taff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the res

With all the headlines about corruption in business and government, many believe that honesty is allusive. However, honesty can improve your customer service. This past week I realized the power of honesty specific to customer service. Let me share two real examples to illustrate this point.

During a return from a meeting with a client, I stopped in a national restaurant chain where I have consistently experienced good food and fast service no matter how busy the restaurant was. After placing the order, I watched others being seated and then noticed that they were receiving their food orders while I was still awaiting. Finally, I asked for my waitress and then the manager suddenly appeared with my order. He asked if everything was OK and I took him at his word and responded "No." Then, I shared with him that I had been waiting over 20 minutes and watching others who were seated after me enjoy their meals. The manager quickly apologized, said that they had more than enough staff to cover the dinner crowd and picked up the bill. Shortly thereafter my waitress came by and attempted to put the blame for the poor service on the kitchen help while keeping herself blameless. She asked me to come back and I said that I would continue to frequent this particular chain, but not at this location. Her service received less than a 10% tip and with my realization that she probably doesn't even know why.

Later during that week, I visited another national chain after the lunch hour rush. The service was good until I asked for the bill. After waiting 10 minutes and having another wait staff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the resp

nsistently experienced good food and fast service no matter how busy the restaurant was. After placing the order, I watched others being seated and then noticed that they were receiving their food orders while I was still awaiting. Finally, I asked for my waitress and then the manager suddenly appeared with my order. He asked if everything was OK and I took him at his word and responded "No." Then, I shared with him that I had been waiting over 20 minutes and watching others who were seated after me enjoy their meals. The manager quickly apologized, said that they had more than enough staff to cover the dinner crowd and picked up the bill. Shortly thereafter my waitress came by and attempted to put the blame for the poor service on the kitchen help while keeping herself blameless. She asked me to come back and I said that I would continue to frequent this particular chain, but not at this location. Her service received less than a 10% tip and with my realization that she probably doesn't even know why.

Later during that week, I visited another national chain after the lunch hour rush. The service was good until I asked for the bill. After waiting 10 minutes and having another wait staff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the res

shared with him that I had been waiting over 20 minutes and watching others who were seated after me enjoy their meals. The manager quickly apologized, said that they had more than enough staff to cover the dinner crowd and picked up the bill. Shortly thereafter my waitress came by and attempted to put the blame for the poor service on the kitchen help while keeping herself blameless. She asked me to come back and I said that I would continue to frequent this particular chain, but not at this location. Her service received less than a 10% tip and with my realization that she probably doesn't even know why.

Later during that week, I visited another national chain after the lunch hour rush. The service was good until I asked for the bill. After waiting 10 minutes and having another wait staff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the res

to come back and I said that I would continue to frequent this particular chain, but not at this location. Her service received less than a 10% tip and with my realization that she probably doesn't even know why.

Later during that week, I visited another national chain after the lunch hour rush. The service was good until I asked for the bill. After waiting 10 minutes and having another wait staff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the res

taff person locate my server, she appeared with the check and apologized for the wait. Then she said, "I was reading an Avon catalog and lost track of time." A 20% plus tip rewarded her honesty.

How many times is honesty supplemented with a convenient, less than forthright response? The fear of being wrong or being viewed as incompetent takes precedence over the simple truth. Putting the responsibility and personal accountability on someone else's shoulder has become sadly a way of life.

If you truly wish to improve customer service, go beyond the traditional customer service training and encourage your employees to be honest with their clients and accept responsibility for their actions. Of course, this also means that your employees need to know the core values within your organization's strategic plan and that everyone from the top down must consistently live those values, day in and day out.