Everybody sells what I sell? Or do they?
By: Donovan Baldwin
Copyright 2005 Donovan Baldwin
Years ago, I took over as a manager of a restaurant in a major city. As expected, we had a good sized lunch rush every day, but the place never seemed to be filled.
The previous manager, although well-intentioned, had been gruff with customers and staff alike. Most of the staff were teenagers, and sometimes I didn't blame him. Look, I was a teenager myself, and can remember not always being the best employee. Not because I was bad, but just because I was a teenager. You remember? Right?
Anyway, I worked with the departing manager fo about a month and then I was in charge.
One of the first things I did, even before the old manager left, was to make sure I called everyone, including my 16-year-old employees, "sir" and "ma'am. I also made certain they got plenty of praise for a job well done, and gentle but firm guidance (always in private) when they erred.
It wasn't long before, "YO! Dude! Bring me some ketchup!" was replaced by "Excuse me, sir (or ma'am)! Could you please bring me some ketchup?"
Over the next few weeks, the lunch crowd slowly began to grow, as did the dinner crowd, and I wasn't absolutely certain why. I DID know that my young ladies and gentlemen were making the customers feel more comfortable in our establishment, and the employees themselves were taking on more responsibility for taking care of the customers and getting the job done and seemed to be enjoying themselves in the process.
Of course, we had our regulars, and one day I noticed a pair of gentlemen I had never seen before. What struck me was that they were watching the employees and myself with eagle eyes. As I moved around the room, chatting briefly with diners and making sure they were taken care of, one of the men called me to his table.
This is what he told me...
He and his friend worked in a nearby office building and had once been regular lunch customers, but had quit coming in several months before I came to work there. The reason they had stopped dining at our establishment was simply that they did not like the way the previous manager had treated the employees, and they had also felt the trickle-down affect in the negative way the employees interacted with customers and other employees.
Recently, people in their building had begun talking about how pleasant it had become to eat in our restaurant since the "new manager" had taken over. They had decided to check it out for themselves. Even though they enjoyed the food and the restaurant was nearby, they had been choosing to go elsewhere because of their discomfort in the previous atmosphere. They told me that they were extremely pleased with their experience and really liked the way I treated the employees and the employees treated each other and the customers. They definitely would be returning regularly.
THE MENU AND FOOD PREPARATION HAD NOT CHANGED.
THE FACILITIES WERE THE SAME.
THE EMPLOYEES WERE THE SAME.
BUT...
THE ATTITUDE AND ATMOSPHERE HAD CHANGED.
With the right attitude and with lots of respect for peers and customers alike, your business can grow even if you sell the same product or service as thousands of other internet or brick-and-mortar businesses.
So! Why not sell service? There's sometimes quite a lack of competition there.
Postscript: Between the time I drafted this article and typed it up, I received an email from a webmaster who complained that while I had a nice website, it was just like several others he had seen, and he doubted I would have any success with it.
Oh well, he's welcome to his opinion, I suppose. I just didn't have the heart to tell him that last month I deposited over $10,000.00 in commissions from a website that everybody else was using.
------
The author is retired from the Army after 21 years of service, has worked as an accountant, optical lab manager, restaurant manager, and instructor. He has been a Mensa member for several years, and has written and published poetry, essays, and articles for the last 40 years. An active internet marketer since 2000, he now makes his living online. Visit his blog at http://donovanbaldwin.blogspot.com/
This article is free for republishing
|
|
How to Register Your Domain
When you launch a new website you must register a unique domain name with an authorized registrar. When the internet was first starting, all domain names and IP addresses were registered through one organization, Internic. Eventually Network Solutions took over the role as “keeper” of the internet domain names. Today, there are hundreds of websites where you can register your domain name but N. . .
Return to Index
UK
Financial Services
Sub-categories: Accounting
| Banks
| Building
Societies | Corporate
Finance | Credit
Services | Currency
Services | Debt
Collection | Directories
| Factoring
| Financial
Consultants | Fund
Management | Independent
Financial Advisors | Information
Services | Insurance
| Leasing
| Merchant
Services | Offshore
Services | Organisations
| Personal
Finance | Publications
| Regulation
| Socially
Responsible Investment | Stockbrokers
| Taxation
Article Index: 1
- 2 - 3
- 4 - 5
- 6 - 7
- 8
World
Financial Services
Sub-categories: Associations
| Automobile
Buying and Financing | Banking
Services | By
Region | Cash
Flow | College
Financing | Commercial
Lending | Computer
Financing | Cooperatives
| Credit
and Collection | Directories
| Education
and Training | Employment
| Field
Service Companies | Financial
Consultants | Financial
Planning | Freelancer-Contractor
Services | Holding
Companies | Information
Services | Insurance
| Investment
Banks | Investment
Services | Leasing
Services | Loans
| Marketing
and Advertising | Medical
Billing | Merchant
Services | Mortgages
| News
and Media | Offshore
Services | Payroll
Services | Surety
Bonds | US
Government Financial Sites | Venture
Capital | World
War II Dormant Accounts
Get "IN TO" Vicky's
"rr-tit-calls" (Vicky's a Yorkshire Lass)
Latest News & Previews
How
Time Flies When I Am In A Hurry
Have you ever noticed that when you are on vacation time goes
by rapidly? According to my calculations (and I'm the first to admit I didn't
do well in calculus), the average minute during vacation time is less than 20
seconds. This is one reason time goes by so quickly on vacation.The other
reason, as everyone knows, is that during a vacation week there are no days
beginning with the letter “T.” Now, you know why your vacation went by so
quickly this summer. There are always reasons if you are willing to dig hard
enough.Now, if this is true, the question plaguing my mind is: where does all
. . .
How
to make great Chocolate Gourmet Caramel Apples
Do you want to make yummy chocolate caramel apples, but don't
know where to start. Well, its quite simple. Simply start with the
following:Granny Smith apples2 Large bag of Kraft caramel squaresPopsicle
sticks2 Bag of Milk Chocolate Candy Melts from Michael's Craft storeNutsWash
apples thoroughly and add sticks. Melt caramel squares in microwave. Dip
apples in caramel and let dry for 15 minutes. Add nuts to apples (optional.)
Then melt chocolate and pour into plastic pastry bag. Add twist tie to top of
pastry bag and snip tiny hole at the end of the bag. Strip apples with
chocolate and. . .
Inexpensively
Protect Your Automotive Investment with a C...
You’ve just purchased your dream car. After many months (or
even years) of saving, you are now driving home from the car dealership and
you suddenly realize, “How am I going to protect my new investment”. If
you don’t have the luxury of keeping your car inside of a garage, a car
cover will help protect your automobile, both the exterior and interior of
your vehicle. Even if you do keep your car in a garage, but don’t drive it
very often, a car cover is still quite beneficial. It will keep dust particles
from sticking to you vehicle and potentially damaging your car’s paint job.
A car cover . . .
|
