What is the most important word to you? What if I told you it was your name? Maybe this sounds egotistic to you, but think of how you feel when people call you by your name versus calling you without mentioning it.

Most of us have heard about the importance of remembering someone’s name. You might have even looked up ways on how to remember it: repeat it to them as in, “Hi John, nice to meet you”; associate it with something you’re familiar with that has the same or similar name, etc.. Where we often fail is to recognize the importance of remembering names of those that we might consider of little importance to us, those who serve us, whether it’s a waiter at a restaurant, a cashier at a store, or anyone else that’s provided a service to us. And so we don’t even try. Being honest with yourself, how many times do you forget your waiter’s name immediately after they come and introduce themselves?

Here’s something you can put to the test right away. The next time you go out to eat, make sure you call your waiter by their name. If they don’t have a name tag and don’t introduce themselves by name, ask them. Many times this question alone will put a smile on their face. Continue to call them by their name when you ask for something or are thanking them. Nine times out of ten you will get better service just by doing this. The key is in showing genuine interest in the person and not just dismissing them as a service provider.

We tend to think that we have little impact on those people we have brief exchanges with throughout the day, when in reality a few seconds of showing genuine interest in someone, starting with knowing their name, goes a long way. You would be giving a great gift by doing so, and the more genuine interest you show the greater the gift. This can be very rewarding because of the positive impact you are having on that person, and the typical response you get is exceptional customer service!