By Stacia Williams, For The Guardian

You hear customers say it all the time — "boy these people really aren't professional".

"I wish my people would be more professional, is what you hear from managers and supervisors, but in-spite of all the whining it seems that very little is being done to upgrade the level of professionalism in the work place.

Last week I had a personal experience that disturbed me so much it prompted this article.

I went into a local bank in the Oakes Field area to conduct business, and as I waited in line for the next available teller, I began to mentally take note of the branch's layout, décor and its employees — one in particular caught my attention. He was sitting behind the desk in the manager's office chewing gum. When I had concluded my transaction I asked if I could have a quick word with this gum-chewing employee. The reply was "as soon as the manager gets off the phone I'll see if he would see you".

Imagine my shock. The gum-chewing employee was actually the new branch manager, wow!

Here are five characteristics displayed by this new manager that detracted from his professionalism in the workplace:

* His obvious lack of soft skills: When I entered the manager's office I remained standing as the employee who escorted me in made the introductions. The manager remained seated so I walked over to him and extended my hand. Without standing he shook my hand.

Point to Remember: Whenever a client enters your office ALWAYS stand to greet him/her. Always be the first to extend your hand and greet the customer with a smile. This simple act speaks to your level of confidence, and exposure to social graces and sends a message that says "I'm in control".

* He didn't look the part: When meeting someone for the first time, psychologists have determined that within 30 seconds of the encounter, the other person has made at least 11 assumptions about you.

Included in these assumptions are your socio-economic status, career competence and success, intelligence and educational level. They also access your overall appearance and grooming. If what they first see is positive they assume that you possess other positive qualities. The flipside is also true.

Point to remember: This particular manager already had two strikes against him. My first impression of him was not very positive because:

* When I first saw him he was chewing gum.

* During the introduction he never stood up to shake my hand.

* And now added to this was the fact that he was not wearing a suit. Now don't get me wrong he didn't have to be wearing a suit to make a good impression, but my point is this: Fair or unfair your clients have expectations of what someone in your position should look like. Based on all of the above I couldn't see him in the role of branch manager even though he may be very experienced and qualified to hold such a position.

* Poor non-verbal and verbal communication skills: After the introductions we exchanged pleasantries and I stated the purpose of my visit (in a nice way of course). "As branch manager you are setting a bad example for the tellers by chewing this gum. Further you did not even stand to greet me when I entered your office — very unprofessional".

His inability to think on his feet produced this response "The tellers done eat, right now I so hungry and until I get some lunch I have to chew this gum to make it."

Lord have mercy! Am I speaking with the branch manager! His defense for not standing was that "I came up on him so fast he didn't have time to stand".

Point to remember: Think before you speak! Know when to shut up and listen, you just might learn something new. When in error never get on the defensive. Admit your mistake, apologize and move on.

* Bad attitude: To make a long story short suddenly the light bulb came on. I concluded that I was engaged in a futile exercise. So I wrapped up my conversation by saying how glad I was that we had the opportunity to chat and that it was real life encounters like this one that made great stories for articles and seminars. And if it couldn't possibly get any worst his response was "Go ahead write your article. I will rebut". Lordy Ms. Morley! Was this arrogance or ignorance? It was hard for me to tell at this point, but what I did know was that his bad attitude and all of the above-mentioned made me lose all confidence in this particular branch and made me question this particular manager's ability to guide my financial future and the future of this bank.

Point to remember: As a leader, your attitude, good bad or ugly has the ability to spread like a virus positively or negatively affecting everyone in your organization. In the words of Mahatma Ghandi, you must become the change you wish to see. Moreover to build strong teams you must lead by example.

* Your colleagues have to come to your defence: As I left the bank an employee said to me " Take it easy on him, he's new". While I admire her for coming to the aid of her boss, exactly what did she mean by the phrase "he's new?" While he was new to that branch he had served as manager at another location, so he was certainly not new to a leadership position.

Point to remember: All the points that I am discussing are basic business etiquette, and as manager he is expected to know these things. If as manager he continues to operate at a low standard, not only does he run the risk of loosing the respect of his co-workers but his customers as well.

Never forget that if you are bold enough to assume the title of "professional" your clients and co-workers will expect you to look, act and speak in a certain way. If you don't, success evades you.

* For more great tip or comments, contact Stacia Williams at 325-5992 or email Stacia@totalimagemanagement.com.