There are many good examples of humour in business in the hospitality industry - particularly in gaming, customer service and liquor retailing. I have recently been involved with ALH Group, Australia’s largest hotel group (a division of Carlton United), in the launch of a new range of retail outlets. These are branded ‘The Fridge’ and there are currently over eighty outlets in the Greater Brisbane area.

My role was to help staff understand the new concept – where ‘Fun’ was one of the distinguishing features of the brand. This would be represented in the advertising: the press ads had an eye-catching photograph (of people enjoying themselves) and a humorous caption. Three or, perhaps, six products are shown in a space that would have previously shown 3 dozen or more.

The stores were fitted out with ‘fun’ signs for the different categories and humorous posters (similar to the ads). I provided training in ‘fun strategies’ to assist staff discover how they could use appropriate humour to increase customer interaction, establish a friendly atmosphere and create greater brand recognition and customer loyalty.

And it’s working. Customers look down at the mat that they walk over as they enter the store and notice it says (in huge letters) ‘MAT’. They smile. They walk out with their purchase in a blue plastic bag that says ‘Brown Paper Bag’. They remember that there’s something different about this place.

The side benefit is that as staff try to find the lighter side in dealing with customers, they communicate better with each other, are more likely to see the ‘funny side’ in adversity and, generally, enjoy their work more.
© 2009 Kevin Ryan

Other articles: In-Flight Fun Hospitality Humour It's like baking a cake! 16 Ways to bring fun to your workplace Training Fun

These are examples of the value of humour in business, the subject of my keynote presentation "Bottom-Line Humour – making fun a profit factor". I also conduct training seminars for staff in Humour in the Workplace.

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