Simple phrases can have unintended consequences when you speak to your clients. You may innocently mean one thing but your customers subliminally hear a darker meaning.
For example, every day you “coordinate” work with your clients. They need to do certain things so that you can best accomplish the job. BUT…
Remember the SFS principle that in any service “80% of how your customer decides if it was a ‘good job’ or a ‘bad job’ is based on how they feel about the person actually doing the work”! And yes, how you phrase a simple customer request can have a dramatic effect on this all-important relationship between the client and your company! So…
Never say to a customer “you’ll have to“ as in “you’ll have to leave the door open” or “you’ll have to move the furniture”, etc.
This innocent “you’ll have to” phrase can come across subliminally as a “dictatorial demand” to your client. Instead, avoid this negative Moment of Truth by modifying your requests with phrases like “I would appreciate it if…” or “It would be great if you could…” or “Would you mind…?” Now you come across as a “humble supplicant” instead of a “demanding dictator”! After all, if you were the customer which one would you prefer?
Restoration HINT: Traumatized insureds need “special handling” after an often agonizing loss. So treat them with “kid gloves” and NEVER tell them “you’ll have to”!
Commercial HINT: Remember that you are “very low on the totem pole” of any business manager’s priorities. So with regular commercial cleaning accounts as a general rule it is better to request as little as possible from them. Instead just “blend into the wood work”. This way they get used to just cutting you that check every month which is exactly where you want to be!
Steve