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Remember how much sincerity counts
Sales Moves
By Jeffrey Gitomer
Ever leave a tip? Sure you did. And most of the time when you leave a tip, it is based on the service or the quality perceived. Sometimes it is a combination of qualities: food plus service.
But these days, tipping has changed. Everyone seems to have a hand out, asking for more money.
If you go into a Starbucks, there is the familiar plastic bin by the cash register that is always filled to some varying degree with change and a few bucks.
Sometimes it is a jar. Sometimes it is a fish bowl. But it is ever present where you see a counter and some servers.
What the workers are really saying is, “My company doesn’t pay me enough, so I need to beg you for more.”
Now I know this seems a bit harsh. “Oh, those poor people slaving behind the counter.” But the bottom line is, the company that employs them is making huge profits while their front line people predominantly starve.
People on the front lines are always the lowest paid. I wish I understood it. But I don’t. No, I’m not a socialist, but I am a pragmatist.
That’s one way of looking at tipping.
Let’s take a look at another way: suppose everyone on the front lines of service had to earn tips.
Ever go to an airport? If you are like me, you check a bag, and you go to a skycap. Skycaps work for tips. I know this, and I tip liberally as a result of it. The skycaps at the airport in Charlotte, N.C., are some of the best in the United States. They are friendly. They are helpful. And they don’t have a jar out. They do the same excellent job, whether they are tipped or not.
But suppose everyone in the airport had to work for tips.
People at the ticket counter, the flight attendants and the people in baggage claim. Can you imagine if they had to work for tips? At the end of a day, they would go home with no money, griping to their significant other about the lousy tippers at the airport. Never for one second thinking that maybe the lousy service and poor attitude contributed to their negligible income.
Think of all the other rude front line people in the world.
How about the administrative people in a doctor’s office? What about gatekeepers when you are making a cold call? What about sales clerks who ignore you when you are shopping? Would you tip any of them?
At the root of a tip, you will find friendliness, helpfulness and service. But there is a secret. In order to perform, you have to have the desire to serve. And you have to display the pride that goes along with giving great service.
No successful server is ever going to say, “I’m doing the best I can,” or “They don’t pay me enough to do that,” or “It’s not my job.”
The point here is that service has nothing to do with the company. Service has everything to do with the people who work for the company.
Ever go to a hotel? The doorman is friendly because he works on tips. The bellman is friendly because he works on tips. So why doesn’t the front desk clerk work on tips?
It is interesting to note that many bellmen work at the same hotel for years, while front desk position turns over as much as 400% a year.
How do you serve? Could you earn tips?
Think about the last server you had in a restaurant. Think about how they should have served and convert that to your service.
Here are five tips to earn the tip, even if it is not in the form of money.
Start with a smile. Smiles are contagious. People want to know you are happy.
Engage in a friendly manner. Start with your name. Stop when it comes to your canned pitch. Why don’t you say something like, “This is a great restaurant. You’re going to have a great meal.” Make a statement that gives others comfort.
Help others sincerely and without expectation. Your job is to serve. Do so with excellence and all will be well.
Tell them how nice it was to serve them. Be sincere. That is no problem if you have been sincere all along.
Thank them. The best way to end your encounter is to say, “Thanks for being my customer; hope to see you again soon.”
If you serve like you are working for tips, your reward will be much more than financial. It will be personal fulfillment. That is the tip you give yourself.
Sometimes the best tip you can give others isn’t money. For example, I often give a signed copy of my book to people I feel went above and beyond their duty.
If you haven’t written your book yet, it might be dried flowers from your garden, or something that you made or a keepsake that costs a buck or two. A small gift is most often better than a monetary tip because it is from the heart.
The best tip of all that you can give to others is a kind word of thanks or a compliment. They love hearing it from customers because they probably never hear it from their boss.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling, is the president of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer. E-mail him at salesman@gitomer.com.
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