I don't save this to brag
But I get treated pretty well by a lot of companies when I go to the coffee shop. I often get my coffee for free
When I wanted a new pair of shoes from a specific store my sales rep hand-delivered them to my house
So I didn't have to deal with the traffic to get to the store while travelling on speaking
I forgot my shaving cream and a manager from Nordstrom drove 30 miles
To hand-deliver me my favorite shaving cream when there was a two-hour wait to be seated at a fancy restaurant the hosts at me
immediately
No questions asked when I wanted to buy light bulbs quick does line at the home goods store was long
But a manager opened up a new register just for me and let me check out instantly
It's crazy actually it happens all the time
Everywhere, and if you ever want to dinner with me you've seen it in real time too even though
I almost never ordered dessert the waiter almost always brings out a free dessert to the table when I asked one of my friends hey
Does this happen to you guys all the time - they were like no?
Literally never and what's funny?
Is it seems to happen everywhere all the time the question is why and?
how
Can you replicate it?
Hey, what's up? I'm Derek Halpern
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So let's jump right in the answer is as simple as this be a good
Customer I'll explain a few weeks ago
I went out to get a drink at a fancy hotel my friend asked the host for a table
And they politely said it's gonna be about 45 minutes
Then as my friend came back to tell us the bad news
She noticed that I had already talked to someone and got us a table immediately
How'd you do that quite simple actually I saw the maitre d I walked up. I said hello
I shook his hand then I said I always loved this hotel this time of year, and it's true
I do love this hotel, and then I asked about tables, and he said there was going to be a wait
And I fired back how about not waiting and just sit us right here. I know you're thinking wooden
Yeah, I do sound like it
But it's all about
The delivery and no I didn't slip him a 20 or 50 the maitre d set a table up for us immediately
He just did it without
Being bribed so what happened and why well here's the deal when I tell you to be a good customer?
It's not about how much money you spend you don't need to be the best customer from a financial perspective
to get treated well
Instead it means the better you treat people the better you get
Treated so think about the people you talk to when you walk into a restaurant or a coffee shop
Or the people you talk to on the phone when you call a company usually these people
don't own the company right they're normal people just
Like you and me and they see so much nonsense all the time from people
Complaining about something as stupid as I want a refund even though
It's 12 years past the refund period to some random list of curse words filed by unintelligible
Yelling of me me me me me me me me me
This is the reality of most people so when you contrast that even in a small way
You stand out and when you make the extra effort to put yourself in the person's shoes
You're like a gift as an example at this specific hotel bar. Why did I get seated immediately? Well I know one thing?
The people who work there have careers in hospitality
You don't work at a place like this without dedicating your life to the hospitality industry
So when I comment on the decor the service or anything related to the hospitality industry, I know
They take great pride and joy in it they do this for a living because they love it
I don't do this to be manipulative
I mention it because I know they care about this specific topic and
That's the key most people give generic compliments and they conduct generic
Conversations, but when you take a few seconds to put yourself in the other person's shoes and meet them where they are
The magic happens in this exam when I was talking about the decor and being polite
Until I was completely the exact opposite of polite
it created a funny moment between me and the maitre d this is one of the reasons why he accommodated us as
Another example, and I know this is gonna sound crazy
But if I'm ordering a coffee at a brand new coffee shop, or I'm ordering some food at some takeout place
I almost always use one of these lines
I'll say hey excuse me um is this the place where I could go like this and everything goes faster
They know I'm kidding because it's so ridiculous
They almost always laugh, and it's about breaking that wall between you and server
Which is what makes them like you you're treating them like one of your friends verse
Someone who's just there to give you something
Here's another example and my favorite coffee shop
I know that most baristas work as a barista as a survival job, but they're actually
Trying to do something else like this one barista who I think is remarkable she loves coffee and creating great coffee and it shows
But she actually wants to be a professional drummer
And I make sure to ask her about her drumming every chance I get
Again had to be fake because I like hearing about people and the dreams they want to pursue
I'm genuinely interested, and she loves talking about it now
Don't get me wrong the coffee shop is slammed. I don't interrupt them with this sort of stuff
They already are stressed from the volume of people so don't bother people
I have my credit card ready, and I make my order quickly and then when things quiet down
I almost always say something like where's the free coffee sign or something equally as silly
Again acknowledging the fact that these people just worked very hard to clear the cue
because showing
respect for the work people do is also part of being a good customer one more example sometimes when I call customer service for my
Phone company I'll leave what something is silly yes. Hey, what's up? I'm Derek. How are you? They'll say great?
How can I help and I'll say something like oh hold on one second
Yelling no fire back excuse me, and I'll say I'm just kidding
I'm sure you get a bunch of angry people yelling at you over the phone and their phones too far in their mouth today
I have a small problem. You can help again
I'm simply putting myself in the customer service reps shoes a meeting them where they are I'm acknowledging
the types of phone calls
They usually get I'm showing them that I understand and naturally things go smoothly from then on
Even if they can't help they'll try to help I know it seems so simple
but
really
That's the secret behind why I?
Get treated better than most people as a customer when you put yourself in someone else's shoes and treat them better
They feel better by being genuinely interested in the people you deal with they feel better and by showing your appreciation
for what they do they feel better, and you'll stand out and
Get treated better. It's something that anyone can do now
It's your turn think about your next interaction as a customer. What will you do differently to be a better customer?
Leave your answer in the comments
Immediately does it speed it up
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