At some point in your life, you have probably been asked to donate to some sort of cause. Maybe you were asked via email. Maybe they sent a no-postage required envelope to your house. Maybe you were guilted by a Santa ringing a bell outside of Macy’s last Christmas. Whatever the case, you also know that there are two major emotions that you can feel in said situation:
1.) Pride in your generosity.
2.) Guilt in having clung to that dollar.
Unfortunately, there are many customers that—for whatever reason—are not able to donate. And I completely understand that. People have bills to pay and other things to take care of. But when you have a $200 grocery order, and you’re paying with a credit card, is it not safe to assume that you have one or two dollars in your disposable income to donate to funding childhood cancer research?
But, what do you do if you’re the one tasked with asking people to donate? How do you handle the rejection of every other customer cutting you off in the middle of your mandatory “Would you like to donate a dollar to XYZ” dialogue? Here’s some simple tips:
1. Smile.
If you haven’t noticed, this is my tip for everything. People respond favorably to happy people (for the most part). They’re more likely to want to donate if you aren’t looking down at your phone, distracted while they’re at your register.
2. Be Creative.
Chances are, your customer has, like you, been asked to donate many times before—so make it fun! Think of new ways to bring up the donation apart from the dry, cookie cutter dialogue. Be engaging.
3. Accept the Rejection.
Yes, it sucks when people say no. It feels kind of personal in some weird way. But it’s not the end of the world—there are dozens of other customers to ask. Don’t let one denial stop you from asking the next.
The Service Culture 