You can tell where a child has been by following the sticky fingerprints. The grime covered walls, dotted with remnants of breakfast, lunch, and dinner reveal the path that toddler has traveled. The never ending battle to remove the debris before it hardens becomes a game that can not be won. As time goes on the fingerprints wane, the yelling, “keep your hands off the walls” becomes less necessary, the child learns that wiping their hands and keeping them to themselves makes Mommy and Daddy happy.

As the kid grows, their trail of grossness and pathway of discarded items changes form but still tells the story of where they have been and what they have done. The muddy shoes tell the tale of the day’s adventures. The hair on the side of the shower wall (yuck) confirms the hair was washed. The empty cup and crumbs on the counter ensure that a snack was eaten. 

While these tokens left by our children can be aggravating, they are the documentation of what happened, where they have been, and what they have done. Taking the guesswork out of the equation allows for clarity and reduces the need to ask questions that will surely invoke an eyeroll. 

These children grow to be adults that hopefully have a job. Landing in the service industry may not be for everyone, but those with the talent, skill, and patience to work with customers need to leave their fingerprints on everything. 

Our interactions with our customers can not be kept a secret. Regardless if your company is using a high powered CRM, or relying on whiteboards and notepads, documentation of communications is imperative to an efficient, productive, and organized workflow. 

Leave your fingerprints on everything you touch. 

Tell The Story: Include all the characters, the main plot and all supporting details. A stranger should be able to grab the notes and know exactly what the status is. Any sale, warranty, or job order, needs to have a complete outline including what the next steps are. 

While telling the complete story is important, make sure to be concise and include only details that have an impact. No one cares that the customer left orange cheesy puff prints on your counter. 

It’s The Little Things: Cheesy fingers may not matter, but the customer’s cheesy personality might. Include details (not in a customer facing application) regarding attitude, communication preference and style for others to be prepared for their future interactions. 

Mark down details that allow you to connect with the customer for future or repeat interactions such as a pet they fond of (“How’s Sparky doing with the new litter”), issues they’ve brought up in the past (“Our quality team resolved the issue we talked about, thanks for the input”), or hobbies they enjoy (“How’d that triathlon go”). Building a relationship and having talking points makes what could be awkward silence as your system lags less uncomfortable. Not everyone can remember every personal detail of every customer. Write it down! 

Leave Nothing To The Imagination: If it’s not in the notes it didn’t happen. You left a voicemail, leave a note. You sat on hold and then got disconnected, that’s worthy of a quick sentence. The customer sent in requested documentation and you acknowledged it on another platform, a written update will remove all questions as to when it was received. When actions are being taken behind the scenes jot down what’s happening, what you are going to do and set an expectation that follow up will be made. 

In times of silence people will generally assume they have been forgotten. If you don’t leave a trail, it’s as if you were never there. 

As my children are nearly grown, and my brand new grandbaby is too little for messes that go beyond his diaper, my husband makes sure I know that it was beard trimming day. The stubby hairs that irk my soul remind me to tell him his face looks nice. It’s the little things that tell the story so nothing is left to the imagination.