Any of you that have seen the video or read the book FISH (if you haven’t; you should!), about the fellows working at a fish stall in an indoor market in Seattle, will know that one of their principles is to ‘make their day’. I often refer to this in the work I do and then hope to inspire people to do the same - to do those little things that can make such big differences for customers. People are always asking me for examples, so here’s one that I observed a few weeks ago.
I was passing through Passport Control in Romania. As the officer handed the passport back to the fellow in front of me, she also wished him a ‘Happy Birthday’. She had noticed from his passport that day was his birthday, so she took the opportunity to offer her best wishes. He, and most of us in the queue behind him, were surprised and delighted by this and many of us made a point of commenting and/or congratulating her as we passed through. Her simple, thoughtful, emotional action had made a noticeable and worthwhile difference and turned what is usually a routine experience into a pleasant and memorable one.
Events like this are sadly rare, but they can make a really worthwhile difference. So think of what you and/or your colleagues could do that’s similar. Create lots of things that are different, unexpected, simple, thoughtful, emotional and inexpensive but which set you apart from your competitors in lots of little ways. Your competitors will probably not notice or understand what you’re doing but your customers will notice and really value it. And every one of these experiences builds your customer’s loyalty and puts you further in front of your competitors.
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