Seeking and enjoying the company of others : sociable

It does seem rather logical that anybody working in a customer/patient facing environment would have gregariousness as a primary attribute?

You would think so.

Yesterday, Annie and I went shopping in Central Manchester.

We don’t do that very often as jostling with the madding crowds isn’t on the list of favourite pastimes for either of us.

However, we have a rather special trip overseas in a little over a week and yours truly is also heading out to Oman in February with 7 Explorers.

The afternoon was, actually, rather pleasant – primarily because the city centre was comparatively empty – note to self, go shopping after the Christmas rush and the New Year sales are largely over.

Time enough to compare the customer service experiences we enjoyed (or didn’t, as the case may be).

It still bewilders me that organisations will invest huge sums in expensive real estate and fixtures/fittings and then hire sociopaths to serve their audience.

There were some stores yesterday that delivered an almost sado-masochistic absence of human connection – what are they thinking?

However, let’s focus on the positive, rather than naming and shaming.

Cheers to the following:

• the lovely lady (Melanie I think) in M&S (I’m not proud) who listened and then went back-stage to find me a pair of linen trousers that had arrived but were not out on display
• Beth at the O2 store who handled my free upgrade to an iPhone 7 Plus with a warmth and genuine interest that made her an effective ambassador for her employer and her generation

Bargains were had yesterday in the holiday-wear department but the best bits weren’t so much the prices as the experiences.

Are your patient-facing team members gregarious?