Mind Your Manners

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Five Things Your Mom Taught You About Customer Service

#1 Mind Your Manners

“Mind your manners.”  I can still hear my mom’s voice saying that whenever I met a new person, and failed to speak with in the appropriate period time.  She expected to says “Mr. and Mrs.”  and “Please and thank you.”  At the time I’m guessing most parents expected this from their kids.

Unfortunately, common courtesy has become another one of those lost arts.    I was working on a concert that I had been marketing for several months.  The band along with the entire entourage of tour managers, techies and other support personnel were with them.  My team has been managing concerts for over 20 years, so we go out of our way to make sure the artist and their travelling support team are all very well taken care of.

Most of the artist’s managers were great people.  The tech manager, the guys who’s in charge of sound and lights, was the exception.  We arrived at 10:00 a.m., and he questioned why we weren’t there at 9:00.  I told him the road manager had said 10:00 a.m., and he disagreed with me, and asked to see written proof of that.  He basically accused me of lying to him.  He griped that the volunteers weren’t working fast enough.  He griped that the venue didn’t do things just the way he wanted.  Then to add insult to injury, after the concert he got upset with me because the volunteers to tear down the stage weren’t immediately on the stage after the concert.  At this point the volunteers couldn’t even make it to the stage, because a throng of people was still migrating to the exits.

 A few days later I got a survey that asked “How was your experience with the tour?”  I told the tour company that is was a great concert, but when it came to the tech manager, a little courtesy would have gone a long way.

“Do unto to others, as you would have them do unto you.”  That’s the golden rule, but many of us, especially in the heat of the moment, forget it.  I’m guessing that the people that stand out to you through the years are those who went the extra mile.  The cashier with the big smile and genuine greeting, the waitress who made your kids laugh or the service professional who sacrificed of their time to make your experience better.  Being in business just to be in business isn’t enough.  You have to be in the business of serving people.  Like momma said, “Mind your manners.  You don’t want people to think you were born in a barn.”

 Who are the people who’ve gone out of their way for you?  I’d love to hear about them.  Leave your comment here.