Customer Service: Work Magic on Your Members with This Simple Trick

Last week I discussed the simple power a smile can have to positively influence how your members feel about your staff and your club. Well, according to Dale Carnegie in his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” there’s another simple strategy you can use to make your members feel appreciated: Know and use their names.

According to Carnegie, “We should be aware of the magic contained in a name and realize that this single item is wholly and completely owned by the person with whom we are dealing … and nobody else. The name sets the individual apart; it makes him or her unique among all others. The information we are imparting or the request we are making takes on a special importance when we approach the situation with the name of the individual. From the waitress to the senior executive, the name will work magic as we deal with others.”

The challenge to this simple trick is that most people don’t remember names, “for the simple reason that they don’t take the time and energy necessary to concentrate and repeat and fix names indelibly in their minds,” continued Carnegie. “They make excuses for themselves, they are too busy.”

However, some of the busiest, most successful people in the world were known for their abilities to remember the names of every person they came into contact with, such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie. Those two men were extremely busy, and could have used that excuse to not know the names of their associates, customers and employees. Yet, they not only knew their names, but also knew details about their lives, and frequently followed up on those details.

So, what’s your team’s excuse for not knowing your members’ names and details about their lives? This goes for you too — do you know the names of your employees and what’s important to them?

The next time someone tells you their name, be sure to listen. Take an active interest in knowing and remember their name, because you care. In addition, encourage your employees to do the same. Make knowing names an important aspect of your customer service training. Here’s an article from Forbes that provides tricks for remembering people’s names: Link.

Use this simple trick and I guarantee people will respond to you more positively, and your members will feel you truly care.

Rachel Zabonick-Chonko

Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.