No, this is not a joke; it’s a real question. I often wonder why people I know complain about their employees’ customer service when they treat their employees poorly. They don’t seem to get that if they don’t treat their employees well their employees won’t treat their customers well.

Go back to the time you had a bad boss.

Think back in time when you were an employee. Think back to the time when you had a bad boss or your boss did something to you that you thought was unfair. What did you think about the way you were treated? How did you carry the way you were treated to customers you served?

I bet that you were angry with your boss and wanted to get back at them. You probably didn’t treat the company’s customers very well that day. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if you decided to get back at your boss by not serving the company’s customers well.

Do you truly value what your employees do for you?

Too often we expect that employees will go out of their way for us when we don’t go out of our way for them. To have employees that really value your customers you have to build trust with them. You have to care about what’s important with your employees. You have to be reliable in how you work with them. You have to make it not all about you. The more you make it about your employees, the more trust you’ll build.

When your employees know that you value them they’ll go out of their way to take care of your business. That includes taking care of your employees. If your employees know you have their back they’ll make sure they have yours.

It’s the little things that count.

My daughter just started working at a new job. She got really sick the second week. In many companies, the employer would make noises about how she needed to be there. Instead, her new employer told her to stay home and not come in until she was strong enough to work. This employer showed how much they care. It’s easy for my daughter to reciprocate and show how much she cares about the company’s customers.
When was the last time you just bought lunch for your crew for no reason? When was the last time you asked about your employees’ kids? Did you bother to recognize your employee’s child who just graduated? Did you even know they graduated?

It’s your basic attitude as well.

You can’t just do nice things every once in a while. It has to be in your daily demeanor. You need to make sure that you care every day, not just during the holiday season. You want understand that your employees are people and have problems, hopes, and dreams just like you.

If you have an attitude of respect towards your employees they’ll do the same with your customers. If you dis-respect your employees they’ll do the same with your customers again. The choice is yours and the result your employees provide is your fault also; both good and bad.

Don’t be the airlines

I fly a lot. Before the flight, there is always a message from the CEO telling me how great their people are and what great service they’re going to give me. I wonder if this particular CEO believes what he says.
His people provide crummy service. It’s no secret why. This airline treats its employees like dirt. Is there any wonder that the airline employees do the same to its customers? Don’t be the airlines.

Do the opposite, value your employees and treat them as if they were your best customer. They just might be.