Giving your customers the VIP treatment is the single best way to ensure they become loyal supporters of your business.

But how do you ensure your employees are giving every single customer the rockstar treatment they expect?

If you’ve been running a successful workshop for a while, you’ll already know the answer to this question. According to customer service expert and New York Times bestselling author Shep Hyken, the answer is simple: when you treat your employees well, they will treat both your customers and their colleagues well, too! (Read: Treat your employees like rock stars.)

How to treat your employees like rock stars

So, how do you treat your employees like rock stars?

The first thing to know is you don’t have to break the bank. While grand gestures are nice, some of the best ways to treat your employees are either free or cost next to nothing.

Take a look at this range of ideas and see if any would work for your team.

Get the coffee right

Watch this video from Shep to see how a quality coffee machine can positively add to the work environment.

Provide an unforgettable experience

If you’re looking for a grand gesture, check out experience websites like Red Balloon or Adrenalin and find something the team will love – like hot laps in a race car or a paintballing day. You could take them to a car show, the speedway, a footy game, or buy a table at Capricorn’s yearly Gala Dinner and treat them to a night out.

Pizza parties and free lunches

They won’t be an everyday event but Shep recommends the occasional free lunch for staff, perhaps to celebrate birthdays and other milestones. It shows the team you care about the things they care about ­– and everyone loves a free lunch.

Another option is to finish a little early once a month and have team drinks or a BBQ.

Provide a “three-thirty-itis” chocolate bar

Go around the team at that mid-afternoon slump time, around 2.00pm, and offer everyone a small chocolate bar. It’s a little sugar rush pick-me-up, to get them through until closing time.

Give individuals their time to shine

Offer praise to team members who have done particularly well in any given week or month. And offer that praise in front of their colleagues, perhaps at your weekly team meeting. Acknowledgement can be enough, or you might like to offer some kind of reward.

Empower staff (in ways that make your life easier)

When you give employees responsibilities, it shows you trust and value them. This, in turn, is likely to make them happier.

Empower them to make decisions. Give them ownership over processes and procedures. It can be as simple as putting up a list of all the training courses available over the next year and asking team members to put their names against the ones they’d like to do.

Instill the passion for your customers in your team

It’s only natural that you should feel passionate about your customers’ happiness and satisfaction, but instilling that same passion in your team can take your workshop’s customer service to the next level. Treating your employees like rock stars is a simple way to achieve that.

Is it time to take a step back and look at how you can build that passion and commitment to your customers in your workshop?