In an earlier post I asked the question, “Why is it okay to behave indifferently toward customers and roll out the red carpet for the division president?” Specifically, why do employees paint, wax the floors, and polish the chrome for the division president and text friends, smoke near store entrances, and complain and banter in the presence of customers?

I have a theory about this. Here it is: Familiarity breeds contempt. Most employees rarely come into contact with and, thus, aren’t familiar with the division president. Oh sure, they may know his or her name but they’re usually not familiar to the point of lowering their guard in the executive’s presence.

Not so with customers. Customer-facing employees come into contact with customers all the time. And whether or not there is personal familiarity with a particular customer, there is a sense of familiarity with customers in general. And where there’s excessive comfort and familiarity, there’s contempt—a lack of respect—and a tendency to take the relationship for granted.

It’s not that employees don’t know what service is or how to deliver it. They do. And they showcase this aptitude in the presence of the division president. The issue is that many seem disaffected by customers—as in, “Oh, you’re just a customer. For a minute there I thought you were someone important, like the division president.”

In the introductory paragraph of this post, I listed three behaviors that I regularly observe in retail settings. These behaviors are chronic. They occur frequently. The only time they are exceptions is when the division president is on-site.

When executives grace the operation with their presence, the floors are spotless, there are plenty of employees scheduled, employees’ uniforms are pressed, there are lots of smiles, and there is a sense of urgency—dare I say, a bit of giddiness and extra pressure to perform?

The best operations don’t distinguish between a scheduled site visit by a division president and the scheduled opening of the store to service customers. Sure, there may be a bit of anxiety associated with the presence of a company executive—that’s natural—but the company’s standards don’t wane in the absence of headquarters staff.

Nordstrom comes to mind as an example of a retailer who puts its best foot forward whether a customer or Blake Nordstrom is entering the shoe department. The last time I was in Nordstrom, an employee from the men’s department walked me to the women’s department in search of an umbrella. When we returned to the men’s department, I decided to buy a bottle of cologne too. It was an impulse buy—in the moment. I didn’t plan to buy it and, in the absence of his outstanding service, I would not have.

Here’s an assignment for division presidents everywhere: If you really want to see how your operations run, stop by unannounced in a ball cap and jeans over the weekend. Don’t embarrass anyone. Just observe and take mental notes about what you see—the positive as well as need areas.

Then, assuming there was a gap (or chasm) between what you observed during your last official visit and this one, take action. Establish or reinforce credible standards to guide employees’ behavior. Make sure that every manager is aware of the standards and actively uses them to manage their employees’ performance. And, perhaps most importantly, hold managers accountable to model these standards at all times. If they don’t, the standards are no longer credible and become unenforceable.

Bob Farrell, author of Give ‘em the Pickle, is fond of saying, “What they see is what you’ll get.” When employees see their managers modeling established standards of service and procedure, they will perform similarly. When this happens, employees will stop texting friends, smoking near store entrances, and complaining and bantering in the presence of customers. And they will no longer seem disaffected by customers. Instead, they will treat them with the same courtesy, respect, and care with which they treat the division president.

Who’s more important: the division president or the customer? You decide and then your employees will follow suit.

It’s Customer Service Week. I suppose I’m obligated to mention it since I work in the field. It’s just difficult for me to get behind an event staged with banners, buttons, and other chotchkies lauding the importance of customers and customer service when the reality is that many customers at participating companies will remain underserved this week, as they were last week, and as they will be next week.

Besides, shouldn’t every week be customer service week?

Let me begin with a fairy tale. It’s about an emperor who unwittingly hires two swindlers to create for him a new set of clothes. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The swindlers promise the emperor the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his lofty position. Although the emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, he pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid. His advisors do the same.

During the course of the emperor’s procession through town, the swindle is exposed (no pun intended) by a small child who shouts, “The Emperor is naked!”

What does this have to do with customer service? I’m using it as a metaphor for the majority of people (employees, as well as customers) who are unwilling to state an obvious truth due to apathy, ignorance, or indifference: that the current state of customer service is unacceptable.

Here are three glaring examples of behaviors that I regularly observe in retail settings that store management appears to tolerate (because these behaviors are chronic):

1.) Routinely, I observe aloof employees checking their text, email, and social media accounts on their phones. Employees have one set of eyes and if they’re affixed to a handset screen they cannot be scanning for customers in need of service.

2.) I regularly walk past employees who are smoking near the main entrances to stores. Not only is this an eyesore, it’s disrespectful to customers and absolutely avoidable for a management team willing to establish and enforce minimal standards.

3.) Frequently, I encounter employees complaining about their schedules, coworkers, and even other customers. Customers should not be subjected to this toxic banter. In fact, customers should not be subjected to banter at all. Employees, in deference to their customers, should cease personal conversations while in the presence of customers. Instead, engage the customer regarding his or her shopping experience. There will be plenty of time for you to resume your conversation with your coworkers later—without making your customer feel non-existent, like a store fixture.

