It's All About The Customer

What will they think of next?

It was time for a haircut. I usually go to the same person at the same place and get the same haircut. I was at a different store recently and didn’t have the number to see if my favorite hairdresser was available. One of my sales associates suggested I Google it. I told him I had already shut my computer down. He said I should send them a text message. I tried it and I got the number I needed in a text message back.

Who thought of this? How cool is this?

New paradigms are being developed every day.

With the advent of e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle, are we seeing the end of libraries?

When was the last time you looked up a number in a phone book?

What will they think of next?

Each of us has a certain way that we arrange the cash in our register each day. Our preferences may be dictated by personalities, store consensus, whether we are left handed or right handed, or without any structured way. I arrange mine the same way everyday – from the right facing left . . . ones, fives, tens and twenties. The coins go right to left starting with pennies, nickels, dimes then quarters. All bills are face up and everything is stacked neatly. I learned long ago that doing it this way minimizes mistakes in counting.

Up until today, I would always put the older bills on top. The newer bills have either a different color scheme from the older ones or have a larger image depicted on the face (Lincoln, Jackson, Franklin, etc.) so it was easy to find the older, worn out bills and get rid of them first by placing them on top of each stack.

Why do it differently? One of the tellers at a bank branch we use for one of our stores would always give me the best bills in her drawer. This was a common practice for her that I observed every time she took our deposit and gave us any necessary change in return. Any bills that we gave as part of our deposit that were worn out would also be separated. If we needed additional change she would only give us the best out of her drawer. I asked her once why she did it this way and she said she likes to give the best she has. Her customers appreciate it. Well, that has been several months and I’m just now getting it.

Our customers deserve our best at every level. That includes seemingly small details like money. This may be a detail that your customers may NEVER appreciate. But it is rooted in an overall attitude of exceeding the average. We can raise the bar of what is average by incorporating this attitude in everything we do for our customers. That’s how we become outstanding in our industry. That’s how we become the benchmark by which others compare themselves.

So, are you going to give your best at every level? How are you going to arrange your bills?

BTW . . . look at the picture above. Do you notice the bills are not all aligned alike? Pay attention to the details! Somebody is and it’s best if we’re the ones doing it.

A friend called me up the other day. He had been following the blog off and on. He asked me if I was just cutting and pasting the articles or if I was writing them myself.

I guess I need to clarify. Unless otherwise stated or quoted, I am the author of these articles. I was given a Kindle for Christmas this year and I have downloaded several books that have bcome inspiration for most of my writings. Other articles arise from the Disney Institute course I took in November 2009, Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence.

I highly recommend one of the books, “The Last Lecture” by Dr. Randy Pausch. Dr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a form of cancer that has a 95% mortality rate within 5 years. For those who forgot, Patrick Swayze also had pancreatic cancer. In the short time from his diagnosis until his death, Dr. Pausch focused on having fun instead of being focused on dying. His positive approach may have prolonged his life. Maybe not. Either way, it has provided inspiration to many who have read his book, attended his lecture or who studied under him at Carnegie Mellon.

I digress. This was entry was supposed to be giving you clarification on where these articles come from. Every day life experience. And you. Stuff you do. Stuff you say. Stuff I see or hear or read.

Clear enough?