“Did he just say what I think he said?” the customer I had just waited on asked Debbie the cashier at the pharmacy I was subbing at. “Oh yes, Corey always says things like THAT” she replied with a rather proud smile. “It’s just that I cannot recall the last time I heard someone say THAT” the customer responded as she walked away shaking her head.
Debbie walked back over to me and put her hand on my shoulder and told me with the kindness that a grandmother gives a grandchild “That’s the fourth customer this afternoon that has commented on how you talked to them. I just don’t know anyone who talks the way you talk. Why do you talk to people like that?”
“Because to me, Pharmacy School was the most boring place on Earth!!” I shot back teasingly. “Quite frankly, I hated the way my professors lectured me, so I figured that if I had to spend 40 years talking like a professor or a scientist, I would go completely insane.”
Debbie looked at me with wonder in her eyes.
“So” I continued, “I decided that instead of talking about medicine when I got out of school, I would talk to people about THEMSELVES, and what THEY had going on, and I learned something completely MAGICAL:
Customers don’t want to talk about ACE INHIBITORS or BETA BLOCKERS either. THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES!!!”
“Come again?” Debbie asked with a bewildered look on her face.
“By the time a customer gets to us, they have waited in line 4 or 5 times already that day and they are tired and cranky. They want to receive their bag, go get into their pajamas, and relax. I have two choices:
I can either ram a consultation down their throats that they don’t want to hear anyway, or, I can share that I ‘hear’ them when they give me the nonverbal cues that they just want to get out of here and go home.
So I learned that if I asked them about their job, Little Suzie’s soccer game, or how they got that cast on their arm, they will figure out later that night when they get home, and do have questions, that they have a FRIEND at the pharmacy that they can call.”
“That doesn’t explain why you use the word’s you use.” Debbie stated trying to get a handle on where I was going with my story about turning customers and patients into friends.
“Once I developed (quite by accident) a legion of FRIENDS, I ended up with an extremely safe space in which I could experiment and practice what to say and what not to say.” I explained.
“I have made some mistakes over the years, but I’ve gained the knowledge that most people are basically the same, and most people respond to certain phrases and comments in similar ways.”
“How do you mean?” Debbie questioned. I was excited by her interest in this line of thinking.
“Don’t you like it when someone says things to you like:
1) Thank You For Your Business!!
2) My NAME is Corey!!
3) I’m Here Until 9pm and this is my number if you have any questions!
4) I LOVE your scarf! Or,
5) It’s been really nice talking to you!
I asked curious to hear her response.
“I guess I do, but it’s the way you say it, like that you actually mean it. No one talks like that in public these days” Debbie noted kind of hesitantly.
“Yes” I followed up enthusiastically. “That’s what makes it memorable! And of course it’s easy for me, because I do mean it. I think far too many of us have become guarded and restricted because we are afraid to stand out. But, my friend, standing out is where the opportunity is!!”
“Amazing!!” she stated as she went back to the counter to help the next gentleman in line.
I smiled when I heard her comment on the snake tattoo he had running up his forearm.
What memorable customer experiences have you had in the past? Were you treated like a real person? Did you make a connection with the individual on the other side of the counter? Did you learn their name without having to ask?
In customer service, it’s that littlest things that make the biggest differences!!
Photo: Getty Images