Put Your Best Face Forward

Posted November 16, 2006 by Margie Zable Fisher

Recently, I took our three-year old daughter to a carnival that planted itself in the parking lot of a local shopping center. It’s one of these carnivals that show up two or three times a year. Their business is simple: Drive to a new location according to their schedule, set-up, run the rides, collect the money, and move on. I don’t believe that this is an easy way of life for the people that do this for a living, nor is it a way to make a huge living, but it is one where the carnival workers come into constant contact with the public.

The reason that I’m writing about this carnival is not because my daughter had a great time, which she did, but because from a public relations perspective, they could be so much better.

Let me explain: When I went up to purchase tickets, I was greeted not by a friendly ‘hello,’ but rather a large, wafting cloud of smoke (I’m not a smoker, and I apologize to any smokers reading this entry.) After I told the ticket booth attendant how many tickets I wanted to purchase, he tore them off of the pad, slid them through the slot, and continued to blow smoke out of the hole in the plexiglass that is used for talking.

Okay, maybe I expected more from the guy in the ticket booth, like putting out his cigarette in the presence of a father and his young child.

Here’s the deal: You, the sole proprietor, or your employees make up the face of your company. What kind of a public image do you want to project to the customer that is standing right in front of you or to the one that hasn’t purchased from you yet? Word of mouth is very powerful, and the way that your company is represented will influence the way that word of mouth information about you is spread. So, always put your best face forward.

Have a great day!

David