One employee can damage your brand



One employee can damage your brand Posted Friday, November 04, 2011 by Lynda Pasacreta Many companies spend thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars on developing and maintaining their brand. But one employee can make all those dollar spent a complete waste. Case in point: Recently, my son was promoted into a new opportunity. My husband and I decided to by him a new suit as a gift for his success. We visited a favourite store with a budget in mind. It was Saturday and so both my son and I were dressed in casual weekend garb. There were a couple of employees in the suit department at the time. They were both talking to each other and did not seem to notice that they had customers. There were no other customers in their area. The two employees continued to ignore us, chattering away with each other. Clearly, neither one of them wanted to serve us! One of the employees finally came over and asked us what we “wanted”. I mentioned that our son received a promotion and my husband and I wanted to buy him a suit. She looked at my son and asked him if he knew what size he was. My son indicated that he did not (what man knows his size?). This employee rolled her eyes and sighed. She said that she had to go find her measuring tape (she works in a suit department – it should be around her neck at all times). After a bit of time, she came back, measured my son, told him he was a 40 regular, and to go ahead and check out the racks for that size. My son quietly said to me that we could do better and suggested we go somewhere else. It was so evident that the employee had made the decision that this customer did not have the money to spend based solely on appearance. We visited another store and spent close to $700 on a suit, shoes, shirt, and tie. The “sales person” (she qualifies for that title) had a measuring tape around her neck, identified herself, asked my son for his name, and then asked how much he wanted to spend. He told her that his budget was $500 and immediately was engaged with this person. At the end of the sale, she gave him a customer loyalty card that gave him future discounts and he felt appreciated and important! I called the store where the employee made a very poor decision on how to treat a potential customer. In my opinion, her decision was based on her perception that my son may not have significant money. I asked to speak to the store manager and was able to get through to the store manager’s assistant, Maria. She was amazing. She did all the right things. She listened, she empathized, she clarified her understanding, and showed that she really cared about how customers should be treated by her company. She asked me questions. She made comments that showed she understood how someone would feel being treated in this manner. Her passion about her company really showed through. I knew throughout our conversation that the employee my son and I dealt with was most likely an anomaly. My son stated that he did not want any money or resolution from this store other then the acknowledgement from the store of the impact ONE employee can have on a company’s image. The store manager did follow up with my son to apologize for the treatment he received from their employee. Consistent and ongoing training must be a key element in your company’s success. Hiring the right people and the right talent ensures that the same passion is exhibited throughout your organization. Maria demonstrated commitment, loyalty, and passion about her company – she is in the right position in her organization. Those same characteristics and personalities should show up no matter which person you are dealing with in your business – from the front line staff to the senior management – open door, transparent, honest, responsive, caring, and truthful. I know these are the characteristics you value. That’s what your BBB accreditation symbolizes. But remember, everything you’ve worked hard to make your company stand for can by undone by a single employee. Listen carefully to all of your staff as they engage with your customers. Are they in the right job? Have they got all the tools to give the best service they can to your customers? Do they truly like people? If you can answer yes to those questions, then it makes a far easier to fix things when you do a make a mistake!

Many companies spend thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars on developing and maintaining their brand. But one employee can make all those dollar spent a complete waste.

Case in point: Recently, my son was promoted into a new opportunity. My husband and I decided to by him a new suit as a gift for his success. We visited a favourite store with a budget in mind. It was Saturday and so both my son and I were dressed in casual weekend garb.

There were a couple of employees in the suit department at the time. They were both talking to each other and did not seem to notice that they had customers. There were no other customers in their area. The two employees continued to ignore us, chattering away with each other. Clearly, neither one of them wanted to serve us!

One of the employees finally came over and asked us what we “wanted”. I mentioned that our son received a promotion and my husband and I wanted to buy him a suit. She looked at my son and asked him if he knew what size he was. My son indicated that he did not (what man knows his size?). This employee rolled her eyes and sighed. She said that she had to go find her measuring tape (she works in a suit department – it should be around her neck at all times). After a bit of time, she came back, measured my son, told him he was a 40 regular, and to go ahead and check out the racks for that size.

My son quietly said to me that we could do better and suggested we go somewhere else. It was so evident that the employee had made the decision that this customer did not have the money to spend based solely on appearance.

We visited another store and spent close to $700 on a suit, shoes, shirt, and tie. The “sales person” (she qualifies for that title) had a measuring tape around her neck, identified herself, asked my son for his name, and then asked how much he wanted to spend. He told her that his budget was $500 and immediately was engaged with this person. At the end of the sale, she gave him a customer loyalty card that gave him future discounts and he felt appreciated and important!

I called the store where the employee made a very poor decision on how to treat a potential customer. In my opinion, her decision was based on her perception that my son may not have significant money.

I asked to speak to the store manager and was able to get through to the store manager’s assistant, Maria. She was amazing. She did all the right things. She listened, she empathized, she clarified her understanding, and showed that she really cared about how customers should be treated by her company. She asked me questions. She made comments that showed she understood how someone would feel being treated in this manner. Her passion about her company really showed through. I knew throughout our conversation that the employee my son and I dealt with was most likely an anomaly.

My son stated that he did not want any money or resolution from this store other then the acknowledgement from the store of the impact ONE employee can have on a company’s image. The store manager did follow up with my son to apologize for the treatment he received from their employee.

Consistent and ongoing training must be a key element in your company’s success. Hiring the right people and the right talent ensures that the same passion is exhibited throughout your organization. Maria demonstrated commitment, loyalty, and passion about her company – she is in the right position in her organization. Those same characteristics and personalities should show up no matter which person you are dealing with in your business – from the front line staff to the senior management – open door, transparent, honest, responsive, caring, and truthful.

I know these are the characteristics you value. That’s what your BBB accreditation symbolizes. But remember, everything you’ve worked hard to make your company stand for can by undone by a single employee.

Listen carefully to all of your staff as they engage with your customers. Are they in the right job? Have they got all the tools to give the best service they can to your customers? Do they truly like people?

If you can answer yes to those questions, then it makes a far easier to fix things when you do a make a mistake!

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