Last week, I visited a leading “big-box” retailer to do a bit of holiday shopping. The first thing I noticed upon entering the store was that a large group of perhaps twenty employees had formed a circle to conduct an informal pre-shift meeting. As I passed by the group, I made a few observations:

• No one in the group noticed me or any of the other customers—including one who was struggling to free a shopping cart from the end of the row—as we passed by.
• The fact that the group was facing inward and process-focused as opposed to facing outward and customer-focused, to me, contradicted its company’s mission statement which includes: “…delivering…an exceptional guest experience by consistently fulfilling our…brand promise.”
• I overheard that the previous day’s sales had exceeded the budgeted forecast. That’s good news—especially in this economy! Guess who made it possible? Ironically, the customers who were now largely ignored.
• Guest contact employees are always “on stage.” This group, although it was prominently featured in the very spotlight of center stage, was performing as if it was backstage and there was no audience!

I understand why this company holds these informal “huddles.” It’s a way to keep the lines of communication open between hourly employees and management as well as provide insight into the store’s operations and financials.

It’s also a great way to communicate and reinforce the company’s highest priority: serving customers. Unfortunately, in my view, this is where they missed the target…

Ever noticed the greeting you receive more often than not by the person bagging your groceries at your local supermarket? If your local supermarket is like mine, it probably sounds something like this: “Paper or plastic?”

All too often, appropriate greetings have left the repertoire of most customer-facing employees in the service industry. Appropriate greetings seem to have transformed from gracious messages to welcome customers to robotic questions designed to increase throughput…

Here are some other “greetings” I hear a lot:

“Two for dinner?”

“Checking in?”

“For here or to go?”

As customers, it’s just as easy to lower our expectations of service providers and simply comply with these robotic questions in the same manner. But there’s no magic there. Nothing is happening to engage the customer, to make it memorable, or to build loyalty.

That may be why it’s so refreshing to experience service providers who are less robotic and more unique. These employees get your attention and make an impression by demonstrating authentic enthusiasm for their customers in ways that transform typical bland, ordinary transactions into memorable and unique experiences.

Your thoughts?