Do you pay attention to the greetings and farewells you receive as a customer?

I do.

Here are a few that I’ve received lately:

Last weekend, as I pulled up to the Krispy Kreme drive-thru window, this was my greeting: “$16.65”

That was it. I was greeted with the total cost of my order.

After paying, the cashier handed me my doughnuts saying, “Your receipt’s in the bag.”

That was my farewell. Nothing more. This employee seemed to prioritize efficiency: processing more customers faster.

And earlier this week, after spending $62.15 on groceries at Albertsons, I received this farewell: [Cashier speaking into register phone handset] “I’m at (register) six. Do you want me to bank out on (register) seven?”

That was it. I was completely ignored by the cashier as he chose to focus on his real priority: getting the hell out of there.

Compare these employee interactions with the one I had at Chick-fil-A last night:

As I approached the drive-thru intercom, here’s how I was greeted: “Welcome to Chick-fil-A! How may I serve you?”

And the experience ended on a refreshing note as well. In place of the typical fast-food industry sendoff of “No problem” (in response to a customer’s “Thank you” upon receiving his to-go order), I received an elegant “It’s my pleasure.”

Ladies and gentlemen, Chick-fil-A is a quick service restaurant—like Krispy Kreme or McDonald’s. The difference is that Chick-fil-A genuinely prioritizes customer service and this is reflected in the behavior and language of its employees.

If a quick service restaurant can do it, there’s hope for the rest of the service industry.

Care to share any memorable greetings or farewells you’ve received?

Your voicemail greeting may be the first impression that callers (including customers) have of you and your business.

Don’t miss your opportunity to make a lasting positive impression by recording a predictable voicemail greeting that lacks personality and may make callers feel rushed and unwelcome.

What you said: “This is (name) of (company). I’m presently out of the office or away from my desk…”

What they heard: “Blah, blah, blah…”

This is the standard greeting that has been adopted by many corporations as policy. These greetings are as lifeless and monotonous as the pages on which they are scripted in the company SOP manual.

Better: “Greetings! You’ve reached the voicemail of (name). Today is the twentieth day of June and I will be in the office…”

Ten years ago, I worked with a colleague who updated his voicemail message daily with the above greeting. By adding this unconventional opening to his greeting, Mike left a lasting positive impression on me. He was exceptional. So was his voicemail greeting. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

What you said: “Please leave me a brief message.”

What they heard: “Don’t waste my time.”

Okay. I’m sure you’re busy. So are the rest of us. In fact, I bet many of your callers are even busier than you and yet have taken the time to call you and leave a message. You should be grateful to them.

Better: “Please leave me a message of any length.”

Invite callers to communicate the reason(s) for their call and any meaningful details in a way that’s not harried or rushed. People face enough deadlines in life. Invite them to breathe.

Voicemail software that has an inordinately short recording time may cut callers off prematurely. If this describes your voicemail software, look into it. Give callers more margin, not less. They will appreciate you for it.

What you said: “I’ll return your call at my earliest convenience.”

What they heard: “I’ll call you back when I feel like it.”

Even though we all know it’s the truth, you don’t need to broadcast to callers that you will return their calls when it’s convenient for you. Imagine a waiter saying to you, “I’ll return with your waters at my earliest convenience.”

How arrogant! I’m sure that most people who use this farewell don’t even think about it. They have heard it for so many years in others’ voicemail greetings that they simply accept it. To me, it sounds more like a dismissal than a farewell.

Better: “I will contact you as soon as I return” or “…within one business day” depending on your situation.

Let’s face it. The only reason any of us use these scripts in our voicemail greetings is that they are common practice. They have been institutionalized—we don’t question them. We simply record our voicemail greetings, check them off our lists, and then move on to something more important.

How about you? What message are you sending with your voicemail greeting?

I received a voice mail on November 12th from a good friend of mine, Shawn.  He had just checked in to the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort in Alberta, Canada.  Here’s a portion of the message transcript:

[begin message]  I walked in the front door of the Edmonton Marriott and the desk clerk, named Rizwan, looked at me and said, “Welcome back sir.  It’s good to see you.”

I said to him, “You know, a little thing like that is just amazing to me given the hundreds—or even thousands—of people you see at this hotel.”

I haven’t been here in around 2 months but it just makes it so nice and it’s funny because next week I come back here and I haven’t booked my hotel and that just solidified it.  I said to him, “I’ll be staying with you again next week.”

That one little thing—just the gesture of remembering my face—was genuinely impressive to me.  This was a great case where, guess what, they just got my business for another trip—in reality, for several trips in the future.  And they’re not even the cheapest by the way.  It would be significantly cheaper at some other hotels.  It’s just that important. [end message]

This is great illustration of how the front line guest contact employee—in this case, Rizwan—can make a huge difference in the experience of the guest as well as the profitability of the hotel.