Get Out From Behind the Counter

By on April 24, 2007 in Blog Coach with 14 Comments

The retail sales counter. An accountant’s desk. A pulpit. Your static (cob)web site?

Potential barriers to congenial conversation.

When I was in retail management, I coached our sales staff to spend most of their time on the customer side of the counter.  Subliminally, there tends to be an Us vs Them mentality when a barrier stands between you and your customer.

Wbarrier_2

Notice the changes in restaurant service. Wait staff used to stand behind their ticket book. Now they sit down at your table.

Last year, I met a man opening a coffee shop in the Des Moines Skywalk. As people walked by, he’d smile or nod…but for the most part, he was ignored. Soon, he began ignoring the passersby and worked on behind-the-counter busy work.

I suggested he get out from behind the counter and engage with people. The common ground was on the other side. Unfortunately, he stayed behind his ‘protective’ barrier and soon lost his business.

Wobarrier

In some ways, adding a blog component to your web presence gets you out from behind the counter.

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  • http://www.growthcapitalism.com Hannah

    Love the post! I completely agree. Unless there’s something spilled on your pants, there’s no reason to stay back there….and even then, at least it would give people a chance to laugh.

  • Jill Spiekerman

    This is a great post. I do a lot of presentation training. It’s the same principle when you’re giving a presentation. If you come out from behind the podium, you can better relate to your audience because you become part of them. (And you bust the myth that you’re hiding something!) In your sales example, that is really true. Think about the times that someone did come out from behind the counter. It was most commonly to help you find something. So you stand a much greater chance of learning something about your customer if you take the chance to be with them. Very early in my career, I worked in a restaurant. You can learn a lot about what’s good and what’s not good with the restaurant by walking around to refill coffee cups.

  • http://www.brandcorral.blogspot.com Ed Roach

    Another bad customer service situation that pi**es me off, is when a clerk is waiting on me, the phone rings, they get it and proceeds to help that person out, leaving me standing there WAITING. When they hang up and come back to me I usually complain and explain that I got off my butt and came down here to do business. There is no guarantee that person on the phone is going to come down to the store, so let them wait until you are done with me. They usually say it is store policy – period. I’ve asked to see a manger only to have them tell me this also. This mostly happens with chains. Drives me nuts.

  • http://www.allthingsworkplace.com Steve Roesler

    Hi, Mike,
    You’ve got me thinking now about all of the different barrier situations in the workplace. Desks, conference tables, walls…and what an impact it is when the people behind them get up and start wandering around. That’s when things happen.
    Organizations talk about breaking down barriers and silos…I wonder how conscious we are about the ones that we fondly call “our office?”

  • http://custserv.gbwatch.com Meikah Delid

    I agree with you Mike. We should remove all potential barriers to establishing a relationship with our customers. :)

  • http://dmiracle.com Dawud Miracle

    Yes. Remember, people want to do business with people – not businesses. And doing business with people is all about creating a relationship. The more barriers we can remove between us, the business owner, and our customers – physical or otherwise – the larger are chances are to create a trusting relationship with our customers. And that benefits everyone.

  • Corbin Winter

    Out from behind the desk and burned into my memory!
    I had a great customer service experience at the Black Buggy resaurant in Evansville IN.
    Here is what floored me. I was amazed at the simplicity of the action. It is so back to basics, yet so powerful.
    I stood at the “Please wait to be Seated Sign”; a man approached, he SHOOK MY HAND and INTRODUCED himself (his name was Ned).
    This RARELY happens in food service or retail. Why not.
    Ned welcomed me to the restaurant and asked what I preferred for seating(I was carrying papers and a book, he surmised I was working), he found me a spot just for me and my needs.
    He had taken the time for me and was concerned about my experience with their restaurant.
    WOW
    Why is this so important? How did I feel?
    1. Respected
    2. Comfortable, that my needs were important, if something had gone wrong with the service I could talk to Ned
    I felt like I was being welcomed into his home to have lunch with his family.
    I sat and watched as he greated locals, he new many by their names.
    One of the waitresses walked by as a group came in, the waitress hurriedly ran back to the back room and said, Jim is here, get him his tea with 6 creamers and 2 honeys, she snickered happily and said “there is no tea in that?” (they remembered his preferences and were already getting on it by the time he sat down)
    They had his tea to him within 30 seconds after he got seated
    WOW
    Not only was this greeter, a better term is ambassador, fantastic, he had created a REAL culture within that restaurant.
    When I was leaving several people thanked me, and asked what I thought
    Would I go there again ABSOLUTELY
    Would I recommend it ABSOLUTELY
    This is the essence of old America and its people, why are so many big chain experiences so different, why was I so surprised by such common courtesy.

