Wear your work face better

June 17 2016

Smiling

A couple of quite different observations this week have prompted this blog theme - how well do you wear your work face?  

I was being 'served' in my local cricket club bar. I say 'served' but that implies a certain amount of deference and so maybe take the true meaning lightly. I don't go to the cricket club often but it was a sunny evening, a village tournament was starting and so my kids and I went down in support of a few people we knew. The lady behind the bar barked at us, glared and generally behaved in a manner that implied we were causing her a great deal of inconvenience by asking for 3 simple drinks. I didn't venture back in, I sent the kids instead (who incidentally don't care about customer service when someone else is buying the beer). This was her opportunity to make her place of work friendly and inviting. There were many new faces there who might have been lured back with a warmer welcome. Well not I thank you very much. My over-riding memory of the evening is of her poor people skills. I watched - it wasn't just me but everyone she spoke to. I've worked in a pub and it doesn't matter what mood you're in, you wear your work face to suit your customers. Get smiling. Get helpful and make their visit seem like they've made a good choice to be there.

Another example, and I have to be careful here, is observing a client at work. When they are in a bad mood, it affects everyone around. When things are brighter, so it reflects throughout the collective team. Enough said.

My point is that, as part of our working lives, we have a face we have to put on, no matter what is going on inside us. It's our job to wear it well. I don't mean you need to grin like an idiot all day, I mean - be appropriate and sensitive to your surroundings, your customers, suppliers and staff.

This entry was posted on June 17, 2016


Back to Blog