one day when she was there. I introduced her to him and we had
a pleasant chat.After she had gone he said to me:“Right, now you know how to use the Granny Rule.”“Eh?” I replied, totally bemused.“Treat every customer the same way you would treat your
granny. I saw the level of respect you offered her and the
obvious joy you felt at having her in your business. Deal with
every customer that way and you can’t fail.”“Brilliant”, I said, truly getting the concept, “but what about my
staff?”He paused and looked at me like I wasn’t exactly the brightest
tool in the box. “Well, Mr. Fancy Degree boy, you just get them to
assume the customer is their granny!”So that’s what I do. And every time I see a member of staff
treating a customer with an element of disdain or even a slightly
“off ” tone I ask them, “Would you speak like that to your granny?”It’s a great and simple concept and incredibly powerful. I’ve yet
to find a single employee who didn’t immediately grasp it and
deal with customers better as a result. Try it.56 .Wake up and smell the profit