Whoopee! Based on the response to last week’s comment, most people endorse the idea of “hug a tourist week”.
That’s the spirit, chaps.
Remember, we want visitors to go away saying: “The locals are so welcoming and friendly.”
Now let’s make it an all-year-round thing… and why not make the circle bigger, as they say in the classics?
You don’t literally have to “hug” anyone (unless you really want to). A simple smile will also do.
The smart shopkeepers encourage their frontline people to do just that when anyone walks through the front door.
It’s that initial happy experience that makes the job so much easier for everyone else whom those customers will end up dealing with.
The person has a happy experience from the get-go and will have no doubts about coming back.
Now, if only we could encourage municipal and government department heads to follow suit. CEncourage all their counter people to greet ratepayers with a smile and just maybe there will be less aggro all round.
A disgruntled ratepayer already has his/her “dukes” up for a sparring session when he/she approaches the counter. Why not disarm the customer from the start with a smile and promise to help?
That’s all most reasonable-minded people want.
Just in case there are people out there who don’t know what a smile is or how to do it, the Oxford dictionary describes it like this:
“Smile (v) – make or have facial expression of amusement or pleasure or affection with parting of lips and upward turning of their ends.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ‘MY TAKE’
