Your colleagues are your first customers!

3 Simplified Luxury Behaviors to start practicing NOW

Regardless of the industry you work in, remotely or on-site, in the office or in the factory, although the customers have priority, they do not always come first.

Customer satisfaction is a team effort, in 99.9% of situations (even as a freelancer, you depend on providers to ensure your success). Your colleagues must come first to achieve that!

The principle is simple: you and your team members deserve to be treated with the same courtesy and respect as the customers!

Beauty comes from within, well, excellence is the same, begins in the back office and naturally reflects on customer satisfaction! 

1 🤩 . Use their names (when possible, of course!)! 

"A person's name is to that person the sweetest sound in any language" Dale Carnegie

Say “Good morning, Cristina” instead of just “Good morning!”. 

Say, “Thank you, Mihai!” instead of “Thanks!”

It’s common practice (and even cultural in my country) to use “Hey!”, “Listen!”, “Excuse me!”, “Auzi!” or any other substitute when trying to get the attention of your colleague. Why not say: “Andrei, could you ...?”

2. 🧙‍♂️ Simplify your colleagues' work – by responding to requests in a way that minimizes their effort.

Take a simple request like, “Can I use your stapler?”. Here are different responses:

- Below expectations: “Yeah, it’s on my desk” (without looking up). 

- Meeting expectations: “Sure, here you go” (handing over the stapler while continuing your work). 

- Beyond expectations: “Of course!” (You check to see if there are enough staples, you refill it if not, get up, walk over to your colleague’s office, and personally hand it to them) 

( I could see some eyes rolling, but think in perspective and apply other analogies and you will see the benefits of this mindset!)

3. 🙉 Stop & focus.

When someone talks to you, pause what you're doing and give them your full attention. 

It doesn't matter if it's just a quick "Hello," a simple question, or even a casual comment about the weather—stop typing that email, put down the phone, quit sorting through those papers, or plan the weekend in your head. 

Stop, focus, listen.

Would you do these actions for customers? 

Yess, of course!!!

Then why not do them consistently for your colleagues as well? 

Curious enough, the list of justifications I receive from some training participants is long, when, in reality, my question was only rhetorical… “We know each other already, we don’t need to be nice”; “There is not enough time to practice this in the back office as well”; “It’s easier to just be yourself”.

In the luxury hospitality industry, these behaviors are not suggestions or “nice to have” among colleagues, in the back of the house. 

They are mandatory and non-negotiable!

Trained, verified, and rewarded! 

Share this with a colleague who does this already and say “Thank you, Name!” or ♻ repost it to spread the energy!