• Mary Ann "Skipper"
  • 2007
  • 0

When I ordered my turtle flavored coffee at the café I had a fun and wonderful experience. The cashier asked me if I wanted to answer the trivia question posted on the board.

“Sure,” I said. Suddenly I felt like a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with no lifeline. I had a one in three chance of getting it right. As luck would have it, I correctly guessed that an Alaskan grizzly was a salmon.

This coffee buying experience was unique. Why?

  1. It was fun.
  2. The cashier was friendly. She smiled and interacted politely with me.
  3. She offered helpful suggestions for keeping the calories in the drink low(er).

Three simple ingredients that we can apply to any interaction made my customer experience a delight. Friendly, attentive service; a fun and welcoming environment; and a desire to satisfy customer needs are key elements in establishing customer rapport.

By applying these concepts both to our external and internal customers, we can increase business and morale.

My prize for the correct trivia answer: 10 cents off of my coffee purchase. I felt like I had won a million dollars!