Macon

We were staying with friends while on a short vacation and naturally went on a buying excursion to give a thank you gift to our hosts. The item we picked, while somewhat expensive, was a perfect accessory for their home but fragile and easily scratched, so we asked the clerk to open the box to make sure it was not damaged. The look we got from her in response to our reasonable request was withering. She did it, but her body language spoke paragraphs of attitude and, as she finished the transaction, said, it is so difficult getting it back in the box correctly.

After we left with our package, we looked at each other and said, well it might be difficult getting it back in the box correctly but it sure is much easier having her check and repackage it than going through the hassle of returning it if it was scratched. The right answer certainly would have been yes!

Yes is such an amazing word. It is so satisfying to the customer and, unless it adds appreciably to the cost of operating the business, enhances the buying experience and makes the task of customer retention not only possible but actually easy. Attitude is just the opposite. It is negative, erodes the experience, and kills the probability of retention.

The difference between the clerk saying yes and giving attitude is the responsibility of management. Management must know the difference between the two, hire people that can learn the yes ethos, communicate it and train those hired to deliver it, then continually enforce and reinforce the yes ethos. Another great advantage of the yes ethos is that it costs less than free gift wrapping, less then free delivery, less than even enclosing a gift card. A yes costs nothing but sure is filled with value. It is the same with a thank-you or good job or I appreciate your effort.

There is an investment the yes ethos, mostly in the effort to create and maintain it, but the ROI is huge. It comes back in happy, returning customers who appreciate what you do for them while they grow your business.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com.