{"id":32388,"date":"2021-07-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/the-shortest-customer-service-keynote-speech-ever\/"},"modified":"2024-01-17T09:04:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:04:05","slug":"customer-service-keynote-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-strategies\/customer-service-keynote-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shortest Customer Service Keynote Speech Ever!"},"content":{"rendered":"\"CustomerI\u2019ve written about today\u2019s topic before. The idea I\u2019m about to share is really common sense. Even if you didn\u2019t read my past articles or watch my videos about this, you still know and understand it. Yet, it\u2019s worth bringing up again, as I have a new twist on it.\r\n\r\nIn my latest book, I\u2019ll Be Back: How to Get Customers to Come Back Again and Again<\/em>,<\/a> I share a story about the shortest customer service keynote speech<\/a> I\u2019ve ever delivered. The short version of this story is that I was the closing keynote speaker. The client said, \u201cYou have to end on time, no matter what time you start.\u201d I accepted the challenge and as we got closer to the time, I realized that the speakers ahead of me were going long. By the time it was my turn to walk on stage, I had just two minutes.\r\n\r\nTwo minutes! What can you say in two minutes? How could you warm up the audience in two minutes, let alone deliver a speech? I told my client, \u201cI\u2019ve got this.\u201d\r\n

Be nice<\/h3>\r\nI walked on stage and informed the audience that my original speech was much longer, but I promised the client that I would end on time. I said something like, \u201cSo imagine I was just introduced. You applauded and I took center stage. Okay, here goes. The shortest customer service speech ever \u2026\r\n

\u201cBE NICE!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\nAnd with that, I headed off stage. I stopped a few feet short of the steps and turned around to face the audience. After all, I still had about a minute left. I informed them that being nice is the backbone of the customer experience and that it\u2019s common sense. After another brief comment or two, I exited the stage \u2013 in just under two minutes.\r\n\r\nNow, the idea of being nice is ridiculously simple. But have you ever reached out to a company and its employee had the right answer, but an attitude that was negative or indifferent? Even with the right answer, without being nice, it was at best a bittersweet experience.\r\n\r\nBeing nice is so simple and easy. There\u2019s no excuse not to be nice. It may appear to be of minor importance, but don\u2019t be fooled. It\u2019s more important than you think.\r\n\r\nI compare being nice to the dishwasher in a restaurant. It doesn\u2019t matter how wonderful the chef\u2019s meal is, if it comes out on a dirty plate, it\u2019s going back to the kitchen. And, if there aren\u2019t any clean dishes, the food can\u2019t even be served to the guest.\r\n\r\nBeing nice is like that dishwasher. Without this rudimentary concept, your best efforts in providing the customer a good experience are tainted.\r\n\r\nWhile this may not seem like an important lesson, it is. Never overlook the power of being nice!\r\n\r\n