Shakespeare famously said: “All the world is a stage, and all men and women are mere players.”
Some find this notion offensive, particularly teens who perceive that everyone around them, especially their parents, is just pretending, role-playing; spending many of his waking hours being different from his true self.
Some teens vow to “never sell out” or take on roles themselves, when they grow up.
And then they’re hired by their first employer who says, “The customer is always right.”
This is incomprehensible. What if the customer is wrong, distorting the truth, or taking unfair advantage? So what?
“He’s still right,” the boss says, standing his ground, appreciating that this service “rule” seems less than entirely sound and rational to the teenager in front of him.
The next thing the recruit is told to do is “smile” at customers, especially in retail settings, but also over the phone.
“I’m not comfortable smiling at strangers!” and “I can only smile when I feel like it, otherwise it’s unnatural.” muses the young man, wondering if there is an exception to this lack of sincerity and direction he has been given.
“What if I don’t like the person?” wonders the neophyte. “Do I still have to paste a smile on my face?”
“Even more, because you can’t let customers think you don’t like them” is the company’s line.
“But I’m not an actor. I don’t get paid to act!”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong,” says the boss with a knowing nod.
“At work, we’re all actors, except you just don’t realize it. But if you want to be successful, you better learn acting because you’ll be acting for the rest of your career.”
Smiling, appearing interested in customers, being ready, willing, and able to help, and expressing gratitude for business received are all important front-stage behaviors for customer service representatives, salespeople, and frankly, all professionals. of any economic sector.
Letting our faces and feelings show behind the scenes, revealing ourselves excessively, seeming more interested in ourselves, or that song on the radio, or that conversation interrupting the text that just came through on the cell phone, that is prohibited.
Effective actors are front-page superstars.
If they seem to let their hair down and get especially friendly with the customers, they’re still on stage in their roles. They may become more affable, but not personal, and there is a vital difference, like the difference between being friendly and becoming intimate.
The general rule of thumb is this: when you give a proper performance on the main stage, you’ll get “applause.” In a business setting, this means inducing compliments, sales, customer loyalty, raises, promotions, and the like.
In business and the world of work, clients and employers often buy role-based satisfactions.
They are not buying “your whole person”, just separately.
When you allow that character to appear backstage, the one you’re at home or out of work, you send competitive messages to clients, while looking “out of place.”
If the idea of playing a role in front of clients and clients bristles at you, you’re not alone. There are millions of teens, and adults too, who feel the same way you do.
Successful people leave these feelings at the door when they enter the workplace.