Gina Six Kudo is the general manager for Cochrane Self Storage in Morgan Hill, Calif. She is one of four recipients of the Inside Self-Storage 2009 Humanitarian Service Award.
Customers can make or break a business. On any given day, every type of personality can cross the threshold into your store. A manager’s ability to adapt on a seconds’ notice to any type of demeanor he or she comes across is a sign of a good employee.
Some people enter wanting to belly up to the bar and share their tale of woes. Others walk in demanding immediate attention despite the two people ahead of them. The next person wants to chat for an indeterminately long period of time about everything under the sun.
Most are extremely pleasant, while others you would just as soon like to ignore them as deal with them; or even run and hide as you see them approaching your door. The innate ability to deal with the different psychological aspects of people is a fantastic skill for someone who deals with the public on a consistent basis to possess.
Though teaching someone to think on the fly and best determine how to handle each person is a rather daunting task. Some employees may not have the coping mechanisms to grasp the concept, so what can you do to assist your employee in methods to deal with each personality type? One such method is any business course geared toward human relations or communications skills.
These are offered at premium rates through various programs, either onsite or offsite training. However, one of the most cost effective methods of training is the local community college or adult education classes. For a nominal fee you or your employees can spend time learning how to identify each personality type and how to best handle them.
Years back the best bet was the Dale Carnegie course offerings, and while they are still around, the cost is prohibitive for most small-business owners. The book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” however, is still available. For the low price of $8 on Amazon think of the lessons that could be learned, and the advances in interpersonal skills your staff could acquire.
In this age of instant gratification via Web searches, the simplicity of a paperback book could make all the difference in the world. Well, at least your little corner of the world. If you see areas that need improvement in your operation, and while business is slow, take the time to invest in your future business success.
The appropriate connection with your customers, staff and anyone you interact with is the basis for a successful future. I would bet there is not one person reading this that couldn’t benefit from learning a little something now and then or, at the very least, partaking in a refresher course.