves. You can also couple this by visiting your team in their work areas and really pumping them up. Not only should you energize them in preshift huddles, but throughout the day. Give them warm smiles, ask what they need to better perform their jobs, and remove hassles for them. With that kind of energy how can they not pay it forward to your Customers?

So don’t leave anything to chance – show your team how it is done, show them you really care, and don’t settle for less than heartfelt thanks to your Customers.

Until next time, I want to remind you to treat your Customers as cherished friends.

Tony Johnson
-Customer Service Leader and Speaker-

@ServiceRecipe