The Fear of Cheer

Steve Becker owns restaurants and a catering company in St. Louis, MO. The other night he and I were discussing customer service and he came up with a concept that he calls “The Fear of Cheer.” He believes that companies are afraid to have holiday parties for fear the employees, customers, stakeholders, etc. will look at the company and wonder why they are spending money on a party.

Earlier this year President Obama criticized companies for holding lavish meetings and events, causing a major disruption in the meetings industry. I won’t disagree that some companies went a bit “crazy,” but not all of them. As a result, even when certain companies had necessary meetings with reasonable budgets that included a decent hotel, food and even reasonably priced speaker, they were scrutinized and often criticized. This is where “The Fear of Cheer” started.

Steve’s creative twist on this “Fear of Cheer” is to stop calling it a holiday party and call it an employee recognition and appreciation event. His suggestion is to have a nice event that doesn’t go overboard. Perhaps a bit conservative and scaled back, it still allows employees to get together, acknowledge one another and have a little fun during the holiday season.

So, don’t abandon the traditional holiday party out of a “Fear of Cheer.” Do something. It may not be needed, but it is hoped for and appreciated. Happy Holidays!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

David Avrin’s new book It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You – The Small Business Guide to Raising Your Profits by Raising Your Profile hit the bookshelves this week. It is filled with clever ideas and real-world examples that will show you how you can stand out and become top-of-mind with your top prospects. This will make a great business gift for the holidays.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)