Word Of the Week #34: Anticipate
April 21, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #34: Anticipate
Anticipate: the ability to know what people want before they tell you.
Do you love it when it feels like the person waiting on you or serving you appears to be a mind reader? They seem to know what you want. You never have to ask for a thing!
Antarctic Anticipation
Last week’s word was hospitality. I wrote about friendliness and today I want you to think about providing for the needs of people. Think about what it is you provide and how you can anticipate the needs of your customers, guests, and members. When I worked for Gilbert/Robinson training focused on anticipating the needs of the customer.
I remember every time I worked for a different concept. I had to learn the flow of the dining experience. One of my most challenging experiences was working for Annie’s Santa Fe, our Mexican concept. What’s the first thing you get at a Mexican Restaurant? Chips, salsa and water. And of course the guests couldn’t eat them fast enough! I was forever running around getting chips, salsa and water.
The game for me became to always have chips, salsa and water so no one ever asked me for them. Then the challenge became to always know when they were ready for another margarita, when they wanted their plate cleared, when they were ready for the check, etc. People love it when you anticipate their needs!
This week focus on how you can anticipate what your customers, guests and members needs. How does it make them feel? How does it make you feel to be more present and aware of providing for the needs of others?
Reader Responses
“The ability to anticipate my client’s needs develops as I get to know them better. As in any relationship, I believe that in order to correctly anticipate the needs of others, you have to take the time to get to know them, their likes, dislikes, quirks, etc. It is very satisfying to be at the point in a relationship where you can begin to anticipate their needs.” — Terry L. Green