*** Being Casual Is Not Always A Good Thing

Being Casual Is Not Always A Good ThingnnCasualness In Business Breeds Casualtiesn(Jim Rohn)nnGetting Just A "Little" Too Comfortable Can Be A Bad Thing Have you ever felt so comfortable around a client that you let your guard down? Under the right circumstances, it is often not a problem. Notwithstanding, there can be times where you can get into trouble, or even lose a client, if you get too casual with them. For example, you might go out to a bar for a drink with a client after work. Your client may have 5 beers and encourage you to drink along with them. You do so and you wind up being fired because you told the client things you shouldn't have, or because the client's boss thinks you drink too much.nnA Positive Example Of Not Getting Too Casual During a recent visit at the Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, AZ, I noticed something about their employees. All Canyon Ranch employees are apparently trained to avoid getting too casual with their guests. No matter how much time I have spent with them during my visit, not a single one of them, from the lowest levels up to the highest management ever called me by first first name. They "always" called me Mr. Bronstein. Obviously, they have taken the attitude that I am their customer and they want to make sure I am treated with the utmost respect. Even after asking some of their upper management to please call me "Stanley", they still called me Mr. Bronstein. Do I think that is smart? You bet I do. They know that it is probably smarter (and safer) for them to keep a little bit of "formalness" in the relationship, that way they can deliver the type of respectful, first-class service their customers expect.nnWhat Is The Lesson To Be Learned Here? The lesson is to remember that you'll almost never get in trouble for being a little formal, but you can certainly get in trouble for being too casual. I learned a long time ago that it is better to be overdressed for a business meeting or for an event than it is to walk in and be underdressed. You'll rarely be embarrassed for being overdressed, but you'll easily be embarrassed for being underdressed. Ask yourself. How do you rate in this area? Are you a little too informal with your customers? Is it possible you would getter better results by being more formal, EVEN IF they don't mind your informality?