You’ve probably been there. Many of us have attended training events held in hotel ballrooms. To accommodate large groups, and a short time frame for meals, the wait staff have to move fast and accurately to hit every target.
Recently I was part of a training team at the beautiful Hilton Bayfront Hotel in San Diego. My colleague Sue B. Wade went through the buffet line and sat with me. We enjoyed delicious food and good conversation. When I had finished my meal, the wait staff came around to clear the table and make room for dessert. A young waiter made eye contact with Sue. He asked, “May I take your plate?”
Sue hesitated for a split second and then said, “Oh . . . ummm . . . Yes.”
“Are you sure? I can come back later if you aren’t finished,” he said.
Smiling, Sue said, “Well, the beans are really good, and I would like to finish them.”
The waiter nodded with a smile and walked away.
Social and emotional intelligence is the “IT” factor for handling customers with the utmost of care.
As she pushed her fork into the green beans, she turned to me beaming. “That guy has a lot of social and emotional intelligence,” she said. Sue is the founder of Walking the Talk, a brilliant program that builds the character of today’s youth. She is quick to identify these things. I was struck by her words and what I had just witnessed.
Social and emotional intelligence is the “IT” factor for handling customers with the utmost of care. (BONUS! It’s also the key for living a happier, more stress-free life.) In a matter of seconds, the waiter used social skills to check in with Sue before simply removing her plate.
By doing so, she felt cared about and comfortable to keep her plate.
He also used emotional intelligence on his own behalf. Just imagine the pressure a wait staff is under when tending to a room full of one hundred training participants. The servers are expected to quickly clear the tables and be as efficient as possible to keep everything on schedule. There must have been a part of him that would have preferred to just grab Sue’s plate and move on with his tasks.
He used his emotional intelligence to challenge the desire for speed with his priority of creating a positive customer experience. It was an extra effort. If he hadn’t taken it, life would have gone on just fine and no one would have known the difference. Instead, he did what he knew to be the most rewarding action for himself, his customer, and the hotel. Because he did, good feelings spread – starting with him (for doing what he knew to be best for the customer) to Sue, to me, and now to you!
What do you think? Do you practice developing your social and emotional intelligence? Please share your examples!
Posted by Marilyn Suttle at www.whosyourgladys.com
上一篇：Guest Blogger Kevin Stirtz Shares: Six Steps to More Loyal C
下一篇：Guest Blogger Mary Cantando Asks: Ever Wonder What It