As salespeople, we all want to be busy all of the time, going from one customer to another and never having any down time. That’s the way every salesperson wants it, but even that comes with expectations. It’s really easy to forget your basic fundamentals of customer service when you are busy. It may be difficult but it just can’t happen. Today I want to share a story of a recent visit to a restaurant to better illustrate this very point.

I went to pick up dinner for the family on my way home from the airport and it was very busy, but that’s what everyone wanted so I ventured in. Big mistake! There was no organization and no one seemed to be in charge. I ordered and then proceeded to wait for 30 minutes for my food; this is an establishment that prides itself on speed. As I was waiting for my order, two groups came in, ordered, ate and left before I got my food. That’s inexcusable! It didn’t have to happen. Yes, it was busy; but if it had been organized, then it would have been fine. Below are some tips to remember during those times when you are really busy.

Have a plan--Before you get busy, make sure everyone knows what their job is and how it is going to get done.
Customers are your number one, number two and number three priorities. As I was waiting for my food, there was one employee who left the counter to clean off tables. You cannot leave customers to perform tasks that can wait until after the rush is over.
We are going to make mistakes, acknowledge them. Not one person apologized for the wait or "We appreciate your patience" to me while I was waiting. It may not have prepared my food any faster, but it may have helped smooth things over.
Never forget your basics of customer service, no matter how busy you get. If salespeople forget or choose not to provide the highest level of customer service, then you won’t be busy for very long.

Every salesperson dreams of those times when we are so busy that we can barely keep up, but you have to find a way to treat every customer like they are the only one. If you don’t, you may be lucky to have even one customer.