I’m writing this during black history month and came across this great quote from Martin Luther King that I thought would be fitting for our Fab Service blog:
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘what are you doing for others?’”
I’m wondering why he used the word “urgent” and, I’m thinking here we are 50 years later and sadly, racism is still a hot topic in our culture.
But let’s focus on “what are you doing for others” which is what this blog is all about.
My dad taught me a saying when I was young that always stuck with me:
“the word ‘selfish’ sounds like ‘self first’ and ‘selfless’ sounds like ‘self last.”
I thought that was pretty simple and made sense which is probably why I remembered it.
Wouldn’t customer service be great if everyone thought that way?
In our last blog, we wrote about the idea of being self-serving. What’s in it for me? How do I benefit from the situation?
While I’m reminiscing about family quotes, my grandmother had a great one when someone was being selfish. She would say they are acting like “hurray for me and to hell with you!”
Today, I think, more than ever, we are living in a world of “what’s in it for me?” We never used to have the word “selfie” in our vocabulary and social media is filled with pictures and posts of individuals and their wonderful individual achievements.
How does this relate to building a culture of service in our organization?
Well, I think all cultures start with the individuals who are in it. And if we are going to be an organization that is founded on service then I think we have to start thinking that way ourselves. How can we think of ourselves last and others first? How do we think this way at work, at home, in the car, at the grocery store?
I also think it’s important to put into context our organization and the outside culture and environment for which it exists within. In other words, we don’t live and work in a vacuum. If our culture is becoming more and more about the individual, then, I think that is worth reflecting on and how it’s influencing us individually and collectively.
As such, when we give exceptional service, it will often stand out in a world and culture in which it is lacking. I will quote again from the last blog when the customer was so surprised at our service she wrote: “oh my goodness.” She went on to say that no one in any industry gives that kind of service anymore.
Rest assured that I will quote this customer again smf again as she crystalizes what Fab Service means and what we are trying to achieve. What can you do for someone that makes them say –
“Oh my goodness!”
