Tag Archives: etiquette training

How Much is Rudeness Costing Your Business?

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Lydia Ramsey

Business Etiquette - The Key to Success Have you ever thought about how much rudeness may be affecting your bottom line? What is the cost to your company when the people who represent you lack proper manners?

Do you know how many clients are turned off by employees who would rather carry on a conversation with each other than with the client? Can you count the number of people who hang up and call someone else because the person who answered your phone put them on hold without asking permission?

How does the client rate your professionalism when the employee who welcomes him to your office looks as if she is dressed for a day at the beach? Are your employees treating each other with courtesy and respect? Do they work as a team and help each other out or do they act like cast members on Survivor?

Try taking this quick true/false quiz to test your own business etiquette expertise. Then run it by your employees to assess their rudeness quotient.

1. Business etiquette is based on rank and hierarchy.
2. If the information on your business card is incorrect, draw a line through it and write the correct information on the card.
3. Business casual means dressing down one notch from business professional.
4. In today’s relaxed business environment, it is not necessary to ask your clients’ permission before using their first names.
5. Callers do not mind holding for information as much as holding for a person.
6. Handwritten notes are out of place in the business world.
7. A man should wait for a woman to put out her hand in business before offering his.
8. When composing an e-mail message, complete the “To” line last.
9. Small talk around the office is a waste of time.
10. If you receive a call on your cell phone when you are with a client, it’s fine to check to see who’s calling, but don’t answer.

Answers:

1. In business, you defer to the senior or highest ranking person, regardless of age or gender.
2. Handing out business cards with information that is outdated is unprofessional. Have new cards printed immediately.
3. Business casual is not an excuse to wear your favorite old clothes to the office. It’s business. Look professional.
4. Don’t assume you can call clients by their first name. Use titles and last names until asked to do otherwise.
5. Clients will wait patiently while you search for information on their behalf.
6. Handwritten notes have become as rare as the typewriter. Stand out from your competition by sending your clients handwritten notes.
7. In business it is off-putting when a man hesitates to extend his hand to a woman.
8. If you wait until you have carefully proofed your message before you hit “send”, you will never be embarrassed or have to apologize for your email errors.
9. Small talk in the office is a great way to build relationships among co-workers.
10. It is just as rude to check your phone to see who called as it is to take a call in front of a client. Turn your phone off and check your messages later.

If you had trouble with any of these questions, your employees will, too. If you want your employees to be at ease in business situations, to represent you well and help build your business, give them the information they need. If you haven’t engaged in business etiquette skills training lately, do it now. Don’t let rudeness cost you business.

No one is born with good manners. People have to be taught, and from time to time, they need to be reminded of what they already know.

Lydia Ramsey is a Savannah-based business etiquette expert, keynote speaker, trainer and author. Contact her at 912-604-0080 or visit her website: LydiaRamsey.com to find out how her presentations and workshops can help you and your employees add the polish that builds profits.

Customer Service Training Pays Off

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Lydia Ramsey

How many times have you been the victim of poor customer service? At one time or another, we’ve all been on the receiving end of bad manners. Perhaps when you walked into a store, the salespeople were more interested in finding out what each other had done the night before rather than helping you. Maybe you made a phone call to request service and were greeted with the smack, smack, smack of chewing gum. Could be you asked a question about how to use a new product only to see boredom and disdain cloud the eyes of the support person just before he lapsed into condescending language with you.

I’ve heard (and passed along) horror stories like these—and much worse. There was the clerk chatting away on her cell phone, never bothering to ask if I needed help, and the receptionist who didn’t look up from her magazine until I had reached her desk and stood there for some time.

Usually we leave these businesses with distaste and disappointment, our money still tucked in our wallets. The next time we need a similar service or product, we go elsewhere. We’re not likely to return to the place where we were treated rudely and where customer service is not a priority.

In my business etiquette presentations, I ask for a show of hands from those people who will go out of their way and pay more money for the same product or service because they prefer being treated with kindness and respect. Just about every hand goes up and heads nod.

It is common knowledge that all things being equal, we tend to do business with people we know, like and trust. And when all things are not equal, we still tend to do business with people we know, like and trust.

Good manners and customer service are one and the same.

Any business that doesn’t understand that customer relations have everything to do with success will not be around long. If we treat people well, they will become loyal customers. If we treat them poorly, they will leave. Worse, they’ll tell all their friends about their poor customer service experience.

There’s one basic rule to teach every employee at your company whether you own a Fortune 500 or a mom and pop store on the corner. It’s the Golden Rule. Treat your customers and clients the way that you want to be treated. Better yet adopt the Platinum Rule and treat your customers the way they want to be treated.

When people enter your business, greet them immediately. Smile and make eye contact.

Hold the door open when you see them coming. Rise when someone enters your office.

Call people by name. Wow!

Don’t keep people waiting. When they must wait, tell them how long it will be and make them comfortable by offering a cup of coffee or a glass of water and something to read.

Listen attentively when your customers have problems and offer to help.

Take responsibility when things go wrong even if it wasn’t your fault. The most irate customer can be calmed by this selfless act in a world so accustomed to the lively game of blame.

It really isn’t complicated. If we treat clients and customers with courtesy, we send a message that we value them. When people feel valued, they come back. But if they sense you couldn’t care less about them or their needs, they will look around until they find someone who does care. It may take awhile, but when it happens, your customer is history.

