Hi Alex
Yes, 'friendly', and 'honesty and integrity' are interesting concepts.
However, most people (that is, human beings) relate better to people who are perceived as being 'friendly' and by 'relate better' I mean that the customer will feel more relaxed and more able to describe what they plan to do and how they want to achieve their goals.
For example, if you walked into a bank / shop front, and the person you spoke with appeared to be disinterested in what you were saying, are you likely to say 'Well, my wife and I are now 53 and we have just sold our family home. This is all the money we have after a life time of work. We want to know how we can become wealthy over the next ten years so that we can have the same lifestyle in retirement that we have now - enough to eat, to be able to pay our bills, and to have the occasional meal out or weekend away'.
If the person just yawns, and says 'Mr Customer, we do Home Loans and when you have found a house to buy come back and see us' would you feel that you have received an appropriate response? An accurate response, but 'friendly' or appropriate?
I cannot give advice, and that suits me as it is not in my nature to give advice, but I can certainly show people how to do things. Whether or not they then do those things is not my concern. But if I just said 'Oh, well, here is a Line of Credit take that and I'll see you in a couple of years' then I may as well just go and work behind the counter somewhere.
What makes someone 'professional' in their attitude and approach to their work? If 'professional' means that you get paid for the task (as distinct from amateur where there is no payment) then how do we define a 'professional level of service'? Often the only difference is that of attitude and willingness to participate in the discussion and the process.
A broker or other referrer, who gets paid as a business person ie paid on results, will go the extra mile to assist the customer in achieving the customer's goals. There is no time clock ticking away - the 'don't waste any more time on that customer' mentality doesn't exist when the customer is the reason and not the excuse.
Many people think that being in business, being in sales, is an easy occupation. It is actually one of the highest levels of work which can be done, and over the thirty or so years which I have been involved in business activities the people who I have witnessed flourish in business have been the people who conduct themselves with the utmost honesty and integrity and who consistently go the extra mile for their customers.
Glad that the mystery shoppers generally had a good experience interviewing the brokers. It is feedback like that which helps people feel good about their chosen occupation.
Cheers
Kristine
