LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

As a barista at Starbucks, one of the most important aspects of my job is to listen to customers— for the obvious reason of getting their order right, but most importantly, to make a connection. By this, make the customer feel valued— to make them feel special. Listening to what they have to say makes them feel that they are worth something. By worth, I mean they are worth listening to.

The following highlights a couple of key aspects of what to do and what not to do when listening to customers.

Avoid the following:

- Tuning out the customer (because you already know what they are going to say). - Focus on superficial aspects of the customer (i.e. how they look, dress, sound etc).
- Divide your attention amongst multiple tasks.
- Interrupt the customer.
- Giving few or even no genuine verbal responses

Do the following:
- Listen in order to gauge the feelings of your customer.
- Listen completely- trying to fully comprehend where your customer is coming from.
- Listen to the main idea, and keep from replying to every little thing.
- Do one thing at a time- after all, listening is a full time job!
- Be silent for a couple of seconds to ensure that the customer is completely finished with what they have to say.
- Give positive verbal responses and statements that let the customer know that they have your full and undivided attention.

Keep these tips in mind. Remember, listen with intent- it is one of the keys to success!