Uintah Basin Applied Technology College held a seminar Jan. 26 aimed at improving customer service at area businesses.

Therena Morrill made the presentation to a group of Vernal area business owners and their employees, explaining the fundamentals for executing well-mannered service in any line of work.

Morrill’s presentation, “Give ‘em the Pickle!,” was created by Bob Farrell, the founder of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours and a motivational speaker who believes everyone is in the same business — the customer service business.

Morrill began by introducing the key concepts of customer service.

“The customer is the person that pays your wages,” she said. “Your boss handles the money, but your customer is where your money comes from, so you need to treat your customer well. To the customer, you are the company.”

Morrill also offered personal stories about good and bad experiences she’d had as a customer. When there are positive experiences with companies, customers tell others, she said. They are more likely, however, to talk about their negative experiences.

In fact, statistics cited at the session show that a dissatisfied customer will tell six to 10 other people about their experience with a business. A satisfied customer will only tell one or two people.

“No matter what your business is, it boils down to whether or not you have a good human relationship with the people you serve,” Morrill said.

Morrill showed a recording of Farrell’s “Give ‘em the Pickle!”

Farrell began getting people involved in offering better service after he received a letter from a customer complaining about the service at one of his restaurants. The customer had been treated poorly after he asked for an extra pickle. Farrell made things right with the man, then proceeded to change the way businesses viewed customer service.

The “pickle” is a symbol of what every company can do for a customer to instill trust, good will and return business.

Farrell talked about a father and son garbage crew who told him how they give out “pickles” in their business. They go around town in the summer and if they see anyone having a hard time starting their lawnmower, the father and son help them start their mower.

To help project customer service better, Farrell suggests employees think “I like you” when they see a customer. Doing this, he said, changes the attitude of the worker and will make customers happy.

Future presentations of the “Give ‘em the Pickle!” seminar can be arranged by calling Lezlee Whiting at UBATC at 435-725-7109.