Next!
Checking in?
Here or To-Go?

Isnt it frustrating when those are the first words that come out of a front line employees mouth? As if they didnt want to take the time, or couldnt care less about offering a friendly, approachable greeting to the customer. Meanwhile, the next guy waiting in line thinks to himself, Gee, thanks for the warm welcome. Nice first impression.

SAD BUT TRUE FACT: the first impression window is narrowing.

I've been thinking a lot about this social trend since I was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal on the topic. The reporter and I discussed this "window," and I mentioned my research on hundreds of books on first impressions.

MY THEORY: As years go by, we seem to have less and less time to make a first impression.

Consider these numbers:

In the 80s and 90s, NLP authors like Nicholas Boothman claimed you only had 90 seconds to make a first impression

By the time the new millennium hit, you only had four seconds, according to hundreds of articles

In 2005, Malcom Gladwells bestselling book Blink explained that people made first impressions in TWO seconds

This year, an article from The BBC quoted a study which explained that Internet surfers form an impression in one 20th of a second of viewing a webpage

It kind of makes you wonder: as technology accelerates and as time goes on, will people eventually have ZERO seconds to make a first impression?

Ok, just kidding.

But think back to the guy waiting in line at the counter: if employees only have a few seconds to make a first impression anyway, why would the first words out of their mouths be so unfriendly?

I used to work at the Ritz Carlton. We were trained to eliminate the word Hello from our vocabulary. It was always Good morning! or Welcome in!

What ever happened to phraseology like that? Have we become so rushed, so programmed, so unfriendly, so unapproachable and so robotic that we cant sincerely take the time to offer a customer a warm welcome?

Nevertheless, the following list of substitute phrases will make the first words out of your mouth UNFORGETTABLE:

Instead of Next, try:

Step right up!
Come on down! (that one's for you, Bob Barker)
Dont be shy!

Instead of Checking in? try:

You finally made it!
Welcome to paradise!
Everyones been waiting for you!

Now, if you have a standard protocol for greetings, that's understandable. You don't want to piss of your boss. On the other hand, if you say, "Step right up," and your customer starts laughing before he even begins the transaction, I seriously doubt your boss will say, "Johnson! Stick with the script!"

Look, these phrases work. Ive used them thousands of times in my retail, food and guest service experience, and customers love them. Theyre funny. Theyre memorable. Most of all, theyre different. And thats the whole point: not only to give your customers a brief encounter or experience thats both friendly AND memorable; but also to communicate in a way so others cant help but pay attention to and remember you.

After all, if you only have two seconds anyway, you may as well have a little fun!