5 Ways Your Customer Service Shows You Know Your Audience

The quality of your customer service can make or break a lasting business relationship. And in most cases, making some simple, thoughtful adjustments can be the difference in giving your customers a positive or negative experience.

1 – Acknowledge your customers.

Until Saturday, I had never been to a Caddilac Ranch restaurant before. My husband and I were spending a night in a nearby hotel and thought we’d give the place a try after visiting the Gaylord National Hotel’s ICE! exhibit. We’re adventurous eaters and love checking out new restaurants – even if they are chains. Besides, it came highly recommended by the check-in clerk at our hotel.

When we arrived, we saw lots of people waiting for tables. At 3:00 PM, we take that as a good sign. It’s between lunch and dinner hours and they have a healthy crowd. The food must be good! When we got to the hostess stand, a very nice young lady was there – one the phone. Rather than look up and give us some indication that she was aware of our presence and that she could help us in a moment, she looked down at the counter.

Don’t get me wrong, she was very pleasant and helpful.  As soon as she hung up the phone she looked us in the eye and said, “I’m sorry. That was my mom. I tried to get off as fast as I could. She just kept talking.”

I was in a mood to be helpful so I simply replied, “Here’s some feedback for you. Next time you are on the phone and a customer walks up to the stand, give some sort of indication that you know they are there and that you will help them in a moment. When you look down at the counter, to us it looks like you are trying to ignore us. Simply acknowledging someone’s presence can be really helpful.”

She seemed pretty receptive to the idea and appeared genuinely appreciative of the suggestion to improve her customer service. And I was glad I could constructively address a habit I find very irritating. Perhaps I will offer the same insight the next time it happens.

2 – Sweetie, please don’t call my husband “sweetie” when I’m around!

I appreciate that when a person relies on tips for money that sometimes using cutesy little pet names for clients can mean the difference between an average might and a fantastic one. But, if a man is sitting at the bar with his wife, girlfriend, date, or significant other, please don’t address him as “sweetie” at any time. It’s really irritating and most likely isn’t going to get you a bigger tip.

Our server at the Caddilac Ranch was great. She was very friendly and offered some helpful suggestions about the foods she likes and recommends. Her reference to my husband as “sweetie” from the moment we sat down until we left was really bothersome. You want to call the men pet names while you server them? Fine. Just take a look around and see who he’s with first. If he even remotely looks like he’s with a woman, then don’t. Or, call her some goofy pet name too – then it looks like you call everyone something special, not just the men at the bar.

3 – Talking bad about your co-workers at a company party is really bad PR.

Regardless of the role you play for a business, bad mouthing a fellow employee – especially during its annual holiday party – not only makes you look horrible, it makes your business look bad. Do employees always have to agree with one another? Absolutely not. Do co-workers need to support and encourage each other? Most certainly.

At my husband’s post holiday Holiday party last Saturday. we sat at a table with the woman who used to plan all the company parties.  Until then, I found her very pleasant and a joy to be around. She seemed helpful, knowledgeable, and like she really enjoyed the people she served. But she didn’t plan this year’s party. And when she sat down at the table, all she did was complain about what she didn’t like about the party – beginning with the invitations sent.

I used to plan the company parties. They’re a lot of work to put together. To sit at a table and listen to the party planner’s co-worker – who has more experience both with the company and planning events – complain about some of the most minute and unimportant details was not fun at all. Rather than seeing this party as a chance to help the party planner improve next time, she was bringing her down, publicly, in front of strangers. She commented that “some people have a knack for event planning and some people don’t” to which I replied, “True. But if she doesn’t have the experience that you do, maybe giving her ideas for ways she can improve would help her with the next one.”

She rolled her eyes at me and then continued to find things she didn’t like about the party.

Here’s the part where knowing your audience before you start  spouting off is helpful: she was much more concerned about what she perceived as “bad” that she gave little thought to the fact that about half of the people sharing her table were party guests having a great time. The room was filled with people laughing, eating, drinking and socializing. Yet there she was, whining about the fact that the invitation wasn’t formal – it was “just a flier sent to employees and that the deserts we odd “Most people pick something normal, like chocolate cake or PLAIN cheesecake. She picked Oreo Key Lime Cheese cake and Lemon Merrengue Pie.” Both were absolutely fantastic. All the food was delicious. Some of it was a little salty. But for the most part, it was great food.

Had this very negative woman known I was a blogger who writes about real life experiences, would she have been so vocal? Or would she have looked at the whole evening as a chance to find the positive and provide helpful feedback for the party planner’s next event?

4 – Not every audience appreciates Judas Priest music screamed into a microphone.

The music for the party was provided by KJ Mega by way of a Karaoke Machine. For the most part, that was pretty neat. The whole event was a 1920’s Flapper-esque Casino Night. while the attendees played with pretend chips ($25K worth!), the music in the background was compliments of those who felt the urge to sing. As with most Karaoke events, some singers really needed to keep their voices in the shower and not offer them to the rest of the world. Others were spectacular!

Where our music providers should us they didn’t know their audience was when one of them decided to scream Judas Priest music into the microphones. That may have been better suited for a different crowd with a different vibe. We couldn’t hear each other around our Black Jack table over the noise.I think the Karaoke aspect of the evening was fun. And I wouldn’t mind seeing it again at future parties. But, next time, let’s leave Judas Priest out of the equation.

5 – What would you do with screaming guests running through the Gaylord’s Atrium?

At about midnight after the party, my husband and I tried to go to sleep. First, we couldn’t because of the noisy guests talking loudly as they passed our door. Then, we couldn’t because the noise from the people above us walking and talking was too loud. Yes, you would think there would be better sound-proofing in such a pricey hotel. Finally, we couldn’t because someone was screaming through the atrium, listening to their voice echo all the way around and up to the 18th floor. Constantly screaming? No. About once every 5 minutes or so? Yes. At 12:57AM my husband called the front desk to complain. “Please, can you make the noise stop?” The woman on the other end claimed she didn’t hear anything but will have someone go and investigate. About 20 minutes later, my husband and I arrived at the check-out desk ready to go home. It didn’t matter that the noise had stopped, we were done – too worked up to try and sleep. We only live 40 minutes away and decided to just go home. The clerk said, “I heard something, and I know we sent security down to check. They haven’t come back yet.” Um. If you heard something, why did we have to listen to it for nearly an hour AND call to ask if you could make it stop? When you expect your guests to pay $200+ for a night in your hotel, there is an expectation that the customer service will be spectacular. This isn’t something your guests should have had to ask about. The hotel manager offered to move us to a new location. We declined. We were too tired to try another room. Besides, check out was at 10AM, I didn’t want to have to worry about setting an alarm. We were not charged for our stay. And I’m in no hurry to try this hotel again.

Your customer service can make or break future customer relationships.

I don’t think I’m much different than most consumers. I’m willing to spend more money on a product or service if the customer service provided is worth it. And I don’t think I have unrealistic expectations. I want my presence acknowledged. I want to be treated with dignity and respect. And when I’m paying a premium price, I expect you to provide a level of service that warrants the extra money.

Is that too much to ask?