“See ya later,” says Mike in the red polo shirt as he hands me my change. I grab my pack of Trident and 32-ounce fountain drink and exit the glass doors of my local QuikTrip. I say aloud, “I love how the QT guys know me well enough that they say ‘See ya later,’ to me. They know I’ll be back tomorrow.” My friend flashes her “You’ve got to be kidding me” face. “They say, ‘See ya later’ to everyone,” she says, bursting my bubble and not seeming to care. Crushed as I was that the QuikTrip employees weren’t singling me out for my repeat business, I couldn’t help thinking what a simple, yet great customer service and branding idea that is. That one phrase made the cross-over from formal to friendly. If I was fooled by the “See ya later,” surely others were too (right?). QuikTrip, although a Tulsa-based convenience store chain (sorry you coasters, it’s mostly in the Midwest and the South) still maintains that neighborhood-store kind of feel, where you think everyone might know your name.  

That got me thinking about corportate catch-phrases — ones to convey brand identity and remind customers what company they are interacting with. [Sidenote: In college, I waitressed at a sports bar that insisted on its servers shouting "Game On!" when placing plates of food in front of guests. Needless to say, I did not last long at that particular establishment.] It truly can make a difference, albeit slight, in the customer experience. The trick is to make the saying short enough to not warrant a phone click. Think of being on the phone with a customer service rep. Your need has just been taken care of and now all you want to do is get off the phone, but the rep starts spealing into a memorized/read monologue to the extent of, “We value your business Mr. XXX at XYZ. We hope you…blah, blah, blah.” Do you stay on the phone until the agent has finished his required speech? Or do you try to hurry the ordeal along with several snippy “yeahs,” “uh huhs,” and “thanks.” [Hint: the agent won't speed up... no matter how ubruptly you encourage it.] Or do you simply end the call without hearing how grateful the agent is for your call and your business? 

It’s funny how words can make such a difference. When researching this topic, I came across a list of the “Top 15 Things Retailers Should Never Say.” I think many of these can be applied to CRM in general:

1. I don’t know
2. All sales are final
3. Calm down
4. Did you see any?
5. We’re closed
6. Will that be all?
7. It’s over there
8. I can’t do that
9. That’s not my department
10. We’re out of that
11. It’s against our policy
12. I’m new here
13. Hold on
14. I’m busy right now
15. You’re wrong