Number 9 of 52 Lifelong Communication Lessons: Customers Rock!
March 02, 2015 |
| MLK at Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 |
The year was 1963.
John F. Kennedy is assassinated, Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I Have a Dream" speech, tolls come off Vancouver's Lion's Gate Bridge and the Agrodome opens at the PNE.
My parents, both artists owned an art materials supply company, a classic Mom and Pop shop. Dad gave painting lessons in our home to supplement their income. That is what provided me the opportunity to become an entrepreneur at nine years old. I sold coffee to my Dad's art class students. The students were typically adult women looking to stretch their creative muscle and do something beyond minding their children. Remember this was the early sixties! Aside from learning the basics of business (I had to purchase all my supplies, keep a ledger of my sales and make sure I was selling the coffee for a profit), I was about to learn customer service and communication skills.
I quickly found out a cheery disposition netted tips. I would overhear my customers telling my Dad they thought it was pretty cute to have his kid selling coffee. I think he was pleased he did not have to supply it free of charge. My profit margin was tight. Styrofoam cups, coffee mate, sugar cubes and instant coffee added up. Getting tips for better service and engaging these women in conversation was not only fun but rewarding. I got to learn about their lives and hear different perspectives about all sorts of things. It was my first foray into building good customer relations. While the tips increased as the relationship grew, it was learning about different lives that intrigued me. Those artists had some wonderfully wacky ideas.
This was the beginning of a life long lesson that making my work enjoyable and interesting paid off monetarily. I did not articulate my thoughts that way at the ripe old age of nine, but I felt it.
Dad and Mom made sure we treated the customers like gold. All four of their offspring worked in the art materials shop. We were coached on how to answer the phone, approach people entering the store and engage in conversation about their painting needs. One of my favourite jobs was helping people pick out frames. Chit chatting about their latest masterpiece while trialling sample mats and frame corners seemed like endless fun to me. Writing up the order and figuring out the cost was the dreary but necessary evil in the process.
The clientele of Reid's Art Materials was all over the map. Bizarre, flamboyant types to grannies with needlepoint, we learned to connect with them all. Even old Ivy, the lady with way too many cats was a regular drop in. I still run into people who fondly remember their time with "Mr. And Mrs. Reid".
My parents knew most customers by name and always had time to lend a sympathetic ear for their personal as well as their artistic challenges. They would give advice gently and find smooth ways to avoid commenting on some of the really bad art.
Even giving someone their change was an exercise in good communication. We had to count back the change bit by bit to add up to the dollar amount given. You could tell people felt an immediate trust that they were not being shortchanged. Far cry from the practice we see today where people just take amount shown on their screen and dump it haphazardly into your palm. We were taught to give the coins first, then the bills making it easier for the customer to hold. It was always all about the comfort of the customer.
We learn a lot from our parents throughout our lives but learning to find the joy in meeting or working with a wide range of people is one I deeply appreciate. It has made my career and personal journey way more pleasurable. I truly enjoy my clients. And, as my Mom always says," If you are not crazy about someone, just think of them as good book material."
Communication lessons:
- Everybody has a story and listening is a major ingredient in good communication skills.
- Knowing your customer/client is not just good business, it is often good fun.
- There is a goldmine of information in people, you just have to dig a little deeper to find it.
Fast forward to 2015. Perhaps Target would not have lost almost $1 billion during their first year in Canada if they really listened and talked to their customers versus focus on the almighty dollar.
The next year we will visit is 1978.
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