"I feel like a number. Feel like a number. Feel like a stranger. A stranger in this land. I feel like a number. I'm not a number."

Even as companies emphasize the importance of personalizing their service in order to create unique and individualized experiences for their customers, these lyrics from Bob Seger's 1978 release, I Feel Like A Number seem especially relevant today.

All too often, as customers we lose our identities and become a range of other "names."  Here are a few of the "names" I've endured recently accompanied by suggested alternatives that will reinforce gracious and personalized service experiences:

• Room 812 as in "Room 812 needs more towels." (As I stood a few feet away from the representative on the other side of the counter in the lobby of a Kansas City hotel.)

Alternative: "Our guest in room 812 needs more towels."  Or, if you have—or have access to—the guest's name then include it: "Mr. Curtin, our guest in room 812 needs more towels."

• '05 Expedition as in "'05 Expedition?" (This was how I was addressed by the service technician in the waiting area the last time I brought my Ford in for service at the dealership.)

This oversight was avoidable.  The dealership that services my vehicle is the same one who sold me the vehicle.  They know that the '05 Expedition is owned by Steve Curtin—not to mention that my name was printed on the service order.  This particular maintenance rep just fell into the bad habit of favoring vehicle identities over customer identities.

Alternative: "Mr. Curtin?"

• "Internet trouble?"  (This was the greeting I received from a maintenance representative when I opened my guest room door at a conference center in New Jersey.)

Alternative: "Good evening Mr. Curtin.  I understand that you're unable to connect to the Internet.  May I come in and take a look?"

•  2-top as in "Are you the 2-top who ordered nachos?"

Now, ideally, restaurant servers should know exactly where each order goes.  That said, the reality is that oftentimes in the crush of peak periods—sometimes accompanied by staffing issues, equipment problems, inventory shortages, etc.—communication breaks down and items leave the kitchen for destinations unknown.

When this happens, the server or expeditor simply needs to be gracious—perhaps saying something like this:

Alternative: "Pardon me.  Would you be awaiting an order of Chipotle Nachos?"

Similar to the last example:

• Medium rare salmon as in "Are you the medium rare salmon?"

I've heard that you are what you eat but c'mon—if we really thought about what we were saying, we'd never say this.

In the event there is uncertainty as to who ordered what, why not say something like playful this:

Alternative: "Alright, which lucky guest gets to claim the medium rare salmon?"

• 12 C as in "12 C needs a pillow."

I understand what's going on here.  Flight attendants are busy and customers are demanding.  Short cuts like these provide the efficiency needed to process more customers in less time thus making everybody happy, right?  Well, not everybody…

We know from consumer research that customers appreciate being recognized as customers—preferably by name.

Alternative: "The passenger in seat 12 C needs a pillow."  Or, if they have the flight manifest in their possession, they can add the name to personalize the request further:  "Mr. Curtin, in seat 12 C, needs a pillow."

• Retail as in "Are you guys retail?"

This is how I was addressed (along with another customer) as I waited alongside the counter in a cramped retail space associated with a local tree nursery.  You see, each year the nursery hosts my children's preschool outing to the pumpkin patch.  There's a hayride and a hay maze outside.  Inside, where I was, there were Halloween tattoos, stickers, and bags of treats.  Since the space is so cramped, you just stand where you can to be out of the way and make room for the kids.

A more appropriate way for this young gal to distinguish between customers who were waiting to purchase a pumpkin and those who were just watching their children might have been to ask:

Alternative: "Hello.  May I help you with something?"  She might have even had a little fun with it due to the occasion: "Happy Harvest!  Are you awaiting a cashier or are you in line for a tattoo and a goodie bag?"

• 11 o'clock as in "Samantha, your 11 o'clock is here."

Alternative: "Samantha, Steve's here for his 11 o'clock appointment."

Here are some other impersonal greetings I frequently receive:

• "Two for dinner?"
• "Checking in?"
• "Next?"

Consider spending 5-10 minutes during your next pre-shift or department meeting exploring examples with your staff from your own work environment.  Then, hold each other accountable.  Look for opportunities to catch employees doing it right and coach in situations where they fall short of the standard.  As managers, recognize that you too are accountable to consistently model the standard.

About Author

Steve has 20 years of experience between hotel operations, sales and marketing, training and development, and customer service roles working for Marriott International, one of the premiere customer-focused companies in the world.

As the Area Director of Training for the New York City market, Steve implemented training that resulted in dramatic increases in employee and customer satisfaction scores. One such initiative titled The Basics was adapted from the Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards in 1998 and branded by Marriott headquarters to become a company-wide initiative involving more than 2,000 hotels.

Steve has facilitated interactive and engaging training classes on three continents, in six countries, and throughout the United States. Steve has presented more than 500 training classes to over 12,000 people.

Steve has received advanced training in public speaking from Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, National Speakers Association, American Society for Training and Development, and Decker Communications.  Steve has met the rigorous professional speaking requirements to be accepted and accredited by the National Speakers Association.

In the area of instructional design methodology, Steve has received graduate-level certifications from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Steve also has received numerous certifications in the fields of employment law, personal effectiveness (Masters-level certification in Stephen R. Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People), and the behavioral sciences (DiSC Behavioral Style Indicator and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator certifications).