Do you ever think about how you greet someone? Have you noticed how others greet you? In the scheme of things does it really matter?
Yes, we think it does!
When Claire and I set up Forget me not funeral services in 2020 we struggled with how to greet people face-face, what to say when answering the phone, and how to start an email or letter.
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening didn’t seem right, because if the person was contacting us, it almost certainly wasn’t a good time of day for them.
Nice, pleased, or good to meet you didn’t seem appropriate either, because let’s face it, contacting a funeral home isn’t the sort of thing you want to do.
How you doing, how’s it going, or how you feeling, seemed shallow and we felt invited the response, How do you …… think I’m feeling?
Hiya, alright, or lovely to meet you was never in the running.
Whilst, Dear …, at the start of a letter or email would have require us to constantly decide if we should use the persons title and surname or just their first name, and of course whichever we choose could unintentionally cause offence.
We decided ‘Hello’ fulfilled all our criteria. It’s a word we can say gently and with genuine warmth. For us ‘Hello’ represents an outreached hand, an invitation to respond. If it’s a verbal ‘Hello’, we see it as a good doorway into a conversation and for the person to feel reasonably comfortable.
So, however you contact us our response will always start with ‘Hello’. As you open the front door, you’ll see the word ‘Hello’. When we meet you, answer your call, respond to your email or letter, ‘Hello’ will be our first word. And yes, when you visit our website or open our brochure ‘Hello’ will be there again, but now you know why.
We subsequently discovered others thought ‘Hello’ to be such an important word, that since 1973, the 21st of November has been known as World Hello Day. So, when you next say ‘Hello’ remember, it’s more than a simple word!