After all of the holiday events and parties, we just wanted to sit down for a meal where we did not have to cook for days or clean-up afterwards. Long on our “to-go” list was a diner known for their cheery welcoming environment. The food was average diner quality, so their edge was the customer service approach. True to their brand we were greeted at the door with a smile and made to feel at home.

In the midst of editing an article on creating an inclusive customer relationship, our minds were naturally drawing similarities between this chain of diners and our Fortune 1000 clients with large expansive sales facing teams. The diner management certainly invested in developing their staff on a particular customer approach. We took interest in every interaction the staff had with each customer encounter from order to bill. It was very consistent.

It was hard not to take notice of the very different interaction between the staff. Bickering from the kitchen could be heard out on the dining floor. Waitresses were sharp with each other. Eye contact was not made when giving orders to the busboy cleaning off the tables. Smiles, just given to us seconds earlier, were dropped in a flash as they passed their colleagues.

Overall it made us feel a bit uncomfortable. It is akin to how you would feel at a dinner party and the hosts get in an argument. We have probably all been in that situation and wanted to just leave as soon as possible. It diminished our experience and tainted our perception of the staff even though they were completely nice to us.

How is this relevant to inclusion you may ask? Companies today are competing in an ever more competitive and globally diverse environment. Many have approached us to help develop their external facing team to have a more inclusive approach with their clients. Inclusion creates better relationships. Better relationships create better and longer lasting clients. It is a very logical approach.

There is a caveat though. If a company does not develop an inclusive environment internally, it will be difficult to take on this task externally. Very much like the diner staff, they could create a more inclusive relationship with their clientele, but their internal behavior amongst themselves will show through. Clients will consciously or unconsciously pick up on these interactions. What is the make-up of your team? Is there participation from a diverse mix? Does everyone get treated fairly? Are all ideas welcomed at the table or just those from ones with more formal or informal authority? Is it a whole team approach or just a team of one?

An incongruent inclusion approach will impact both client and internal team relationships. The best path is to develop a strong foundation of inclusive behavior at home before applying it to external relationships. A consistent combination of both can be a powerful competitive force.