Take a look at the man in the center of this picture. Does he look like a social media Rock Star?
That’s my Dad in about 1979 with me and my twin sister. Right there – frozen in time – decades before Facebook – he was more qualified than 99% of the Social Media Managers working today.
I dug this picture out of a dusty photo album. It’s an album full of Christmas and birthday photos, photos from trips like this to the zoo, family moments. What struck me was how good we had it.
I grew up in a nice middle-class neighborhood. My friend’s dads were bankers, insurance guys, and engineers. My dad was not.
He made his living as a bartender. He did that for years and years.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem possible that he could have supported a family of 5.
It’s not like he knew the recipe to some drink that no one else knew about. Or could dance and juggle while pouring drinks. Tom Cruise from the movie Cocktail he was certainly not.
Yet his customers loved him, came to the places he worked because of him and they tipped him really well.
He would have made a great Social Media Manager.
Dad was a good listener, told a few funny jokes, and could talk to people. Whether it was the Red Sox, golf, cards or trouble with the wife, he spoke his customer’s language.
He wasn’t over-the-top or in their face. He wasn’t pushing the “special of the day” or the expensive stuff. He added to the experience and people valued that.
He was sometimes brutally honest and too straightforward for his own (immediate) good but over the long run that paid off. People respect that. Today they call that transparency.
He paid attention to his customer’s concerns and met them.
Today, social media taken us back to time where one/one interactions matter. These new platforms empower customers. They can spread the good or bad about your business quickly.
That is why we must be great bartenders.