Customer Service Articles:

'RELATIONAL VELCRO'

MORE MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS

It was a busy Friday night at the Olive Garden. My family and I were almost done with dinner and ready to order dessert, but I needed to use the restroom. On my way to the restroom, I asked one of the employees that I ran into if their Italian donuts were good. I’d never had them before. A typical (and acceptable) server response during rush hour could have been:

 “it’s good…all of our desserts are good” or “a lot of people order it, but I’ve never had it.”

Well, this team members actual response was different.

Although she wasn’t even my waitress, she stopped and looked me in the eye, and with a smile said, “yes, our Italian donuts are good! In fact, they remind me of a beignet I had in New Orleans-not café du monde, but another one where they actually put whipped grand Marnier cream cheese in the beignets.” I told her I traveled for business on occasion to New Orleans, and I’d love to know the name of the cafe.

She said, “I don’t remember the name, but I’ll google it and give it to you before you leave.

About 15 minutes later, as I was eating the Italian donuts, which were very good, I felt a hand on my shoulder and this team member. Without interrupting our conversation, she slipped a piece of paper next to my plate with the café, information and said, ‘enjoy.”

This person took an ordinary interaction and made it more meaningful

When I think of Olive Garden, I often think of this extra kindness that was extended to me. Why? Because, in a small way the interaction was more meaningful. By the way, the café in New Orleans is the Baker Bar.

This…is a small example of something called, Relational Velcro. 

WHAT IS RELATIONAL VELCRO?

Do you remember the first time you heard the sound of Velcro? It may have been your shoe straps as a child, or a jacket. No doubt you are familiar with the sound when these two pieces, one side with hooks and the other side with fibers, gets pulled apart. The other thing you may have noticed is that the more connections you have with these two pieces of material the more difficult it is to pull them apart.

What would happen if you saw your role with customers as the hooks and those you serve as the tiny fibers? However, rather than just making more connections with customers, our goal to creating Relational Velcro is to make more meaningful interactions with them.

Stop and think right now…what would a more meaningful interaction look like with your customer engagements?

Simply put, Relational Velcro occurs when you create more meaningful (not more) customer interactions.

Mindless or meaningless. Like the busy assistant manager at Olive Garden, you have a choice to provide ‘acceptable’ customer service or create some Relational Velcro between you and your customers. How can you create more Relational Velcro today, and provide a more meaningful customer experience?

CREATING MORE RELATIONAL VELCRO

• Find a way to make our customer’s day (this means you’re actually seeking how to provide them with something special during your interaction with them
• Personalize to humanize. The more digital we get, the more personal we need to become. There’s a reason Starbucks puts your name on the cup and not just a number. They understand Relational Velcro too!
• Connection before content. Every good communicator that you have heard speak, often begins their presentation with a story or something relatable before they give you their content. You can complement a customer (you have a great smile/great voice, etc.).
• Anticipate our customer’s needs. By telegraphing the next question, you can make the engagement more meaningful as customers will sense that you are listening, conscience of their time, and are here to provide support.

Remember this definition…Relational Velcro is ‘Making more meaningful interactions with our customers.’

This week, may you create more Relational Velcro with your customers and make your interactions more meaningful!

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