Make Your Next Family Reunion the Best One Yet

Summer is here, school is out, vacations are planned and families are gathering for that big get-together...the Family Reunion.

If your family is included in this scenario, here are some tips to ensure your next Family Reunion is the best one yet.

REMEMBER YOUR MANNERS AND BE POLITE. Yes, it counts with family, too. Being among kinfolk doesn't give you the right to be rude. Besides, some of the elders who taught you manners in the first place may be there watching you.

SOME ARE KIN...SOME ARE NOT. Guests are usually welcome, so friends, neighbors, and other non-related people are often invited to family reunions. With that being said, you need to remember that reunions also flush out members of your family that you haven't seen in years. So don't just read a name tag...find out exactly who everyone is. The last thing you want to do is hit on First-Cousin Cathy or Half-Brother Hal.

DO NOT AIR NOR SHARE FAMILY DIRTY LAUNDRY; even if it's your own family's laundry. When you see people together in a whispering huddle, you know it's not about Me-Maw's mouth-watering deviled eggs. So jump in and suggest playing a game or drag out the homemade ice cream maker...anything to distract the gossipers. And don't fret about spoiling anyone's gossipy good fun, either. There's always comfort in knowing they'll catch up on everything later, during the familiar post-reunion phone sessions.

PREPARE FOR ANIMATED ACCOUNTS OF PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS. There's no escaping this. They're as natural to reunions as ants are to cookouts; you know, a colossal pain in the butt, but expected none the less. So dispense with retorts of one-upmanship. Look at it this way; you're ALL family, so if someone happens to be doing well; you're ALL doing well.

And last but not least:

NO CRITICISMS ARE ALLOWED about the planning or organizing of the reunion. If you were on the committee...great! Then you know first-hand how much work was put into it. If you were not on the committee, then you should have been...so keep your criticisms to yourself. And before you leave, be sure to sign up to work on the next reunion committee since apparently, you think you can do better.

Reunions are about gatherings and happy times. Make it a point to keep them that way by remembering the special bond that brought you all together in the first place.

The Best-Kept Secret to Turning A Difficult Customer into a Happy One

If you have a job, you have a customer; a customer who may be internal or external, virtual or physically face-to-face. They could be co-workers that you see every day or simply voices on the phone.

But no matter who your customers are, at some point, you've probably considered a few of them 'difficult'. You know the ones, those who expect you:

...to know their needs (even when they don't know themselves)
...to quickly deliver those needs, and
...to answer every demand and challenge they toss your way in order to get their needs met (and with a smile on your face to boot)

Since the success of your job lies in keeping all of your customers happy and satisfied, it's important to know one of the best-kept secrets on how to turn a difficult customer into a happy and satisfied one.

So what's the secret?

STOP CALLING THEM DIFFICULT

That's the secret?

Yes, that's it. It's that simple.
You see, it's not about what you should do; it's about what you should not do...You should not label them 'difficult'.

Here's why...

Labeling a customer 'difficult' sabotages your relationship with them and is unfair to both you and your customer because...

• You put yourself in defense mode which negatively affects your attitude toward them; an attitude that's bound to be felt by the customer and ultimately resented by them.
• It causes you to inadvertently restrict yourself from providing the full scope of service that you could be giving.
• It creates a negative impression for you, your workplace, your customer, and for anyone who hears you call them difficult.

Then why do we do it?

• Sometimes we don't realize it's what we're doing.
• Sometimes we're just repeating what we've heard others say about the customer. We may have heard  about how hard it is to please them, causing subconscious prejudgment.
• You might even feel challenged because it's you who doesn't know what to do to please them.

When you think about it, you may be the one who's actually creating the so-called difficult customers in your work life. So when you begin to think of a customer as challenging, what can you do?

You can...

• Choose a better attitude and create a better customer...a happy customer.
• View the challenge as incentive to up your game of service, and 
• Don't try to figure out what they want or need; listen for indications of what will please them. Directly or indirectly, they will let you know.

So regardless of what your customer has done in the past or what you've heard they may do in the future, the next time you feel the D-word coming on, do the right thing...the fair thing;

1) Recognize your customers for who they are and what they need...people who need your help. 
2) Then do what's necessary to help them. 

Loyalty will be created and trust will be built. And instead of thinking of them as difficult, you'll learn to appreciate them for the value they bring.