  • http://ryanhealy.typepad.com/copywriting/ Ryan Healy

    I once worked a trade show booth at a homeschooling convention in Denver. The best place to be was not in the booth, behind the table… but out in the aisle!
    In fact, after testing both ways, I’m convinced you’ve got to get out from behind whatever separates you from your prospect… and… engage them where they’re at.

  • http://www.brainbasedbusiness.com/2007/04/tips_to_remove_barricades_to_b.html BrainBasedBusiness

    Tips to Remove Barricades to Business

    Mike Sansone calls for people to ditch the barriers between ourselves and people we address in his blog, and Get Out from Behind the Counter. I agree. Mike reminded us that includes the retail sales counter, accountants desk, pulpit, or…

  • http://www.brainbasedbusiness.com/2007/04/tips_to_remove_barricades_to_b.html BrainBasedBusiness

    Tips to Remove Barricades to Business

    Mike Sansone calls for people to ditch the barriers between ourselves and people we address in his blog, and Get Out from Behind the Counter. I agree. Mike reminded us that includes the retail sales counter, accountants desk, pulpit, or…

  • Ryan Roossinck

    CW, that story gets more impactful to me every time I hear it. I’m glad you shared this…although I still think it would make a great blog topic!
    Another foodservice story, and a plug for a local restaurant…
    My wife and I frequently visit Mary and her staff at Paradise Pizza when we go out for date nights.
    I can’t point to one single experience like CW did that burned their exceptional attitude towards customer experience into my mind, but suffice it to say that we’ll be customers for as long as they’re open for business.
    The service is terrific. Gina, “our” server, has faithfully taken great care of us for several years now, and Mary (the owner), always makes a point of stopping at our table several times during the night, just to ensure that we’re doing well, and that our needs are met. She’s also interested in us personally; this is something that I’ve learned about her…she does this with nearly every table in the restaurant! It’s evident to me that she’s genuinely interested in her customers, not because they pay a bill at the end of the night, but because they’re people. You’d be amazed at how many of her customers she knows by name, and even what they typically order!
    They’ll always be at the top of the Des Moines dining scene in my book, and for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of trying them out…please make the opportunity. You’ll be very glad you did. And when you go…tell ‘em Ryan & Kara sent you!

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    Hannah – Right you are. Even with a spill, be part of the community. Sometimes, humility brings us together on a level playing field.
    Jill – Great addition. Public speakers who get with the audience usually have a captivating conversation WITH their audience…rather than throwing words over the podium like hand grenades.
    Meikah & Dawud – Barriers, whether physical or implied, are separators to fantastic relationships. Thanks for keeping your conversations barrier-free.
    Corbin & Ryan R. – You guys are making me hungry. When’s lunch?
    Ryan H. – Another great example (trade shows). On the other side of the table is the best part to engage. Behind the table almost has a “they’re gonna try and sell me something” atmosphere.

  • http://www.beatcanvas.com Brett Rogers

    Mike,
    It seems you’re inferring this to be the reason companies are hesitant to embrace web 2.0 technologies. If that’s true, how do you, as a business and blog coach, encourage companies to come out from behind the counter?

  • http://www.pinnacledisplays.com Pinnacle Trade Show Displays

    Mike, It always amazes me how good posts spread around the blogosphere. I just read a post on applying your idea to trade shows. It over at finalembrace of all places [ http://finalembrace.com/2007/11/30/convention-tip-get-away-from-the-table/ ]. If you’re curious about what the “final embrace” is, you’ll have to click through. I was, and did. They hit the nail on the head about trade shows. Too many exhibitors have a table in front of their booth that blocks access to them and their trade show display. They have a good drawing of the problem, and the solution (move the table to the side or just get rid of it). Anyway, just thought you’d want to know you made it to the final embrace! Good post! Steve

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