Share
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
SUBSCRIBE
Volume 21 | # 488
VIEW ARCHIVE
"Too many people are thinking the grass is greener on the other side
of the fence, when they ought to just water the grass they are
standing on." » Amar Dave
Bending Mickey's Ear
The Beauty in a Faked Smile
I was reminded last week
of the incredible impact
the “moving parts” – the
employees - of
organizations have. Our
better employees’
personal interactions with customers can
turn maddening situations into positive
ones.
One of my favorite slides
in presentations is one
that typically gets more
than a few knowing
chuckles. It reads,
“Attention leaders and
folks aspiring to be
leaders: Don’t underestimate the
importance of thespian skills.”
Our unengaged ones can turn what
should be upbeat experiences into
relationship-challenging episodes.
I’ve long kidded that the business
degrees we received in the prior century
were definitely lacking. If universities
really wanted to prepare you for roles in
leadership, a good portion of the classes
they require would be acting classes.
We were on vacation at the Disney World
parks for my sons’ birthdays. We’re
longtime fans of Disney, and my wife is
an uber-fan.
On this particular trip, however, I began
making the observation to my wife that
the rest of the world may have caught up
to Disney. Or, in some ways, Disney may
have come back to the pack.
Sure, the parks are still clean, and the
attractions are impressive. But, the
hotels, which I grant you are a different
challenge, weren’t very “magical”, and it
has little to do with the facilities.
The ability to project an attitude or mood
that may not be highly correlated to way
you actually feel at that moment is an
important business skill. Some days, it
may be the most productive skill you
employ.
A manager may be having a less-thangreat day for any number of reasons –
personal or professional. We’re humans,
not robots. But a manager’s observable
I’ve long believed that the most difficult
challenge of Disney’s massive expansion
over the past 20 years has little to do with
land or facilities or technology. Instead,
it’s finding, training, and keeping great
employees for such an expanding
operation that’s the biggest challenge of
all.
Sure, we experienced many outstanding
employees. Chris from Darien, CT was
incredibly nice. But the fact that we
actually noticed when someone was “old
school Disney” nice was instructive.
At one time, impressively great service
was the norm. Disney still calls its
employees “cast members.” I imagine the
two ladies working the concierge club
during the mornings of our stay were cast
as Grumpy and Dopey without the
costumes.
Fairly or not, the employees who display
noticeably poor attitudes or deliver bad
service tend to disproportionally impact
customers’ overall impressions of a
company.
You can get 95% of everything else right.
But the 5% that unmotivated and
disengaged employees are producing for
you is what tends to stick in most folks’
minds.
The business world is a competitive
place. And going forward, more than
ever, we cannot differentiate ourselves
through facilities or technologies or even
pricing.
Competitors will have and offer
everything we have and vice versa.
What the competition does not have are
our employees. They will be the reason
we stand out – for good or bad.
How will you stand out today?
demeanor almost always becomes his or
her team’s demeanors, as well.
The ability to project good cheer and/or
confidence even when you aren’t actually
“feeling it” may be the most impressive
management skill employed that day. It
enables others to be in more productive
moods.
And that particular “thespian skill” is one
that serves us well in just about any sales
and service position you can think of.
I’m consistently amazed at how so many
folks in customer-facing jobs seem not to
understand that their projected demeanor
sets the tone for most of the interactions
they have each day.
Customers greeted with smiles and polite
gestures tend to reciprocate. And a
frontline banker’s day goes by faster and
more pleasantly when he gets to deal
with more generally genial customers.
Folks in pleasant moods tend to be far
more open to considering other offerings,
as well.
I like to kid with groups that I truly
appreciate authentic smiles. But I just
might respect fake ones even more.
Hey, anyone can smile when they’re
feeling good. I respect the heck out of a
person who isn’t feeling cheerful at the
moment but respects other people
enough not to spread a negative mood.
I often remind branch teams that the
person in front of them may be the 50th
customer they’ve seen that day. But they
are the only banker that customer will be
face-to-face with this week…or this
month…or this year (?).
Our interactions actually have more
impact today than at any time in history.
Make sure yours puts smiles on their
faces.
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." » Walt Disney
About The Author
Dave Martin is EVP and Chief Development Officer for Financial Supermarkets, Inc., a Market Contractors
subsidiary. Dave also writes "Martin on Retailing", presently the longest running monthly opinion column
for the American Banker publication. His unique perspectives have made him a popular presenter with all
levels of retail bank management and branch bankers. To contact Dave about speaking to your group,
email him at [email protected] or phone 713-202-1956. Dave, his wife Cindy, and sons
Jessy and Abraham currently reside in Sugar Land, Texas.
"Having Dave Martin speak at our recognition events has been a key in making them successful and truly
memorable. Our managers consistently return to their branches inspired to lead their teams - and quoting Dave
-isms to their folks all year long."
‐ Julie Mayrant, President - Retail Division, Woodforest National Bank
"I've never seen our managers give a guest speaker a standing ovation before. Nor have I ever seen our
branch teams as prepared and inspired to take their performance to a new level."
‐ Anness Bertrand, First Vice President - Retail Banking, International Bank of Commerce