Perception: Only in Paris

“What do people think of you?”

Perception is in the eye of the beholder. Here is a perfect example…

On a recent trip to Paris with my family, I was eating dinner with my husband in a quaint little café. The street was paved with stone, there were candles lighting up the night & the clinking of wine glasses as people toasted one another. The featured item on the menu was “Pig’s Head,” & all I could ponder is, “Do they really mean a pig’s head on a plate?” I was not about to find out!

As we eagerly awaited our food I decided to use the restroom. Upon entering, I noticed that there was no toilet seat but quickly found it on the floor. I put the seat where it belonged & soon found out there was no toilet paper! The walls were covered with graffiti & the restroom was definitely not up to my standard of clean. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’m in Paris!” I lathered up my hands with soap & began to panic because no water was coming out of the faucet! “What do I do now,” I thought? As I got ready to walk out the door I happened to look down & back up under the sink, on the floor, was a button. I pushed it & “Wa la! Water came out!” I happily rinsed my hands & headed back to my table. As I sat down I thought to myself, “Only in Paris could I go into such a disastrous restroom & actually think it’s quaint!” If I were in America, I would have been speaking to a manager.

Why is it okay for a restroom that was a complete mess to be “Oh so romantic” & the same restroom in America to be complaint worthy? The answer is PERCEPTION!

The perception of Paris is one of romance, glamour, & culture. Run down restaurants are tress chic! Perception in America is one of perfection, service, & high standards of excellence in everything we do; people expect no less than the best.

What about you? What is the perception people have of your business? Is it known as the “Place to go” when in need of a service such as yours? Is it a place that people dread going or is it a place that no one even knows about? As an owner or manager, it’s up to us to create the perception we want people to have of our business. One of the markets I do a lot of work within is the health care industry. Many of our clients own retirement communities & one of the things we challenge them to do is go out into the community & create a “Perception” of being a celebrity community, the one everyone knows, who everyone automatically thinks of when in need of Retirement living, assisted living or nursing care.

I was speaking with one of our coaching students this morning & she gave a great example of perception. Renee, with Gable House, a community within Capital Health Care, said that they went to the final football game of the season for the high school that is in their local community (with permission) & at half time they threw soft footballs into the stands that said, “Call Gables for Your Assisted Living Needs!” People in the stands roared & clamored to get their balls & people talked about it everywhere & how much fun it was! This is a perfect example taking a service that is perceived negatively by most, “It’s a nursing home & I never want to go there (we’ve all heard it)!” & changing that perception to something that is fun & unexpected. This same community had two of their residents on the Homecoming Court as an honorary “King & Queen” at a previous homecoming game earlier in the year. What do you think the perception was of this community as people watched the coronation of these two residents? Were people thinking, “Poor guys, they’ve been shoved away into a nursing home & are waiting to die,” or “Wow, I never realized that even though people age & need health care, they can still have fun & live out their best years in a place like Gables?” IT’S ABOUT PERCEPTION & remember, “We are what we THINK we are!” Decide what you will be & get out there & toot your horn!