It was a local bakery I had heard neighbors talk about but never visited. My usual great bakery had sold out of banana nut bread muffins and I was planning on taking a dozen to a business meeting I was chairing. When the clerk at the new bakery rang up my muffins, she asked me, “Which one of these awesome muffins are you planning on eating?” I told her I had no idea. “Well then,” she continued with an impish tone in her voice, “What is your favorite color?” “Purple,” I told her.
She reached in a drawer, took out a small purple candle and placed it in the middle of one of the muffins. “That one will be yours,” she said with a big smile. I was stunned.
“Did you think it was my birthday” I asked? “Nope,” she replied, “that would be a freaky coincidence. But, it is still your day and there is no reason not to make it a glorious one!” Guess where I bought my next batch of muffins?
Every morning when we wake up, we get to choose what kind of day it will be. Even if you are sick or hurt, you elect how you will deal with misfortune. Likewise, every time you serve a customer, you get to pick the kind of day you will help that customer have. She had decided that my day would be glorious and she added a simply touch—a tiny bit of glitter–to jump start me into making it that kind of day.
University of Rhode Island students for years enjoyed going to the CVS/pharmacy nearby in the Kingston Emporium to buy a snack and to see “The Excellence Lady.” Many would stand in line with other cash registers open just get her special farewell. CVS head cashier Helen “Nonni” Plummer bid farewell to every customer with the phrase, “Have an excellent!” Should someone inquire “excellent what?” she quickly would add, “Whatever you want it to be.” Her infectious spirit spread to a Facebook group titled, “You Have an Excellent” with almost two thousand members.
Your attitude when serving customers provides a peephole into the values and qualities most revered by your unit or organization. Find a special way to add “glorious” as a feature of the day your customers are going to have.
The post was written by Chip Bell.
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