Customer Service: The Power of a Smile

A lot of businesses spend a great amount of time and resources on customer service training. But is that really necessary? According to Dale Carnegie in his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” there’s a simple and cost-effective way to improve your customer service. All you have to do is get your employees to smile.

Carnegie states, “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.’ That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us that they almost jump out of their skins. So naturally, we are glad to see them.”

Spend some time to ensure your employees are greeting members with a smile. This doesn’t just include front desk staff — personal trainers, managers and Group X instructors should all greet every person they see with a joyful hello. In addition, encourage staff to smile even when answering the phone — a much warmer tone will shine through.

According to Carnegie, you’d be surprised by what type of positive impact this can have on your club environment.

To illustrate, Carnegie shared an ad that was published by a department store in New York City around Christmas.

“It costs nothing, but creates much.

It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give.

It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes last forever.

None are so rich they can get along without it, and none so poor but are richer for its benefits.

It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends.

It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature’s best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.

And if in the last-minute rush of Christmas buying some of our salespeople should be too tired to give you a smile, may we ask you to leave one of yours?

For nobody leaves a smile so much as those who have none left to give!”

So remember, even though it’s simple, nothing is more powerful than a smile when it comes to customer service.