I stopped at the bank to make a deposit yesterday.   Our normal branch hadn’t opened yet and I figured I’d stop by a different branch that was on the way to the store.  While waiting for the teller clerk, I overheard the drive-thru teller telling a customer “Thank You For Banking With _______, We Appreciate Your Business At __________, And Have A Nice Day”.

Although the teller was cheerful and pleasant with this statement, my first thought was “UGH – I hate canned greetings, closings, etc.!”  They’re just not personal and it’s always about the company and not about the customer.

Once the teller clerk was free, she greeted me with a warm smile, “Hi – how are you today?” & “How Can I Help You?”.  As she was processing the deposit, she said “I see you’re a Hero today”.  I looked at her puzzled and said “What?”.  She said “Your Sweatshirt says you’re a Hero”.

I looked down and, sure enough, my red sweatshirt that says “Cherokee” on the front was covered by my jacket and all you saw was “Hero”.  We both had a laugh about not even thinking that the word hero was in cherokee and I joked about now needing to find a cape and go save the world – no pressure!  She ended with “Is There Anything Else I Can Help You With Today, Anne Marie?” and “I Hope You Have A Great Weekend!”

How different were these two tellers at the same bank?  Do you think the customer that went through the drive-thru called their friends/family to say “Hey!  Did you know that ________ is glad that I do business with them and ________ appreciates my business and wants me to have a nice day?”

When I got in my car to leave the bank I called my husband and told him “Hey, did you know I’m a Hero today?”  To which he replied “You’re my hero every day baby!” (Great answer and that’s why he’s THE MAN!)  I told him the story and he said he would start going to that branch instead of our normal branch from now on.  I then went to the store where, I normally like to think that I try to be cheerful and helpful as I go through my day, but found myself feeling “extra” cheerful and helpful to those around me.  I FELT like a hero.  All because of a small conversation with a bank teller from something that she observed, rather than her just giving me a canned sales greeting/closing.

That’s what I hope that everyone in our industry learns and appreciates – the tremendous power we have to influence the customers that we interact with on a daily basis.  It’s that extra effort to make a personal conversation rather than the canned salesman blah.

What can your teams do every day to make your customers feel like “Heroes”?

…

-Anne Marie