Stereotyping

Here's a little exercise that I'm about to use in a customer service workshop. Its origins lay in another subject, but if I told you what it was it would give you an unfair advantage.

Think about your customers. Who are they? What is it that they want?

Now let's look at my good friend Lieutenant-Colonel Forsythe-Smythe. Imagine what the Colonel looks like. What is the Colonel wearing? What newspaper does the Colonel read? What kind of car does the Colonel drive? Where does the Colonel live and in what kind of abode?

Got a clear picture?

OK. My guess is that he is quite tall, possibly distinguished-looking. Maybe with a moustache (possibly of the handlebar variety). Could be wearing an army uniform or a pinstripe suit or a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. He reads a broadsheet at a guess. Drives a Range Rover, a Jaguar or an old Bentley perhaps. Lives in a country house or an old thatched cottage somewhere in the home counties.

Am I right?

But could it be that the Colonel is a woman? Perhaps in the Salvation Army? Or could he be in the Indian or Jamaican army with a British ancestry? And reads the Sport? Or drives a Mini? Living in a flat in Brighton?

The point is that there is a huge potential in all of us to stereotype and we all do it to some extent.

How easy it is to treat all our customers the same and not think about their individual needs. After all, everyone is different and should be treated with the respect they deserve.

I'm sure that's what you want when you are looking to buy something, after all...