A CUSTOMER SERVICE GEM FOR YOU : The 10-4 Rule

Hello!

And Happy 2016 to all of you!

For some of us, the winter months are marked by a dramatic drop in sales, for others just a dramatic drop in enthusiasm. For the lucky ones, a new year has begun and you’re rarin’ to go. You’re going to own 2016!

No matter which camp you fall into, we’ve got a powerful customer service tool for you. Ideal to implement - whether you're trying to address revenue or enthusiasm, or looking for that cool thing that's going to take your business to the next level. And it's just as effective with your co-workers as it is with your customers. Clients who have come to our Art of Giving Great Service seminar often make it the very first customer service change they implement. 

The 10-4 Rule

Any time we’re within ten feet of someone we make solid eye contact and smile, and when we’re within four feet, we greet them verbally.

The details :

The rule applies on the way in

When anyone comes within ten feet of us, we make eye contact and smile; at four feet, we verbally greet them. When used well, the 10-4 Rule helps create a positive welcoming environment, the kind of space where the best people want to work, shop or be!

The rule applies throughout the building

There is no cap on how many of us can—and should—implement the 10-4 Rule with a single person. There is no quota that applies to happy, heartfelt greetings! Particularly in the case of a customer, this might seem counter-intuitive. It is common to believe that if you are not the person who is directly serving a customer, the best thing you can do is to avoid even making eye contact with the customer so that you are not at risk of distracting (or detracting!) from the work that one of your colleagues is already doing. In truth, everyone who gets within ten feet of a customer should be making eye contact, and at four feet, offering a greeting. Sure, it adds up to a lot of greetings but it’s the polite, and profitable, thing to do. Pretending that someone is invisible is rude, sends a negative message and leads to missed connections with customers and a rather impersonal overall service experience.

The rule applies on the way out

This aspect is easy to forget - even when you have a ton of experience in customer service. The rule still applies when your customer or co-worker is headed towards the door. If we don’t do make eye contact and acknowledge folks even when they are leaving, we miss a free opportunity to have them leave feeling like we cared about them. We might miss our last chance to discover that something during their visit unintentionally alienated them. Over the years, we’ve experienced hundreds of “moments of truth” simply because a staff member near the door interacted with the guest as they were leaving, and then, either through direct customer comments or through reading body language and tone of voice, was able to identify a problem and take last-minute action before we lost that customer for life.

The rule applies all the time

What we mean here is that the rule applies to a 360 degree field of view. While not all of us are able to grow eyes on the back of our heads, recognizing that the rule applies all the time means you maintain awareness of your field of view. For example, when you’re working in a retail environment, stand in a position that makes it easy for you to see the customers - particularly those that might need help.

The rule applies to everyone

Your customers, your co-workers, your vendors, the person who delivers your lunch, or your mail.

The rule applies through glass

This means that that customer who is standing outside, waiting for you to unlock the door, appreciates eye contact, a smile and the acknowledgment that you know they are there. 

Why do we love the 10-4 Rule so much? 

1. It’s clear. It’s simple. It’s easy to teach. And it’s easy to remember and reinforce.

2. It sets the tone. It sets the tone for our customers. And it sets the tone for our employees and clearly communicates to them what kind of business we want to be. We teach the rule to every employee. It’s a performance expectation and reinforce it as often as we need to.

3. It helps us avoid the unintentional blind spot. You know that scenario where a guest goes without being greeted despite the fact that there are four or five service providers nearby? It’s a horrible situation where each assumes that the other has taken care of the customer, but in truth no one has. Using the 10/4 Rule not only keeps this from happening but it also increases the positive energy for customers and co-workers alike. If you want to improve the quality of your workplace, start by looking people in the eye, smiling and saying “Hi!” Cost is low and the benefit is high, so give it a try.

4. It is an excellent defense against the "Ostrich Syndrome" - one of Ari’s pet customer service peeves.  Here is how he describes in his book, Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service. "We’ve all seen it at the airport or in some other bureaucratic “service” setting. There’s a long line of customers waiting to be be served, and although there are 10 staffers standing behind their computers, only 1 'window' is open. The other 9 folks just keep staring intensely at their screens and will not look at their customers for anything. It always seems as if they’re sure that if they just keep looking down long enough, the customers will go away! The funny thing is that while they are wrong in the moment, in the long run, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy - ignore your customers long enough and they will surely shop somewhere else.”

5. And finally, the biggest reason we like the 10-4 Rule so much? Because it works!

We hope that when you read this, you will be inspired to implement the 10-4 Rule. After all, it’s elegantly simple, eminently teachable and entirely free! And when you do, we hope you will email us about the marked difference it makes in your business.

A couple of final thoughts :

1. You do still have to implement it and implementing anything new, no matter how simple it is, takes time and perseverance. Remember to share your compelling reasons for adopting it and your vision for how things will be better when it is being used regularly. Be patient. Model, reinforce and reward its practice.

2. It only works if you’re being sincere. You’ve got to mean it. We recently came across an article "Omotenashi: The Secret of Japanese Service" that does a good job of explaining it. “... in Japan this notion of welcoming someone is everyone’s responsibility as opposed to novelty and passed off to a jolly octogenarian in a yellow vest.” That’s kind of how we see it too. With the 10-4 rule, you are acknowledge and honoring someone’s presence in your business. You have no expectations of them. You just want to let them know - I see you. Your presence here is important to me.

Thanks for reading. Your presence here is incredibly important to me.

The first 5 people to sign up for the February 1-2, 2016 session of our 2-day seminar The Art of Giving Great Service get $500 off!

1. Use the discount code TENFOUR when you register. 
2. The offer only applies to the February session of the seminar. 
3. You can buy all 5 of the discounted seats if you get there first. 
4. If you think this e-news had a great tip, the seminar might just knock your socks off so pack an extra pair. Or three!