By Leonard Buchholz
We take in 55% of our world or more through our eyes. It is our single biggest source of information gathering. There is an old saying "what you are speaks so loud I can't see what you are saying." As Customer Service Professionals we need to be aware that people everywhere are looking at us and our work area and determining if they will do business with us based on what they see.
In my travels I make observations about fashion, dress, overall impressions and general appearance nearly everywhere I go. I make it a habit to ask seminar participants what is the norm for their area and their position. Lately I have noticed more acceptance for tattoos and jewelry.
I have no qualms about hiring someone with tats or rings. However, there are certain situations I would not hire that person if the position required heavy personal face to face customer contact. As our society becomes more open to those ideas, I am certain this will change. And I would certainly hire that person for any other position for which they would be qualified. I am not the fashion police however I do follow a few basic guidelines.
If the position requires heavy face to face contact, no excessive jewelry or tats visible. It's my basic rule.
I think we all can agree that certain positions require more of a formal dress code than others. For example, in a bank would you hire the person who had an eyebrow ring and face tat to work as a teller? Probably not. That person might do well in the local mall at the hottest fashion outlet. It's really a matter of application. Does the overall appearance of the person fit the type of business you are doing?
I have had seminar participants tell me of other dress code requirements. No underarm exposure is one I have heard. No black leather is another. For women, no excessive makeup. For guys, no spike head hair.
These are some of the areas in personal dress that you might want to take a look at. In my seminars I always tell people that the norm for their business is the base for your dress code. If everyone wears jeans and sweatshirts, guess what. That's the norm. Dress appropriately for your business.
You might want to polish your appearance. People like to do business with a person who is clean, neat looking. It makes them feel comfortable. I also have a rule that you should dress just slightly better than your customers. Try it.
Have you ever judged the experience you were about to receive on how the place looked when you walked in? Let me tell you a little story about an experience I had when I lived in Japan. I love to play golf and I wanted to go to the driving range and practice when I lived there. I had no idea what to expect, having been to driving ranges here in the States. I walked into this place, and it was gorgeous. Solid wood paneling throughout, the front desk looked like a 5 star hotel, and it seemed as if there were 3 staff members for every person. What did I think when I walked in? "WOW!" After I finished practicing they even cleaned my clubs! It was fantastic! The best service I have ever received at a driving range. And I never forgot how I felt when I walked in the door for the first time.
The point is the appearance and my 1st impression set the stage for my expectations. And your customers are doing the same thing when they walk in your door. They are looking around and taking it all in. And then deciding how their experience is going to be. If you were a customer in your store, would your 1st impression make you want to business with you?
Polish your work environment. I visited one of my old dealerships a few weeks ago and could not believe how dirty the place looked. The reason. The service dept has white walls, and other dealership personnel have put their hands on the wall, hence fingerprints. This is the first thing you see when you walk in the door. The overall 1st impression is the place being dirty and greasy. The rest of the store could have been beautiful, and the personnel courteous and professional but I only remembered how dirty it looked.
My 1st impression is my lasting impression and so is yours. So, take a look around your work area. Is it clean? Are there dirty fingerprints or marks on the wall? Is your work area messy? Piles of paper and overflowing in and out baskets says volumes about you and your business. Make sure yours reflects how you want to look to others.
And clean up your in basket!
We take in 55% of our world or more through our eyes. It is our single biggest source of information gathering. There is an old saying "what you are speaks so loud I can't see what you are saying." As Customer Service Professionals we need to be aware that people everywhere are looking at us and our work area and determining if they will do business with us based on what they see.
In my travels I make observations about fashion, dress, overall impressions and general appearance nearly everywhere I go. I make it a habit to ask seminar participants what is the norm for their area and their position. Lately I have noticed more acceptance for tattoos and jewelry.
I have no qualms about hiring someone with tats or rings. However, there are certain situations I would not hire that person if the position required heavy personal face to face customer contact. As our society becomes more open to those ideas, I am certain this will change. And I would certainly hire that person for any other position for which they would be qualified. I am not the fashion police however I do follow a few basic guidelines.
If the position requires heavy face to face contact, no excessive jewelry or tats visible. It's my basic rule.
I think we all can agree that certain positions require more of a formal dress code than others. For example, in a bank would you hire the person who had an eyebrow ring and face tat to work as a teller? Probably not. That person might do well in the local mall at the hottest fashion outlet. It's really a matter of application. Does the overall appearance of the person fit the type of business you are doing?
I have had seminar participants tell me of other dress code requirements. No underarm exposure is one I have heard. No black leather is another. For women, no excessive makeup. For guys, no spike head hair.
These are some of the areas in personal dress that you might want to take a look at. In my seminars I always tell people that the norm for their business is the base for your dress code. If everyone wears jeans and sweatshirts, guess what. That's the norm. Dress appropriately for your business.
You might want to polish your appearance. People like to do business with a person who is clean, neat looking. It makes them feel comfortable. I also have a rule that you should dress just slightly better than your customers. Try it.
Have you ever judged the experience you were about to receive on how the place looked when you walked in? Let me tell you a little story about an experience I had when I lived in Japan. I love to play golf and I wanted to go to the driving range and practice when I lived there. I had no idea what to expect, having been to driving ranges here in the States. I walked into this place, and it was gorgeous. Solid wood paneling throughout, the front desk looked like a 5 star hotel, and it seemed as if there were 3 staff members for every person. What did I think when I walked in? "WOW!" After I finished practicing they even cleaned my clubs! It was fantastic! The best service I have ever received at a driving range. And I never forgot how I felt when I walked in the door for the first time.
The point is the appearance and my 1st impression set the stage for my expectations. And your customers are doing the same thing when they walk in your door. They are looking around and taking it all in. And then deciding how their experience is going to be. If you were a customer in your store, would your 1st impression make you want to business with you?
Polish your work environment. I visited one of my old dealerships a few weeks ago and could not believe how dirty the place looked. The reason. The service dept has white walls, and other dealership personnel have put their hands on the wall, hence fingerprints. This is the first thing you see when you walk in the door. The overall 1st impression is the place being dirty and greasy. The rest of the store could have been beautiful, and the personnel courteous and professional but I only remembered how dirty it looked.
My 1st impression is my lasting impression and so is yours. So, take a look around your work area. Is it clean? Are there dirty fingerprints or marks on the wall? Is your work area messy? Piles of paper and overflowing in and out baskets says volumes about you and your business. Make sure yours reflects how you want to look to others.
And clean up your in basket!
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