About three times a week, I drive through and get myself an iced tea (weaning myself off of Starbucks coffee). I usually go to the same fast food chain drive-through, but not necessarily the same location. This particular chain, SONIC, experiences a tremendous amount of traffic in any given hour.
I have made it a point when asked “How can I help you?” to first say, “Hi, how are you doing today?” in a very sincere and friendly voice. What a HUGE difference this has made in the service I receive.
I have always been polite at a drive-though, but now I slow down and take those extra few seconds to really acknowledge the individual who is helping me by asking how they are doing. They can hear in my voice that I really want to know. The result has been super friendly replies, like “I’m doing great, and how is your day going?” and other similar sentiments. I can totally tell by the surprised and almost shocked responses I get that most of the people I speak with this way rarely get a friendly greeting that speaks directly to them personally.
The other day, instead of driving through, I sat outside and ordered my tea from the ordering booth on the patio, using the same friendly tone. A car-hop brought me my drink and I sat down. Soon after, three individuals came to the patio to order, and they were somewhat demanding and unfriendly—although not really outright rude, just all about themselves—totally oblivious to the human spirit working diligently on the other side of the speaker. It made me a little sad for the way we go about unaware and unconscious a lot of the time.
Since using my new greeting consistently, I have been called “sweetie”, “hun”, and “love” by some overly appreciative sales girls (is that what you call the ladies who work at the drive-though?). I have to tell you, this simple gesture has really opened my eyes to how much we all just want to be “seen” (even though you can’t see someone at first in a drive through).
Being “Seen”
Being “seen” means being acknowledged and it also means experiencing a connection even if for a brief moment. Being seen means being appreciated and respected, even praised when it’s appropriate.
Seeing others means you come from the vantage point that all of our lives, all of our wallets, all of our jobs, and all of our time schedules matter and are valued just like we value our own.
Seeing others means dropping the manipulative tactics to get what we want, and letting go of the rudeness that tells someone we think they are less important than we are.
Seeing is believing, too. When we “see” our employees, they begin to believe in us more, and we in them. When we “see” our vendors, we embrace them as part of our team, not as adversaries that are out to stick us. When we “see” our co-workers, we understand that they are building their professional lives just as we are, and we see that is important to them just as it is important to us. When we “see” our customers, we are able to be amazingly thankful that with all of the many wonderful choices they have, and with all of the options at their disposal, they are willing to see us and give us a try—either for the first time or once again. When we ourselves are customers, and we “see” sales people, tellers, wait staff, professional service providers, clerks, and attendants, we open not only our eyes, but our hearts and our opportunities as well.
It takes only an instant to become aware in any given situation. It takes just a second to re-adjust bad thinking, and clear the air of any bad attitude that would cause us to not see another. The moment you see yourself heading down the wrong communications road, it’s time to look and SEE.
The wonderful thing about seeing others is that by doing so you begin to see yourself, and best of all you also begin to be seen, and once again we come full circle (something I love to do).
So this week, see and be seen. Open your mind, your heart, your voice, your consideration to others, and see how it makes all the difference in your business and in your life (and of course it will never hurt your profits either).
Have a Wildly Wide-Eyed Week,
Margo.
Margo M.Ed. is a Business and Design Coach in the Home Fashions Industry. She creates and delivers custom training programs for managed businesses and their sales consultants to help them communicate better with customers and increase sales and profits. Margarett is a Writer and Professional Speaker, and the President of The DeGangi Group and The DeGangi School of Interior Decoration, with both on sight and on-line courses in Interior Decorating, Marketing, and Redesign. For almost 20 years she has helped individuals and managed business owners in the interior fashions and decorating industries to earn more while fully enjoying the process.
Two of Margo’s popular products for furniture store owners and their sales professionals are The Decorating School Crash Course Power-Ed Pack (9 design lessons on video/audio with 12 hours of content), and the matching Decorating School Crash Course Learner Files to measure learning, provide added interactivity, and motivate sales consultants to own their opportunities for growth