THE RIGHT WORDS MATTER MORE

Recently in a rather upscale restaurant having dinner with my wife, I asked for some bread for the table. The waiter without hesitation responded, “No worries” and left to retrieve a fresh loaf of bread. Or, so I thought.

After waiting about five minutes or so, the waiter returned without the bread, and asked if we were ready to order. I mentioned about the missing bread. The waiter without hesitation responded, “No problem,” and left to retrieve a fresh loaf of bread. Or, so I thought again.

Returning for the second time without the bread, the waiter informed me that they had run out of fresh bread and would an assortment of crackers and pretzel sticks be okay instead of the bread.  

It seems like the expressions “no worries” and the now familiar “no problem” appear to replace responses like “yes,” “certainly,” “absolutely,” or my favorite, “my pleasure” as a means of assurance to the customer that their request will be fulfilled. But our attempt to put the customer at ease with “no problem” or “no worries” is now the point the customer does begin to worry because more than likely there will be a problem.

In our ability to clearly communicate both an understanding of a request, and providing assurance that the request will be fulfilled, it is important to communicate clearly and convincingly with an affirmative response. Just imagine if the response to “Will you marry me?” was “No worries.” Or the response to “I swear that the evidence that I shall give, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God” was “No problem.” The responses would leave the requestor wondering if he was choosing the right person to marry, or leave the judge shaking her head in disbelief.   

When it comes to customer service, a double negative does not make a positive. When it comes to a meal, vacation, boarding a plane or reviewing your annual physical results, the last word a customer wants to hear is the word “no,” “problem,” or “worries.”

Simply put…words matter. And the right words matter more.

Until Next Friday,

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash