Punctuality: An Intangible Asset!

A customer is the lifeblood of your business and just like the continuous flow of blood in our bodies; any reduction in the process or no activity at all can mean an anemic state or possible complete shutdown of the system. Comparing this analogy with your customers being the continuous flow to sustain your business I often wonder why some business owners do not monitor their operational activities more closely to ensure customers can constantly flow in and out of the business according to the scheduled times of operation. Recently I visited a business to finalize a previously scheduled transaction and upon arrival, the doors were not open. The sign on the door clearly stated the hours of operation were 7:30AM – 8:30PM. The result of the business not being open at the schedule time was an inconvenience as I had additional tasks planned for the day.

If you are serious about running a business, being punctual is crucial to its success and you should view punctuality as an intangible asset of your business. You cannot touch or feel punctuality but you can experience the concept when interacting with others. Webster’s dictionary defines punctual at www.merriam-webster.com as arriving or doing something at the expected or planned time. As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression and this can ring exceedingly loud in situations such as this when you are operating a business. The one customer inconvenienced may very well be the customer that has such an influence that his or her negative experience with your business can have a dramatic effect on its success. As the leader in the organization, you have a duty to model the behavior of punctuality so that it becomes part of the cultural fiber in the organization.

You should hold your employees to these high standards and find ways for them to realize that punctuality is the lifeblood of the business as most often there may be a competitor not far away. Now being punctual does not just mean everyone showing up at the scheduled time of opening; it also means being ready to work at the scheduled opening time. As an example, if your employees walk in the door five minutes before opening and want to get coffee, or talk about last night’s episode on the show everyone is currently watching, granted this takes a few minutes before being ready for customers and employees should accomplish these activities before the opening time. The reality is most customers are not concerned about your prepping activities for the workday. They are there to transact business at the appointed times and move on. In addition, when employees frantically prepare to greet customers because of being late this can sometimes cause stress for both the employee and the customer and result in a bad experience for the visiting patron, possibly giving the impression of an unprofessional business and that is one of the last things you want to display to your customers.

For a fresh start, tomorrow when you open up, whatever the designated start time is at your establishment, be ready to service your first customer of the day at that established time should there be one ready to transact business. This not only gives a good first impression but it also starts the day right! Paying attention to this small but important intangible asset punctuality can help give you the upper hand over your competitors who may still be getting ready to open and service their customers, which is a plus for you so be ready to start on time and I am sure you will be glad you did! Thank you for reading my blogs for small business managers. Until next time, I am Dr. Anthony Spivey, and I urge you . . . keep thinking BIG!