WOW Customer Service? Try a Hug & Tango at No Charge!

   

Okay A New Concept in Customer Service: 

Stand Outside of your business with a Sign that says "Hugs for Free" and watch the magic that happens.  Today we were totally enchanted by San Telmo, Buenos Aires.  Blocks and blocks of Street Performers, Antique Sellers and Cafes.  Were we in Florence? New Orleans? Paris?  You blink your eyes, trying to capture the sights and sounds as your senses explode. Frankly, comparison would not be fair to this unique barrio of Buenos Aires  which has it's own unique heart beat of Tango, Art and Sophisticated Elegance.   This man photographed above held a sign and beckoned me for a hug for free.....He made me an offer I could not refuse  and my enchantment is hard to hide.  Our friends, who work at the U.S. Embassy here, teased me that I had secretly lost my wallet and Jewel in that warm embrace, but my belief and delight in the power of human connection prevailed.  It was a hug pure and simple and lovely.

There are also  the Caught in the Rain Performers, seen above,  Charlie Chaplin look alikes and of course Tango Performers.  There's also Hat Sellers, Sign Makers and Jewelry Artisans and of course  history everywhere in the antiques,  that tell the stories.  Stories  of what it must have been like to be amidst the affluent "Portenos"-- Citizens of Buenos Aires.  In the high times, they collected beautiful antiques and displayed their European Style in high fashion.  In the hard times, they were forced to sell their signs of wealth and prestige. 

Barry sees a bronze pig with his back side to the display area and asks the merchant for the price. "Not for Sale" he exclaims.  "He is my Lucky Pig--You cannot sell your Luck".  Barry banters with the vendor that he "really, really  would like buy some luck ....where can he get some?" The vendor knowing the power of female consumerism, looks at me and says "you already have it".    I'm bringing this vendor with me for my next Sales Training Program.

FYI:  San Telmo, was once an elite residential area of Buenos Aires, that faded in the 1870's after a devastating yellow fever epidemic drove moneyed families to higher ground.  A must see on your visit to Buenos Aires, particularly for the famed Sunday Market.

Today's Business Lesson pertains to Customer Service:  Do the Unexpected.....Hug your customer and see what happens; Surprise them with unexpected delights and conversation  like the San Telmo Vendors.  Imagine how much attention your retail location would receive with a bit of Tango displayed for the enjoyment of passersby?  I am thinking of one of my retail clients in Washington....  It's a rainy day, everyone is complaining about traffic and on this  Friday Afternoon, customers are treated to a taste of tango as the visit the store.  What do you think would be the most remembered and discussed wow of that day?

"You're not going to believe what happened when I went to XYZ Store today......they treated us to a hug and the Romance of Tango."

Rosemary Rein, Ph.D. is an Author and International Customer Service and Leadership Trainer.  Visit Rosemary at www.gowildgogreat.com and transform your organization from Now to WOW!