--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way management treats their…" description: "\"The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.\" — Sam Walton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg" --- # The way management treats their associates is exactly how… ![“The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.” quote by Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg) > “The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.” [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. How leaders behave toward employees shapes how those employees interact with customers. **In simple terms:** Leaders set the tone for employee‑customer behavior. Key Takeaway Treat staff well to improve service. Themes leadership customer service culture Mood reflective concerned Type advice observational When to use this quote - retail management - hospitality - team building - customer interaction Key Concepts organizational behavior service quality Questions to Reflect On - How does employee treatment affect brand perception? - What policies can reinforce positive behavior? A Different Perspective If employees are mistreated, they may still act professionally, but morale suffers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Customer success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-success/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) ## Related quotes > [The way management treats associates is exactly how the associates will treat the customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-way-management-treats-associates-is-exactly-how-the-associates/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/share-your-profits-with-all-your-associates-and-treat-them-as/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The job can't be finished only improved to please the customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/the-job-can-t-be-finished-only-improved-to-please-the-customer/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [At the end of every day, having a clientele that speaks well of you, that's the largest source of business. I don't care what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-schwab/at-the-end-of-every-day-having-a-clientele-that-speaks-well-of-you/) [Charles R. Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-schwab/) > [As we continue to drive the benefits of integrating our enterprise skills, capabilities, and experience - what we call operating as 'One Boeing' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-muilenburg/as-we-continue-to-drive-the-benefits-of-integrating-our-enterprise/) [Dennis Muilenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-muilenburg/) > [“If your customers love you, they will not only remain fiercely loyal but become your most powerful marketing asset. Lovability is the greatest predictor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-de-haaff/if-your-customers-love-you-they-will-not-only-remain-fiercely-loyal/) [Brian de Haaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-de-haaff/) > [“If you’re interviewing to be a PM, it’s good to look at every problem starting with “Who is the customer?” and “What is success?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-laakmann-mcdowell/if-you-re-interviewing-to-be-a-pm-it-s-good-to-look-at-every-problem/) Gayle Laakmann McDowell > [We have awesome, passionate customer success and social media teams, but when I see a customer who needs help or is unhappy, I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-yuan/we-have-awesome-passionate-customer-success-and-social-media-teams/) [Eric Yuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-yuan/) > [If you stay very focused on customers and customer success, people pay attention to that - and in turn, they also want that same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aneel-bhusri/if-you-stay-very-focused-on-customers-and-customer-success-people-pay/) [Aneel Bhusri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aneel-bhusri/) > [Once you know what you want and what is important for you to achieve, also define the values associated with it. What is important?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/once-you-know-what-you-want-and-what-is-important-for-you-to-achieve/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [The most important adage and the only adage is, the customer comes first, whatever the business, the customer comes first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-stokes/the-most-important-adage-and-the-only-adage-is-the-customer-comes/) [Kerry Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-stokes/) > [Company's vision must be driven by the aspirations of its customers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konosuke-matsushita/company-s-vision-must-be-driven-by-the-aspirations-of-its-customers/) [Konosuke Matsushita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konosuke-matsushita/) > [If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kroc/if-you-work-just-for-money-you-ll-never-make-it-but-if-you-love-what/) [Ray Kroc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kroc/) > [Many companies talk about customer success, but how many actually put the customer first above all else, always?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/many-companies-talk-about-customer-success-but-how-many-actually-put/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [The secret to success: Do what you say you're going to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-secret-to-success-do-what-you-say-you-re-going-to-do/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) ## More by Sam Walton > [It is unhealthy to marinate in your own press clippings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/it-is-unhealthy-to-marinate-in-your-own-press-clippings/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/loosen-up-and-everybody-around-you-will-loosen-up/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [All of us profit from being corrected - if we're corrected in a positive way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/all-of-us-profit-from-being-corrected-if-we-re-corrected-in-a/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-secret-of-successful-retailing-is-to-give-your-customers-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [If I had to single out one element in my life that has made a difference for me, it would be a passion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/if-i-had-to-single-out-one-element-in-my-life-that-has-made-a/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [We're all working together; that's the secret. And we'll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we'll give the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/we-re-all-working-together-that-s-the-secret-and-we-ll-lower-the-cost/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I think my constant fiddling and meddling with the status quo may have been one of my biggest contributions to the later success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-think-my-constant-fiddling-and-meddling-with-the-status-quo-may/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [High expectations is the key to everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/high-expectations-is-the-key-to-everything/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do, they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/exceed-your-customer-s-expectations-if-you-do-they-ll-come-back-over/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/nothing-else-can-quite-substitute-for-a-few-well-chosen-well-timed/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I was asked what I thought about the recession. I thought about it and decided not to take part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-was-asked-what-i-thought-about-the-recession-i-thought-about-it-and/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Capital isn't hard to find; intuition, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/capital-isn-t-hard-to-find-intuition-yes/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/commit-to-your-business-believe-in-it-more-than-anybody-else/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/our-best-ideas-come-from-clerks-and-stockboys/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) [Explore all 112 Sam Walton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) ## More Associates quotes > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [Deliver me from all evildoers that talk nothing but sickness and failure. Grant me the companionship of men who think success and men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/deliver-me-from-all-evildoers-that-talk-nothing-but-sickness-and/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [I wanted to be a painter and an artist. And it's interesting that in some of my later musical works, I refer so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunther-schuller/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-and-an-artist-and-it-s-interesting-that-in/) [Gunther Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunther-schuller/) > [I don't wear makeup. I don't wash my hair every day. It's not something that I associate with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/i-don-t-wear-makeup-i-don-t-wash-my-hair-every-day-it-s-not-something/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > [You can't really come into a concept record objectively, because you immediately associate it with Yes, stuff from the 1970s that punk rock kicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-meloy/you-can-t-really-come-into-a-concept-record-objectively-because-you/) [Colin Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-meloy/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [In social networks, you gain and bestow status through those you associate with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-reilly/in-social-networks-you-gain-and-bestow-status-through-those-you/) [Tim O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-reilly/) > [Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/men-take-on-the-nature-and-the-habits-and-the-power-of-thought-of/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-less-you-associate-with-some-people-the-more-your-life-will/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [No adversity is in kind or degree peculiar to us; but if we survey the conditions of other men (of our brethren everywhere, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-barrow/no-adversity-is-in-kind-or-degree-peculiar-to-us-but-if-we-survey-the/) [Isaac Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-barrow/) > [Tantra is not sexual yoga. When the word tantra is used in the West, very often people immediately associate it with some kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tantra-is-not-sexual-yoga-when-the-word-tantra-is-used-in-the-west/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [There are certainly times in history where power associates itself closely with fields that we would call the humanities, like rulers surrounding themselves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/there-are-certainly-times-in-history-where-power-associates-itself/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Surround yourself with people of like mind and different talents and temperaments with the purpose of serving the goals of every member of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-olson/surround-yourself-with-people-of-like-mind-and-different-talents-and/) [Jeff Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-olson/) > [The goose that lays golden eggs has been considered a most valuable possession. But even more profitable is the privilege of taking the golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/the-goose-that-lays-golden-eggs-has-been-considered-a-most-valuable/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) Browse all 471 Associates quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Walton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-way-management-treats-their-associates-is-exactly-how-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Associates" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-way-management-treats-their-associates-is-exactly-how-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/sam-walton-4376_associates_the-way-management-treats-their-associat_3148427.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way management treats their associates is exactly how the associates will then treat the customers.” — Sam Walton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sam Walton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The way management treats their associates...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-way-management-treats-their-associates-is-exactly-how-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-way-management-treats-their-associates-is-exactly-how-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```