Exploding wine bottles
When I was in college (Rutgers), I bussed tables at New Brunswick's first restaurant to aspire to haute cuisine status, The Frog and the Peach, sited in a renovated 19th century newspaper printing plant. The Frog featured a stunning Tiffany (or Tiffany-like) skylight, a grand oak bar pulled from an abandoned Brooklyn speakeasy, outstanding "modern American" food (with a sophisticated French accent) and a small, but expertly selected wine list.
As you may know -- or suspect from the mark-ups on restaurant bottles -- wine is an important part of restaurant economics. At some point, wine service must have become a little sloppy because the manager called for a staff meeting to talk about wine. This was not punitive: no accusations were made and, in fact, he positioned the meeting as a refresher in basic service skills.
He talked about the usual things, such as presenting the cork and pouring out the first sample sip, but I'll never forget the main point he made, the one thing he insisted we should remember above all else: No matter what happens, maintain control. "Even if the bottle explodes," he said, enacting a complementary and very funny pantomime, "remain nonchalant, as if you had expected it to explode -- 'Ah! I see the bottle has exploded. Very well.'"
I think that's terrific advice for anyone in any kind of service business, including copywriting. (Though my pen has yet to explode. So far.) It's not just a matter of decorum; our clients often take their cues from us. If we appear to be panicked, they're more likely to perceive a cause for alarm. If we remain composed, they'll tend to believe that the situation is under control -- a helpful bit of self-fulfilling prophecy for those times when chaos seems to have the upper hand.
I recently experienced a laptop/projector snafu that delayed my speaking presentation by 15 minutes. But somehow, miraculously, I didn't lose my cool. And because I didn't lose my cool, I didn't lose my audience. I got through it and they, seeing that I wasn't alarmed, got through it with me. After the problem was solved, I made an apology and a brief, self-deprecating joke, and the show went on.
Have you had similar experiences?
As you may know -- or suspect from the mark-ups on restaurant bottles -- wine is an important part of restaurant economics. At some point, wine service must have become a little sloppy because the manager called for a staff meeting to talk about wine. This was not punitive: no accusations were made and, in fact, he positioned the meeting as a refresher in basic service skills.
He talked about the usual things, such as presenting the cork and pouring out the first sample sip, but I'll never forget the main point he made, the one thing he insisted we should remember above all else: No matter what happens, maintain control. "Even if the bottle explodes," he said, enacting a complementary and very funny pantomime, "remain nonchalant, as if you had expected it to explode -- 'Ah! I see the bottle has exploded. Very well.'"
I think that's terrific advice for anyone in any kind of service business, including copywriting. (Though my pen has yet to explode. So far.) It's not just a matter of decorum; our clients often take their cues from us. If we appear to be panicked, they're more likely to perceive a cause for alarm. If we remain composed, they'll tend to believe that the situation is under control -- a helpful bit of self-fulfilling prophecy for those times when chaos seems to have the upper hand.
I recently experienced a laptop/projector snafu that delayed my speaking presentation by 15 minutes. But somehow, miraculously, I didn't lose my cool. And because I didn't lose my cool, I didn't lose my audience. I got through it and they, seeing that I wasn't alarmed, got through it with me. After the problem was solved, I made an apology and a brief, self-deprecating joke, and the show went on.
Have you had similar experiences?
2 Comments:
Hi Jonathan,
Well said. I find in my technology consulting that a cool head goes a long way. Things break, servers crash, software needs to be patched, and so on. Stuff happens, and you have to kind of soldier on.
Congratulations on the blog, and the continued success of the book.
Bill Trippe
http://www.billtrippe.com
You're right, that lesson applies to almost everything. I learned it in music. Never apologize for yourself. Just perform and act as though you don't have a cold. It works getting a job as well. Confidence is a huge selling point.
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