Tip 670: Encouraging Words

From the Customer Service Workshops: Encouraging Words

In discouraging times, encouraging words help. 

Our friend Brian Clark at Spartronics in Logan, Utah, recommended an excellent book: The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn (Doubleday, 2004). It explores excellence.

Some examples: 

A waitress had just finished her shift at Morton’s of Chicago. As she was walking to her car, she recognized a man in the parking lot as a guest she had served earlier in the evening. He was struggling, quiet unsuccessfully, to change the flat tire on his car. “Let me help,” she offered. In short order, this enterprising waitress got the tire changed and sent the restaurant patron on his way.

On a flight to Orlando, the fun-loving steward put on a Goofy cap and invited the children to join him in the front of the cabin where he did magic tricks for them. A flight attendant on the same flight sat on the floor with a child in her lap, giving a frazzled parent a much-needed break from child care.

A cable installer in Southern California does a lot more than his official job description. He programs the remote switcher for the new channels, sets the timer on the VCR, and often improves sound quality by repositioning the stereo antenna and speakers. (pp. 24-25)  

So, what’s your reaction? Probably “Wow. They exceeded expectations.”

Sanborn’s suggestion: We—all—can do this. 

An excellent book. (Thank you, Brian.)  

We love this stuff.