Howsit! Thnx. I’ll get back to you. No reply.
We’ve all experienced bad manners and poor etiquette from small businesses. Stuff to pull your hair out or tell them to get off. In a small town with slackers who spend most of their time at the beach, it gets worse.
Small business suppliers have all sorts of excuses why they haven’t contacted you… for days, weeks. Excuses that are so unbelievable that you wish they would rather not open their mouth to feed you bare-faced lies.
Why am I writing about this?
Only one reason:
Good manners and awareness of business etiquette (which, by the way, is no different from other forms of human interaction) can pay off in a competitive business environment.
Okay, there are exceptions—customers who just want the lowest price and couldn’t care less how small businesses treat them.
I worked in different businesses with different cultures, but I don’t claim to be an expert on business manners. All I can go with is stuff that makes me feel bad about dealing with small business owners and their staff, and that forces me to turn away and find someone else who has good manners.
Here are a few things I don’t like:
– Business owners who take long to reply to email, WhatsApp messages, Facebook Messenger and so on
– Suppliers who don’t keep their appointments. Changing appointments at the last minute is frustrating
– People who suddenly disappear without explanation and then make contact a week or so later. Where did they go? Surely they could be courteous enough to let you know that they’ll be tied up for the next few days? It’s rude and infuriating
– Breaking promises. Suppliers who say that they’ll come back to do rework, but either never do or only come when you’ve texted and called them a million times
– Hot and cold business owners. They come in with all the enthusiasm in the world, wanting you to accept their quote straight away. As soon as you ask questions, they get cagey and lose interest.
I’m not suggesting that rough and tumble small business contractors be like Miss Manners. All I’m hinting at is basic human manners.
Myka Meier (Modern Etiquette Made Easy) who learned etiquette while training under a former member of the Queen of England’s household has a few good points. I’d say even mechanics with greasy hands (who are a blessing to see when you’ve got car problems) could benefit from this one:
– Etiquette is about people
It’s about making people feel good about your service, product and you (who they are going to put their trust in to get the job done). Respect, consideration, and warmth help make it easy to stand out from the rest.