What’s happened to our sensibilities? It’s not okay to check your email or text a friend in full view of a customer. Besides the unsanitary perception, it’s wrong (and illegal in many locations) to smoke near the building entrance where customers must pass through employees’ secondhand smoke to spend their money. And it’s disrespectful—not to mention awkward—to complain in front of a customer or to carry on a conversation with a coworker in the presence of a customer. The emperor’s wearing no clothes and no one seems to want to acknowledge it!

What happens in most cases is that: a.) there are no credible standards in place to enforce; b.) even though standards are in place (usually in the employee handbook that hasn’t been cracked since each page was initialed during employee orientation), mangers are unaware of them or apathetic towards their enforcement; or c.) managers themselves engage in the same indifferent behaviors!

I could have used a lot of words just now to describe this behavior (e.g., poor, unacceptable, reprehensible, etc.) but I chose indifferent. I chose that word because that’s how I perceive these employees behave towards me: indifferently—as though my presence makes no difference and I really don’t matter all that much.

Here’s a litmus test I like to use when determining whether or not an employee’s behavior is acceptable: If I were the division president conducting an on-site visit, would this employee behave the same way? Would his manager tolerate it then?

If the answer to that question is “no” then clearly, instead of being some pet peeve of mine, the behavior is unacceptable. If the division president was on-site, everyone would get the message from management, loud and clear, that there would be absolutely no texting their friends while “on the floor,” no smoking near the main store entrance and no audible complaining or personal conversations with coworkers in the presence of the division president.

Even without the message from management, front-line hourly employees know better than to do these things in front of the division president. In fact, most of them will be on their very best behavior and productivity will likely soar in the days and hours preceding the executive’s visit.

So, why the double standard? Why is it okay to behave indifferently toward customers and roll out the red carpet for the division president? Why do employees paint, wax the floors, and polish the chrome for the division president and text friends, smoke, and complain and banter in the presence of customers? I have a theory about this but I’ll save it for a future post. For now, suffice it to say that this behavior is unacceptable.

I’m sure this post won’t be popular with many employees. That’s understandable because, based on my experience, customer service and, in some cases, work ethic aren’t popular either with the same employees.

Companies need to acknowledge that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. They must establish standards and then hire employees who can meet and exceed these standards. National unemployment is near 10 percent. Employers can afford to be picky. Be picky. Once hired, employees’ performance must be managed. This means that managers must communicate, reinforce, and model these standards—regardless of whether or not the division president is stopping by.

Now, put away the phone, find a different place—far, far away from customers—to smoke, and resolve never to complain or carry on personal conversations with coworkers in the presence of customers again. It’s awkward for customers and undermines customer service.

Take a stand during this Customer Service Week. Look around your operation. If you see the behaviors highlighted in this post in full view of customers or if you detect employee apathy or indifference towards serving customers, call out, “The Emperor is naked!”

Using this as your battle cry, initiate a revolution to treat every customer like the division president—with courtesy, respect, and care. Not just during Customer Service Week, but every week of the year. You will be amazed by the results you see in your customers’ satisfaction as well as your own job satisfaction.

Okay, here comes the Emperor’s procession. Get ready…

I recently bought some fresh fish at Whole Foods Market. As is customary, I waited my turn as customers who arrived before me had their orders fulfilled. When it was my turn, an employee behind the counter smiled, made eye contact, and with enthusiasm in his voice asked, “Did you see something you liked?”

As much as I appreciate quality products and friendly service, so far it had been a pretty predictable shopping experience. Whole Foods isn’t cheap and has a reputation for better than average product and service quality intended to justify the higher prices. When I shop there, I expect for the store to be extra clean, for the products to be extra fresh, and for the staff to be extra knowledgeable and helpful.

On this day, I watched as the employee gathered up the salmon fillets I had selected. He handled the fish with care, applying olive oil and seasoning as requested to each side of the fillets. As good as the service was, so far there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Having oiled and seasoned the fillets, the employee then wrapped them in butcher paper. He then handed them to me over the counter with a broad smile and said, “Here you are. Is there anything else I can get for you?”

I said that I was all set and thanked him for his help. Still, as great as the product and service quality had been, there had been nothing that made an impression—that had stuck out as being particularly memorable. What happened next changed all that.

As I looked at the wrapped fish, I noticed it had been wrapped in a customized butcher paper—made to look like newsprint—bearing the name: Seafood Times. Beneath the masthead were a variety of informative and entertaining stories such as Whole Foods Market Pleads Guilty to Seafood Discrimination and Make Your Kitchen a Safe Harbor.

Instead of bland and uneventful brown butcher paper, I had received something extra: a unique and refreshing version that had been customized by Whole Foods to extend my experience from the store to my home. All of a sudden, what had been a predicable transaction at the seafood counter transformed into a memorable service experience. I now had a powerful memory of my visit and a story to share with others.

When so many retail transactions are characterized by indifference, experiences like this one are a breath of fresh air. Companies that go the extra mile to surprise and delight customers will not only make headlines, they will make lasting impressions their customers will remember when it’s time to buy.

Let’s do a word association. You know how these work: I’ll name a word and you, off the top of your head, identify a set of words that you associate with that word. Ready?

The first word is indifference. What words immediately come to mind?

The second word is enthusiasm. What words immediately come to mind?

When I perform this activity at my seminars, participants’ associations with “indifference” are words like: apathy, don’t care, unimportant, don’t matter, etc. and their associations with “enthusiasm” are words like: lively, energetic, smile, radiant, etc.

Consider this statistic: 68 percent of customers quit doing business with a company because of perceived indifference towards them as customers.

In other words, lots of customers feel as though employees are apathetic and don’t care, and that, as customers, they are unimportant and don’t matter to the company.

What could be leading customers to feel this way? Everyone’s experience is unique but definitely interpersonal communication effects this perception. When employees don’t smile, make eye contact, or add a bit of enthusiasm to their voices, customers notice.

But here’s the good news: When employees do smile, make eye contact, and add a bit of enthusiasm to their voices, customers recognize that too. And because it’s a change from the indifferent service that most customers have come to expect, it stands out as refreshing, unique, and memorable.

Recently, I was reading the book Love Your Patients by Scott Louis Diering, M.D. and came across the following passage:

“Everyone is important. Every person you meet is very, very important. Every patient’s problem, every concern, every appointment, every minute is very, very important. Everything is important to someone. All we need do is recognize that importance. Enthusiasm is the easiest way for our patients to know that they are important.

When we act with enthusiasm, our patients will know that we truly take them seriously. We must ‘get into it.’ Many of the techniques and suggestions (referenced above) show our enthusiasm: We nod our head, make eye contact, and listen intently. We do these things to show our patients that they are our biggest concern.

It does not matter how many other more urgent problems we have to deal with. It does not matter that our last patient and our next patient are dying. What matters is, while we are with this patient, we are not distracted, bored, uninterested or unconcerned…

The best ways to show our enthusiasm are to thank our patients, to ask some non-healthcare questions about them, and to let them know that we are glad to see them…

Someone may criticize this view. They may say small talk distracts us from real patient care. They are wrong. Our business is people. The more we know about our patients, the better we can serve them.”

Many job roles, regardless of industry, become process-focused and routine over time. Service providers systematically go about their tasks and may unwittingly convey indifference towards the customers they serve.

Always look for opportunities to convey authentic enthusiasm: smile, make eye contact, add enthusiasm to your voice, ask engaging, non-routine questions and let your customers know that you’re genuinely happy to serve them.

In doing so, you will be expressing your uniqueness by adding personality to an otherwise routine and indifferent transaction. Best of all, you will be seen by customers as memorable—which certainly beats the alternative.

Language, it seems, has become pretty casual in many customer service settings. I’ve had waiters refer to me as “Man” and hear “No problem” from frontline employees, as well as their supervisors, in a variety of situations.

We can all think of alternatives to referring to a customer as “Man” so I won’t belabor that, but what about “No problem” in response to a customer’s request or sign of appreciation.

Many participants who attend my seminars don’t immediately understand why saying “no problem” to a customer should be avoided. It’s understandable. Most people are comfortable with saying “No problem” rather than “You’re welcome” after receiving a request for service or nice comment.

“No problem” really means “No problem for me.” It means “I did it because it did not cause me a problem. I served you because it did not interfere with me.” That is very different from “You’re welcome” which means “You are welcome to my service to you.”

Besides “You’re welcome” here are some other alternatives to saying “No problem” in response to a customer’s request for service or sign of appreciation:

• “My pleasure.”
• “Right away.”
• “Absolutely.”
• “Certainly.”
• “Of course.”
• “Definitely.”

Responses like these send a message that you are enthusiastic and genuinely interested. They demonstrate confidence and conviction. Responses like these convey a sense that you are engaged and truly want to serve the customer.

And the negative associations don’t end with “No problem.” The use of seemingly neutral words can also make a big difference. Using a hospital example, imagine the employee is conveying to the patient when his or her hospital room will be available.

Consider the statements below. What differences do you see in them?

• “I will have a room ready for you in five minutes.”
• “I will have the room ready for you in five minutes.”
• “I will have your room ready for you in five minutes.”

Although only one word has been changed, each statement has a different emotional impact. The first conveys nothing definite: It could be any room, just as it could be anyone’s room. The second implies that at the least, a specific room has been allocated to the patient. But notice that control of it has not yet begun to pass. The third example says that not only has a room been identified but, in effect, it already belongs to the patient. The only issue remaining is how long it will take to have it ready.

Suppose you were the patient in the above scenario and the employee had said “a few minutes” instead of “five minutes.” What effect would that have had? From the employee’s point of view, very little. From the patient’s point of view, however, perhaps a lot. Five minutes is objective. It conditions the customer’s expectation of time and provides a clue to how proficient the experience will be.

Words convey meaning. Employees must be made aware of the, sometimes subtle and other times significant, impact that their choice of words have on how customers are made to feel (important or unimportant) and the positive experience they will remember—or the indifferent transaction they will soon forget.