An investment in customer service training is one of the best investments you will ever make in your business.

If I can help, let me know.

Photo from Savannah magazine

Hire Lydia to work with your staff to improve customer service and employee relations through the use of those priceless and often over-looked soft skills called manners. Lydia is the “unstuffy” business etiquette expert who helps individuals and organizations add the polish that builds profits. We’re talking about your bottom line here.

Since 1996, countless people have benefited from her wisdom through keynotes, seminars and conference breakout sessions. Her Southern charm and sense of humor have made her a sought-after speaker and consultant.

Based in Savannah, Georgia, Lydia is available for national, regional and local speaking and training engagements. She has suitcase; will travel.

Contact her via email at lydia@lydiaramsey.com or call 912-604-0080. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter and visit her website, lydiaramsey.com

1 Reply

College Students Eat Up Dining Etiquette

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Lydia Ramsey

One of the favorite aspects of my etiquette training business is presenting “Dining for Success” to college and university students. Since founding Manners That Sell nearly 15 years ago, I have worked with numerous colleges and universities teaching dining etiquette. This is a subject that used to be taught at the family dinner table. However, we all know that families do not dine together as they once did. With both parents working, single parent homes and schedules that are out of control, there is little oppportunity for the traditional family meal. It is a real challenge to teach table manners when kids are eating out of a brown paper bag from a fast food restaurant in the back seat of the car.

Most of the young people I work with are in their junior or senior year of college. They are finishing up their courses and are ready to join the workplace. The one class they didn’t get is business etiquette training. Now they are faced with job interviews, many of which are conducted over meals, and they don’t have a clue which fork to use, how to eat the soup or even something as simple as what to do with their napkin. Here’s where I come in.

The dining courses I offer involve a four-course meal that I guide the students through step by step. I am always heartened by the level of involvement and interaction from the participants. They never run out of questions to ask. They are hungry for the information in my sessions.

When the last bite of dessert has been eaten and final drop of coffee drunk, they are in no hurry to leave. The questions keep coming. We even talk about some aspects of the job interview. We discuss how to dress, how to present themselves, when to arrive and how to follow up. The Career Services Departments of the colleges and universities I work with do an excellent job of helping students prepare their resumes and field those tough interview questions, but they turn to me to teach the interpersonal skills which will set their graduates apart from the competition.

One of my long-term clients is Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. I have worked with them since I first became an etiquette trainer. At the most recent session I presented to them, I was amazed at how many students came up to thank me for the presentation, to tell me how much they had learned and just how many of them said, “This is not my first time to attend ‘Dining for Success.’ I come every year and learn something new each time.” Several of them followed me into the parking lot to ask more questions and to thank me again.

The next day I received the following message from the director of the program in GSU’s Career Services Department. She said, “Thank you so much for coming to speak to our group again this year. We had great reviews from students and employers. On their evaluations, the students said they truly loved having you walk them through the meal!”

Now who couldn’t love a job like that?

Photo from Savannah magazine

Based in Savannah, Georgia, Lydia is available for national, regional and local speaking and training engagements. She has suitcase; will travel.

Contact her via email at lydia@lydiaramsey.com or call 912-604-0080. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter and visit her website, lydiaramsey.com.

2 Replies

A Fatal Mistake – Overlooking Business Etiquette Training

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Lydia Ramsey

If you are starting a new business, the last thing you want to do is fail. No one begins with the idea that their venture will not work. The success rate for small business is greater than most people think. According to statistics published by the Small Business Administration (SBA), seven out of ten new establishments survive at least two years and 51 percent survive at least five years. This is a far cry from the previous long-held belief that 50 percent of businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within five years.

There are numerous resources available today to help those who want to launch their own business. The Internet alone provides a wealth of information to the lone entrepreneur. Whether it is a short article, an online course or a six-week training program, most offer the same advice. They talk about business plans, marketing strategies, financial resources, management skills and, of course, web presence. The one element that is most overlooked and that can cause a small business to tank is the lack of business etiquette skills–the failure to exercise workplace manners and to offer employees training in customer service.

So are we talking here about business etiquette or customer service? Both, actually. They are one and the same. We are talking about how we treat customers and employees. It starts at the top of the chain and works its way down. If you are courteous and respectful of your employees, they will be courteous and respectful of your customers.

Unfortunately in today’s world, not everyone comes to the workplace with good etiquette skills. They don’t teach business etiquette much anymore. It is impossible to find such a course listed on a high school or college curriculum.

As a small business owner don’t make the fatal mistake of failing to offer business etiquette courses to your employees or taking one yourself. The best business plan and marketing strategy plus all the financial resources you need cannot make up for a lack of interpersonal skills.

As a business etiquette trainer and coach, I would like to see manners, etiquette and interpersonal skills on every entrepreneur’s list of things to consider when starting his or her own small business. Who knows? With an emphasis on etiquette, your small business could one day become one of the Fortune 500.

Photo from Savannah magazine

Based in Savannah, Georgia, Lydia is available for national, regional and local speaking and training engagements. She has suitcase; will travel.

Contact her via email at lydia@lydiaramsey.com or call 912-604-0080. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter and visit her website, lydiaramsey.com.