You wouldnt expect a funeral director to do stand-up comedy as hes showing you his line of coffins, would you?

And you wouldnt want your surfing instructor to be unduly somber as he towed you into shark infested waves, would you?

Of course, not!

We want people to act APPROPRIATELY, given our expectations and circumstances.

This is the key standard to which all of us should aspire if were selling or servicing customers.

For instance, if youre going to an expensive restaurant you expect treatment that will differ from what is being served up at Wendys. The host should use your name, if he knows it, and learn it quickly, if he doesnt.

If a fast-food employee went out of his way to greet you by name, others around you might think you live in the joint, somewhat like that the guy from the movie, Super-Size Me!

Youd probably be embarrassed, and slink, or waddle away, as the case may be.

In the upscale place, being recognized and known is an ego boost.

Ive met a number of customer service representatives who mistake stiffness and an aura of authoritarianism with what they consider to be professionalism.

They almost bark at their clients in the belief that if they dont come across with gravitas theyll be taken for lightweights, for amateurs, or GASP! as too young to do the jobs to which theyve been appointed.

The problem is that their professionalism seems strikingly similar to anger, meanness, and callous indifference to clients.

Its the opposite of what most clients consider to be an appropriate service tone.

It pays to become sensitive to the tone were setting, to monitor, measure, and to actively manage it, because most people dont have perfect pitch when it comes to setting one.