Tis the season for lots and lots of college and high school basketball games. Men’s, women’s, boy’s and girl’s games.
If you watch any of them, you’ll see action from end to end of the courts. But you’d also see time-outs and each team huddled on the sideline.
Huddles, then action. Huddles, then action. Half-time, then more of the same, huddles followed by action.
Most team sports follow this same repetition. Why? Because it’s proven to work. The ‘huddles’ are essential to confirm the ‘how/where/when/what each player will do during the play segment to make the game itself successful.
The same is true (or should be true) for customer service. At the beginning of every sales launch, the start of every day or every shift, there should be a ‘huddle’ led by the manager-in-charge.
This ‘huddle’ should be constructive and include quick, easy-to-understand and easy-to-comply-with strategies and/or directions to help employees do the best possible job ‘on the field’ each day. This could include reviewing new prices, product status ‘we are out of this/that’, and (this is the one I like the best), ‘reinforcing the level of customer service that is expected’.
I’ve seen this effective approach used in exceptional-service restaurants, where before the wait staff takes the floor, the shift manager reminds the staff of any operational information, then ‘re-establishes’ the expected level of service, for example:
- Acknowledge an employee for a job well done the previous day.
- Keep in mind our customers are our guests; without them we are nothing.
- Remember to smile at every customer today.
- Keep the customers informed of their order at all times.
- You can’t say please and thank you enough.
- Always end the ‘huddle’ with your version of ‘GO TEAM!’
Keep ‘huddles’ short, positive and never be condescending. Your employees are adults, treat them as such. Focus only on several, main points. Always include a customer service message as part of your huddle. Consistent, encouraging communication from you to your staff equals delighted customers.