Many restaurants and businesses incorporate a standardized greeting. For me, the most recognizable is the "Welcome to Moes!" cry the moment you swing the door open and walk in. Chick-fil-A also has a standardized greeting. When they close a purchase, and the customer says "thank you" the cashier will always respond with the words "my pleasure."
Kris Dunn wrote a great article comparing the two strategies, where he points out that one is often received as forced and obnoxious while the other is often received as genuine. Why? The reason is simple. It's harder to appear authentic when you have to put enthusiasm into a loud greeting that the entire place can hear - than it is to say thank you to one person (at a normal voice level in a standardized way). The burden is much lower.
Every weekend, our churches do the very best we can to greet one another, and make newcomers feel welcome. Yet, are we being perceived as producing a forced standardized greeting, or are we instead remembered as genuine and personal? What could we do better? What changes need to be made?
Pastor Milo
0 comments:
Post a Comment