Approachable Service: Stop, Drop and Roll

PICTURE THIS: you’re one unhappy customer.

You just discovered that something is wrong with your checking account. So, on your lunch break you leave work and head over to the bank to get some answers.

But.

When you walk into the lobby and approach the front desk, nobody seems to be available to assist you!

Now, it’s not like nobody works there. Several employees DO mull about behind the counter.

But they’re all busy!

And not with other customers — busy with themselves.

Surfing the Net.
Reading books or magazines.
Jerking around with fellow employees.
Talking to their friends on the cell phone.
Gossiping with coworkers about the hot new office romance.

In other words, tuning you out.

BIG mistake.

* * *

This is an act of unapproachable service – and it’s a CRIME.

Sadly, it persists daily.

In offices, lobbies, front desks, call centers and waiting rooms around the world, customers are getting tuned out!

And they’re not happy about it.

What’s more, they’re telling their friends about it. And it’s doubtful those friends are rushing to do business with a company whose front line staff isn’t available to its customers.

SO, HERE’S THE SOLUTION…

Remember when you were a kid and you learned fire safety?

“Stop, drop and…?”

Roll, right? Stop, drop and roll. Everybody remembers that.

Well, when it comes to delivering approachable service, especially in those crucial moments of greeting the customer, that same three-step process applies:

STOP. Stop doing whatever you’re doing. Hang up the phone. Pause your conversations. Put down the mouse. Cease any secondary activities the MOMENT you spot a customer who needs assistance.

DROP. Not to the floor. (You probably WILL get fired if you do that!) Instead, drop your attention. Focus your body and mind on to the customer at hand. Unless you’re dealing with another customer or an existing emergency, nothing is more important at that moment than the guy who just walked in the door.

ROLL. Again, please don’t literally roll on the ground! But roll with the problem. Project understanding, patience and friendliness, and most importantly availability.

That’s what approachable service is all about. Showing the customer that you, as a front line employee, are personally AND physically available to them.

And if you remember to STOP, DROP and ROLL, even you will be able to put out the hottest of fires!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your biggest front line pet peeve?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
Share your Approachable Service Solutions here!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com

Are you the luckiest person you know?

Watch Scott’s interview on 20/20!

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