Shut Up and Listen!: Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed
by Tilman Fertitta
The rule is simple: when talking to a customer, be sure to make the conversation all about them. Let them talk about their needs, what they hope to get out of buying your product or service. If they want to complain, listen. They want to be heard more than anything. Since you’re trying to make them feel like they’re the only customer you have, act like it. When dealing with that one customer, no one or nothing else matters at that moment. To me, the definition of hospitality is simple. It’s however you handle a customer. Nothing more, nothing less—how you treat him or her, how you respond to what he or she asks for, and your ability (and willingness) to stay flexible. The ultimate goal of interacting with a customer is to make him or her feel like the only customer you have in the entire world. Because as I tell my own employees, there are no spare customers.
As a leader, never make the assumption that just because you told someone to do something, it’s going to get done. That’s one of the biggest lessons I have learned and that I share all the time. When you start out in business, make sure to follow up so that things are being done the way you want them done. And keep following up.
When things are bad, we often tend to forget that they’re going to be good again. Further, when things are good, we forget that they’re going to be bad again. You need to prepare for both types of situations, because they’re both headed your way, sooner or later.
If you ask me why I’ve been successful, I usually break it down into four reasons: 1. I know my numbers. I understand operations. I know the developmental side (i.e., how to grow your business). I change, change, change with the times.
Problems are inevitable. What matters is what you can do to make that customer happy again or, at the very least, mitigate the bad experience. Put another way, sometimes you can’t avoid the fire. It’s how you put it out that matters.
“One of the things about being a good leader is hiring people who are stronger than you, and if you hire people who are stronger than you, they’ll never take your job. They’ll help you keep your job.”
"The rule is simple: when talking to a customer, be sure to make the conversation all about them. Let them talk about their needs, what they hope to get out of buying your product or service. If they want to complain, listen. They want to be heard more than anything. Since you’re trying to make them feel like they’re the only customer you have, act like it. When dealing with that one customer, no one or nothing else matters at that moment."
"To me, the definition of hospitality is simple. It’s however you handle a customer. Nothing more, nothing less—how you treat him or her, how you respond to what he or she asks for, and your ability (and willingness) to stay flexible. The ultimate goal of interacting with a customer is to make him or her feel like the only customer you have in the entire world. Because as I tell my own employees, there are no spare customers."
"As a leader, never make the assumption that just because you told someone to do something, it’s going to get done. That’s one of the biggest lessons I have learned and that I share all the time. When you start out in business, make sure to follow up so that things are being done the way you want them done. And keep following up."
"When things are bad, we often tend to forget that they’re going to be good again. Further, when things are good, we forget that they’re going to be bad again. You need to prepare for both types of situations, because they’re both headed your way, sooner or later."
"If you ask me why I’ve been successful, I usually break it down into four reasons: 1. I know my numbers. I understand operations. I know the developmental side (i.e., how to grow your business). I change, change, change with the times."
"Problems are inevitable. What matters is what you can do to make that customer happy again or, at the very least, mitigate the bad experience. Put another way, sometimes you can’t avoid the fire. It’s how you put it out that matters."
"“One of the things about being a good leader is hiring people who are stronger than you, and if you hire people who are stronger than you, they’ll never take your job. They’ll help you keep your job.”"
- →As a leader, never make the assumption that just because you told someone to do something, it’s going to get done. That’s one of the biggest lessons I have learned and that I share all the time. When you start out in business, make sure to follow up so that things are being done the way you want them done. And keep following up.
- →When things are bad, we often tend to forget that they’re going to be good again. Further, when things are good, we forget that they’re going to be bad again. You need to prepare for both types of situations, because they’re both headed your way, sooner or later.
- →Problems are inevitable. What matters is what you can do to make that customer happy again or, at the very least, mitigate the bad experience. Put another way, sometimes you can’t avoid the fire. It’s how you put it out that matters.
- →“One of the things about being a good leader is hiring people who are stronger than you, and if you hire people who are stronger than you, they’ll never take your job. They’ll help you keep your job.”
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