During my two-week vacation a couple months ago I did quite a bit of flying on United Airlines. In general, the airline industry has received a bad rep in the last ten years - raising fares, charging for carry-on baggage, and just plain bad attitudes among airline employees.
I was flying first class from Honolulu to San Francisco not really expecting anything special in terms of service -- well, nothing other than complimentary alcohol and food. So, just as I was getting settled in, the flight attendant walks over and asks:
"Ms. Palma, would you like something to drink?"
Now that question in and of itself doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, but as you can see, the flight attendant actually addressed me by name. I was so taken off guard that all I could do was just stare at her for a moment to allow my mind to wrap around the fact that she had used my name. Just that simple gesture alone gave her brownie points and put that warm and fuzzy feeling inside me.
If you work in business, ask yourself when was the last time you addressed a customer by name. Don't worry, I'll wait...*tapping fingers*
Remember that by nature, humans are somewhat narcissistic. We like to hear our names. We are more likely to buy from you and connect with you on a more personal level when you address us by name. Any time you're given the chance to use a customer's name, do so. This should be easy for customer service agents in call centers who bring up customer's information on the computer. It only takes 2 seconds to look at a customer's account and to take notice of their name.
What are your thoughts about addressing customers by name?
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