Good manners cost nothing, can mean everything

Posted by Justin Goldsborough | 13 comments

When I got home from work the other day, my wife, Maggie, was not happy. And she let me know about it. No, it wasn’t anything I did…this time. She was miffed about an experience she had that day at a local hardware store. And she wasn’t shy about sharing it.

Maggie had gone to our hardware store to look for some things we needed. When she said she was going, I asked her to see if they had any golf balls. I figured they didn’t, but I was running out of time to go get some myself and needed them because I was playing a round with her dad the next day.

So Maggie went to the store, got what she needed and then went in search of one of the store’s employees so she could ask him about the golf balls. She found one, only he wasn’t exactly happy to be found, if you know what I mean.

At first, he ignored her. He kept doing what he was doing and wouldn’t look up or ask if she needed help. Finally, he rushed by her in the aisle and she had to call out to him to get him to stop. At that point he turned around and said “What?!?” Not “May I help you?” or “What can I do for you?” Just “What?!?”

“Do you all have golf balls?” she asked, a bit perturbed at this point. “No, we don’t,” he said, in a “Gee, aren’t you stupid for asking that” voice. Then he walked right by her and out of the aisle.

Every interaction with a customer, both online and offline, creates a story. And the thing about stories is, people tell them. Especially ones they are pissed about. And this example was no different.

We could see all the ads in the world for this store moving forward, get all their e-mails and creative direct mail pieces. Even read all the positive newspaper stories about what the brand is doing in the community. But after all that, ask Maggie or I about this hardware store and you’re going to get one thing…the story she told me that I’m now telling you. And the only thing that could change that? A positive interaction with one of the stores’ employees, online or offline.

I’m sitting here writing this post on a Southwest Airlines flight. The opening letter from CEO Gary Kelly in the in-flight magazine is one about customer service. How it has always been part of the company’s culture. How it was a crucial element in finding the right airline for them to acquire, and why they ended up choosing AirTran.

If you think it’s a coincidence that executives from companies that perform well consistently have customer service on their radar as a top priority, think again. Because you’re wrong. All it takes is one bad interaction to start the word of mouth snowball coming at you. Or one good interaction to get that momentum on your side.

Companies invest millions in marketing and traditional PR. And that is going to continue. It should. There’s a role for that. It’s a piece of the puzzle. But many of the other pieces, the corner pieces, revolve around manners. And the brands that spend a little less time on marketing and a little more time on manners are going to win in the long run. Because saying please and thank you goes a long way. Our parents weren’t just making that stuff up, you know.