Should We Really Hug Our Customers?

Written by Lynn Jones on May 9, 2011 5:25 pm

I believe in “Divine appointments”.

It all started when I received the May issue of Guideposts. The article I read by John Kralik entitled “Thank You” really resonated with me and spoke directly to my heart. John’s life was falling apart--until these two words transformed it.

I love these kinds of success stories where someones life is truly changed. In John’s case it was just a matter of changing his focus. He realized he’d been overlooking the blessings in life and by the years end he had written enough thank yous to fill a book, “365 Thank Yous”.

Then a week or so later a dear friend wanted to send me a gift to thank me for helping her. She actually let me choose and I gave her 2 choices. The book she sent me was on using Appreciation in our business! Boy! Divine appointment! I was spanked while reading that book, but I loved it! Not the spanking, the book. :)

Now I don’t see myself as pessimistic. However, I don’t think I am Miss Overly Optimistic either. Somewhere in the middle, leaning more to the optimistic side. I’ve always prided myself on being normal. (Then I learned that Normal was only a setting on the dryer!)

Well, anyway, you probably get my drift. How many times have I thought about sending a thank you, or telling someone face to face how much I appreciate them, you know.....hugging them. No, no, I don’t really mean a full on wrap your arms around them bear hug. I wasn’t raised that way.

No siree. In my family of seven kids we did more teasing/bulling than we did hugging. My older brother would tease me unmercifully and gleek on me all the time. Yuck! He made me so mad one time at the dinner table that I lost my cool and stabbed his hand with my fork! Oh my, can’t you see the headlines on that one! lol

So you see, affection, appreciation, hugging weren’t the norm for me. But as I read through the Appreciation book, I had so many ah ah moments and could see the absolute value and pleasure that comes from showing appreciation/gratefulness to anyone, whether it be business, family or friends.

Just think about it. Who do you enjoy being around? Those people who pay you a compliment, smile at you, appreciate you and act as if they genuinely like you...Yes, those ones. Right?
How many times have you done something nice for someone and never got any thanks? How did that make you feel? Did you want to hop right to it and send them another blessing? Probably not.
A friend dropped by the other day. She is an appreciator! “Oh, I thank you for what you do. Oh, I love your house. Oh, you are the sweetest!” Okay, enough already! She’s a little over the top, but I do love her. Did I hug her? Yes, but not full on wrap your arms around her hug. What I did do is, I helped her back down my driveway. Sounds kind of weird, but she wasn’t good at backing up. Me, I’ve back down my driveway everyday for the 40 years we have lived in this house. And she really did appreciate my hug!
So at first when I thought about whether I was hugging my “customers”, initially I thought “no”.
(One definition of customer is “anyone person with whom one has dealings with”.)

No, I am not hugging them full on wrap your arms around them bear hug.
But I am hugging them in my own genuine way. Everyone has to learn how to hug in the way that best suites them. Be authentic when hugging.
So I offered my friend a hub by helping her.

How else might we hug?

*Show genuine appreciation.
*Send thank you notes.
*Call someone w/o an agenda who you haven’t talked to for awhile.
*Offer your services to someone.
*Teach someone something you are good at that they don’t know.
*Compliment them.
*Give a gift.
*Basically encourage and offer value.
*I’m sure you can add to you list.

As if I hadn’t gotten the Appreciation message loud and clear, I received one more Divine appointment from our Pastor in church on Sunday. Part of his message was encouraging us to say thank you and appreciate more. “Exclamation Point!”

If purposing to say Thank You can change John Kralik’s life, just imagine what it can do for yours and mine. Consider writing down your thank yous daily just like John did. And begin expressing it to those who you need to tell.

After all, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward

Go ahead......Hug your customers!
Hugs and Kisses! (no, not real ones!)