Good Impression, Bad Impression & The Oops! Response

By Rhee Gold

Want good rapport with your clients? "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" is always sound advice.

Treating students and parents with respect is a must if school owners want to have a successful classroom or school. In the business world this kind of courtesy is called customer service. Being approachable and patient is the way to go in any client interaction, and professionalism is key to making your students and their parents feel like they made the right choice in signing on with your school.

Customer service takes various forms. It’s an attitude of helpfulness, a respectful mode of communication, and a nonverbal message that you value your customers and want to make your students’ dance training experience a positive one. Customer service happens in the waiting room, on the phone, in meetings, and in the classroom. There are appropriate and inappropriate behaviors for all these arenas, and the tables in this article give you some specific examples of what will earn you respect and what won’t.

Let’s look at verbal interactions first. Although the content of what you say to your clients is important, equally (or more) so is the language you choose or attitude you convey when communicating. Self-doubting teachers or school owners look at parents’ inquiries as insults or as questioning their abilities or policies. Most of the time the truth is that they actually want information. You have the chance to educate them—and increase their respect for you as a professional—if you handle their inquiries correctly.

Some teachers complain that they’re sick of answering the same questions year after year. Forget about it and realize that to them it’s a new question and you’re the expert. It should be easy to give a clear and informative answer; after all, you probably don’t even have to think about your response because you’re so familiar with the question.

The following are a few examples of improper (“oops”) responses that show neither respect for the person involved nor understanding of an appropriate way to handle each situation, along with win–win responses that will get results. Make these kinds of winning responses a habit and you’ll enjoy more pleasant, respectful relationships with your clients.

Although words and tone are important aspects of your presentation to the public, so are actions. School owners are leaders who set an example for their faculty and staff, which then trickles down to the students and their parents. The impression they make—on their faculty and staff, and students and their parents—colors the school’s reputation and can mean the difference between a successful business and a failed one. Which side of the following chart do you see yourself on?

Teachers create the atmosphere in a classroom, and what gets accomplished during class time depends completely on their attitude or personality. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that good behavior matters only when parents are watching; students take home stories, praise, and complaints about their teachers, and the impression they pass on will shape their parents’ opinions of the instruction offered at your school. What happens in the classroom is more than merely dance instruction—how your instructors teach is as important as what they teach.

In conclusion, by periodically reminding yourself and your staff about the value you place on your clients, you’re sure to make treating them with respect standard operating procedure.