Show me you care with your words!
Like many people, we went out to eat Easter Sunday. We were surprised and disappointed the menu was different than the one we had seen on line. Normally, we wouldn’t care so much; however, three out of the four of us in our group were on day 7 of a 28-day detox. Our detox requires us to forego gluten (yes, bread), caffeine (yes, coffee), dairy (yes, cheese), refined sugar (yes, Easter candy), and alcohol (yes, wine). Now you can see why the menu was so important to us.
Enter our FANTASTIC server who showed us she cared! Hannah at Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge in Minneapolis.
My honey Rick ordered his burger sans herbed butter, onion, provolone cheese, red pepper mayo, and bun. Our friend Jazzie followed suit and ordered her side salad sans croutons, cheese, and dressing, and then added a chicken breast. My daughter Ariana, who is not detoxing, also had special requests – onions and chipotle hollandaise on the side. I ordered my brunch meal without toast and explained three of us were on a detox.
Sheesh! We were a difficult group!
Five communication tips we can learn from Hannah:
- Assure your customers that you are there to help them (“No problem!” “We can do that.” “Let me check.”)
- Make suggestions to ensure a good experience (“I recommend the Build Your Own Burger, because it will be cheaper.” “How about lettuce for your burger, since you can’t have the bun?”)
- Ask questions (“Would you like the chicken blackened?”)
- Express Empathy (“I totally understand and have dietary restrictions too.” “No need to feel bad!”)
- Reassure them. (“No server should be upset by a special request.”
Bonus tip from Hannah – smile!
Here are some words to try.
SUPERVISORS to TEAM MEMBER:
How are you doing?
How is your project going?
What can I do to help you?
Thank you for fill in the blank.
TEAM MEMBER to SUPERVISOR:
Can I get your expert opinion on something?
I recognize how challenging it is to lead our team.
You are a great supervisor because fill in the blank.
Thank you for recognizing my effort.
COWORKER TO COWORKER:
What can I do to help?
You are not yourself today. Is there something you’d like to talk about?
Would it be helpful if insert suggestion?
You got this!
CUSTOMER SERVICE PROVIDER to CUSTOMER:
See Hannah’s words above 😊.
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