The Little People

Another crazy week for me. I put together my final ACS Mock Interview session and it went really well. We had 12 Young Territorians inspired and motivated and they learnt tips and tricks to put them one step ahead of their competition when they go for their next job interview. Photos will be up soon in the media section so stay tuned!

A few weeks ago I had dinner with a friend who casually remarked about the way I spoke to all the waiters and waitresses at our restaurant. I wondered if I was being rude but she said that I was just the opposite. I came across as being genuinely interested in how their shift was going and what else they had to say. I found this a little unusual as to me this is something I do all the time. I always ask anyone who serves me, whether it’s at a restaurant or service station or even at the shopping centre checkouts, how their shift is going and I’m interested in what they have to say. Oddly enough, one would expect the standard “yeah its okay” line from all of these people, but for me I rarely get that. Instead I find out if they’re enjoying their job, what their colleagues are like to work with, and any other bits of juicy information that they’d like to offer during the 30 seconds or so that I chat with them.

So having said that, for those of you out there who own a customer service establishment, either a restaurant, or a service station, or even a shop, make sure you chose the right people as the face of your establishment as you want to be able to ensure that your business is getting positive exposure. It goes a very long way to getting repeat business!!!

Going back to why I talk to these people in such a way? I guess its because I am genuinely interested in what they have to say and I always have the view that if something does go wrong I like to think that they’d do everything they can to help me out because I’m nice to them. For example, if I was in a restaurant and something is wrong with the food, if I’m nice to the staff, I like to think that they would help me out and chat to the chef and get it fixed, as opposed to being rude and complaining about the lack of quality in the food that i’m spending my hard-earned money on, and have them add amusing “extras” to the meal that I know nothing about.

The other reason why I talk to people like this, is best illustrated by a story that I heard on the night of the Young Achiever Awards. Matthew Bonson, minister for Youth Affairs got up on stage and spoke about a story he heard about Mohammed Ali. He said that one day a reporter much shorter than Ali went up to him and asked him “Hey Champ, what do you think the secret of being great is?” and in typical Ali humour, he stood up tall and towered over the man and said “Son, the secret to being great is NEVER look down on those who look up to you.”

That’s brilliant advice and I endeavour to follow it every chance I get, especially now after my awards.

So this week, I challenge you to have a conversation with one of the little people out there and be genuinely interested in what they have to say. Trust me, it goes a long way and makes them feel as though what their doing is worth it.

Dream, Build, Inspire, Lead!

AJ~

Author: AJ Kulatunga

Category:

inspire, Young Achiever Awards, Matthew Bonson, Muhammed Ali