attitude | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

The mom was a little panicked.  She had just left work and had run into an unexpected popup rainstorm, and traffic had come to a halt.  She was on her way to pick up her 4-year old at childcare.  The facility had a policy of charging a fee for every minute that parents are late for pick-up.

The mom didn’t really care much about the additional fee; she just felt bad that the staff would have to stay later than the 6:00 pm closing time, waiting on her arrival.

When the mom arrived, 20 minutes late, two staff came out to the car with her child.  One held a giant umbrella, and the other carried the child so that the little boy would not get wet.  The mother thanked the staff, and apologized for being so late.

One of the staff said:  “Don’t worry at all about when you arrived.  We’re just happy you got here safe.  And Freddie was a joy to be around.  He even drew this picture for you!”

The employee handed the mom the picture – a lovely crayon drawing of something bright and sunny.

“Freddie’s a joy to be around.  Thank you for the opportunity to care for him,” the employee said.

As the mom drove away, her stress levels dropped, her happy son was in the back seat, and the rain began to end.

What pleased the mom as much as anything about the experience was that the employees came out with a smile (despite the rain), thanked the mom (despite her late arrival), and helped the little boy to have a little joy throughout the wait in the noisy storm.

Sometimes our customers are in a position to thank us for the extra things that we do for them.  Even when we’re being thanked, along with accepting the appreciation graciously, it’s always good to provide a little thanks back to the customer.

It’s good to show that it’s not a burden to do the little extras for the customer.  It’s good to show that doing extras can be a joyful activity.

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Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to make sure the floors get cleaned and waxed properly.  He knows when to hit the bathrooms, when to address the office spaces.

Although Terrence works in an office setting, the way his company is structured, he actually reports to managers in the corporate housekeeping department in a different location.

He was meeting with his facility office manager one day, and she was making a special request.  He responded:  Sure thing!  You’re the boss.

When it comes to Terrence’s specific job, she is not the boss.  He directly reports to the person with the hiring/firing authority – the person in the corporate office.  Terrence knows this, but in his mind, he treats the office manager like she’s the boss, too.

She is the ultimate customer.  She is the one that is trying to manage this facility, create the kind of culture she’s searching for with the staff.  She’s the one that’s trying to help the business become even higher performing.

And Terrence understands that his job is to increase his customer’s likelihood of success.

To Terrence, it’s a mindset and an understanding that the customer, in the end, is the true boss.

Reflect on the mindset that you bring into conversations with the customers.  The customers are the ones that you are ultimately doing your work for, the ones that you are trying to help succeed, the ones to whom you’re trying to provide a great customer experience.

Foster a mindset that’s a motivator to deliver a great experience to the ultimate customer.

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