From Hello To Wazzup: Changing Reputations

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One of my favorite tips.

One thing I like to do to be respected is to just be friendly. You don't even have to bust your ass with the small talk. They'll throw you a bone/lend a hand/help you out in the long run. Just say "Howsit going?" but at least try to sound like you mean it (which if you really do mean it, it's gonna sound convincing. I mean, you want to have a good standing with them, right?) If you show that you are welcoming, they're gonna realize that you're making an effort to be outgoing, even if they do already think you're a loser. I've had it happen, trust me.

One person on the night crew who was friendly towards me at first (everyone was) actually greeted me on my second day on the job, and I had only spoken to him once before, and quite a few months before that, even. I had randomly seen him wearing a Children Of Bodom shirt, a band that I liked, and said, "Hey, Bodom, alright!!" and asked him if he'd seem them live, which he hadn't. But yeah, after a year or so of working at this store and I tried to make more of an effort with my social skills, just because I started doing this people started greeting me instead of me greeting them.

Even if you aren't necessarily cool in their eyes, they will at least respect you because you look like you like to be around them. Say you are running the register at McDonalds. A customer orders your favorite item on the menu. One of you will suddenly invite the other to a concert. One of you will more likely than not decline. There is no mutual connection.

Now, go down to a smaller scale. One thing I learned in customer service training when I got hired at my store is a customer's response to your small talk (we are encouraged by the company to engage in small talk). If you begin to start making small talk with the customer, and he/she ignores you or just barely speak at all, they are probably tired and just want to get home and live out the rest of their day. They probably had a bad day at work. What do you do?
A: Keep talking.
B: Shut up, do your job, and thank the customer.
C: Break a window.

The answer is B. If a person is not friendly, it's still gonna intimidate you even if they're not punching walls. You're not gonna have the urge to keep communicating with someone. Now if someone is friendly towards you and greets you/speaks to you first, it's the same as if you witnessed them engaging in social connection with someone else. They just look welcoming.

Now, I didn't start off being great with customers right away. I had plenty of awkward moments, but as long as you don't pull anything incredibly stupid, they're not gonna fire you right away unless they are sh**heads (in their eyes, you're trying). Customer service is always about a connection, whether personal (in many cases it is) or professional. This connection, or an attempt to make this connection, is required. This connection doesn't always have to be verbal. If they want you to shut up, and you do just that, that's basically a mutual connection. At least a mutual understanding. This is why customer service has changed my life, it's a setting where I got loads of practice. I could tell what worked and what didn't, I experimented with style. Eventually I progressed towards my peers. Some of my best friends are ones I've made at this particular job.

Ok, I rambled on a bit during that last paragraph, hopefully it helped my point at least a little bit. If I get a customer who walks up to me asking for help, sometimes they'll say, "Excuse me, you're so friendly and you're always great with me when you help me, could you tell me where the soup is?"

Gotta love it.

One last word, this can definitely apply to you guys. Say that coworker gives you the cold shoulder. There's no connection. Move on. They're just that cranky old fogie who wants to get home to watch their soap opera. Just make two attempts at just saying "Hi." Or "Howsit going?" That's it. Even if they actually reply in a positive way, no matter how proud of yourself you are, just let it go. Try again. Eventually you'll spot the best time to engage in small talk, they might do that part for you. If you social skills suck to the point where you don't think it'll work out, there's always a chance. A friend of mine who is an NT is the last person you'd think who would be as accepting as he is, but he's always helping me out, whether with advice on the chicks or when he's bringing me into his social circle. I've met several of his buddies, they're all actually ok, including the female buddies. Think of it this way, if a friend of yours who is genuinely a friend, their friends are typically gonna accept you. Think of it as your friend put in a good report.

(Listen to the groovy lyrics)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxmzNvlVgms[/youtube]

Wazaaaaaaaaap, Cowboy!

This is a good post. I think we would all benefit from a little customer service time. We do not have these skills instinctively, but they can be learned. It is a difficult road, to be sure, but one that is very rewarding. Your own increased skills and observations are living proof of that!

Shine: GroOvy...

You just reminded me. One day, me an a friend (in fact that NT friend last mentioned in the first post) were loitering outside Wal*Mart while waiting for a ride. We were thinking about ways to kill the time. He shouted out to a random customer walking by, asked her for ideas, and she said, "Why don't you walk around and offer to help people unload their groceries into their car?"

I thought that was a cool idea. But I wasn't sure if the people would feel comfortable with random strangers doing that. My older brother used to steal groceries this way. But use that as a reference, there's probably some kind of setting where helping random people might be helpful.