The Green Sheet Online Edition
March 3, 2025 • 25:03:01
Give merchants the guest experience
Years ago, when I worked as an executive chef, our hotel created the Be Our Guest program to teach staff members to treat each other like guests. For me, this meant not going Gordon Ramsay on my cooks. Because a cook who is yelled at will take her bad attitude to a server who will be rude to a bartender and busboy, and so on.
We need to keep people happy and communicate politely by saying please and thank you.
In merchant services, the same rules apply. A risk manager should not speak rudely to merchants or treat them like criminals. But I've seen it happen numerous times.
Why would anyone disrespect a merchant, the very person who's paying us? And why can't ISOs recognize and respect high-earning merchant level salespeople (MLSs) by answering their calls and expediting their high-volume, high-value VIP merchant applications?
One bad day
In hospitality, one person's bad day can impact the entire value chain. Consider the dishwasher who throws a towel on the floor, causing a server to slip and overturn a platter of entrees. Now the manager must apologize to the guests while they wait for the kitchen crew to re-prepare their orders. In this case, the dishwasher is the weakest link in the chain.
In the payments business, everyone is a guest in the chain of taking care of a merchant. The customer is the guest of the MLS who passes a deal to the underwriter. The MLS is the guest of the underwriter who passes the declined or approved app to a relationship manager. The underwriter is the guest of the relationship manager who advises the MLS of the application's status.
Transparency, accountability
MLSs depend on a whole lot of guests to approve and activate our merchant accounts, troubleshoot POS devices and deal with all kinds of issues. When we don't get an answer from a relationship manager or risk department, it hampers our ability to get things done.
Of course, we feel bad when we can't take care of our customers. When our customers' money is on the line, it's tough to wait for a call or email. Delays usually indicate that somewhere down the line, there's a broken link in this chain of taking care of the customer, which is our merchant, the person who pays everybody along the whole chain.
Please, thank you
Merchant services is a complicated business with a lot of moving parts, and most are beyond our control. That's why it's important to focus on the few things we can control, like our attitudes. A small gesture or act of kindness can have a magical effect on everyone along the chain.
When was the last time you thanked an underwriter, sales manager or help desk associate? These people are as much your guests as your merchant customers and equally responsible for your success.
Make a habit of saying "please" and thanking anyone who completes a task on behalf of you or your customer.
The next time you reach for your phone to call your help desk or toll-free customer support, remember a little kindness can go a long way. Why disrespect a customer service agent or relationship manager? The next call that person takes could be from your merchant.
We're in this together
Treating people like a guest means extending the same level of hospitality as you do with guests in your home. When you show respect and appreciation, people will have a better attitude toward you and your needs. This goes for MLSs calling into support and for ISOs who communicate with MLSs.
Open communication is critical. Many ISOs prefer to communicate by email only, which may be fine for some MLSs, but others may prefer to work with ISOs that answer the phone.
Let's collaborate to solve issues and get better results. For MLSs, this includes submitting complete applications that will not be pended. For ISOs, this means having clear and transparent onboarding guidelines. As I like to say, under promise and overdeliver.
Have you ever taken a selfie in front of your company's POS? Payment professionals do it all the time. Seeing our logos and branding in stores, hotels and restaurants proves to us that our collective efforts have resulted in a sale. It's nice when one of our merchants, who values our products and services, returns the favor and treats us like a guest.
Want to know more? Keep reading The Green Sheet and consider following me on LinkedIn, where we can share ideas and support each other. 
Allen Kopelman, a serial entrepreneur, is co-founder and CEO of Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. and host of B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz podcast. Email him at allen@npsbank.com and connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenkopelman/ and Twitter @AllenKopelman.
Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.
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