Last week I went to my local coffee shop and ordered my typical morning starter…a medium decaf coffee. I know what you are thinking…”what kind of man are you if you are drinking decaf?”. Well, I do miss the caffeine, but it was affecting me in some pretty negative ways, so I had to switch. 🙁
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that since I switched to decaf, it’s often a pain for the barista. Depending on where I go, they either have to do something they call a pour over (which is literally them pouring hot water over a filter filled with grounds) or they have to make a whole pot of decaf just for little old me.
Whistle While You Wait
Since I will now almost always have to wait for my “new” favorite drink, I often go ahead and get my computer setup and get settled in for a session of surfing, reading & writing and just wait to here my name being called.
Then something different happened last week. I was already deep into my first blog post when my barista came out to my table and said, “hey Bob, your decaf is ready! I’ve already poured it into a mug…did you want cream or sweetener?”
I was a little taken back by this. I’m so used to having to get up and complete the preparation on my own, that I literally didn’t know what to say. “Ummm…” is all that came out. “I’ll take care of it. But Thank you very much!”
He didn’t just fill a paper cup and yell my name; he put it in cozy ceramic coffee mug and brought it to my table. Then, because he suspected my preferences, he was ready to go yet another step to serve me. That’s pretty awesome in my opinion!
Balance Daniel-son
Balance this with the experience I had just yesterday, where I went to different unnamed box coffee shop. There I asked for a decaf and literally had to argue with the barista, that “yes they had decaf”. Then she tried to give me an Americano, which doesn’t taste anything like a brewed coffee, but is much quicker and easier for her.
This wouldn’t have been an issue if she had just asked me. But instead, she just breazed over like it was no big deal and started to prepare an espresso shot. Luckily, I was watching and stopped her. But you would have thought I was asking for her to scrub toilets with the look I received.
So What?
Super serving your customers is a subject that has been widely written about. Specifically, Michael Hyatt writes about; the idea of baking in the “WOW” for your customers in his book, “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World!”. There seems to be no doubt, that taking that extra step for your customers can make all the difference:
“We don’t need more messages, products, or services. Instead, we need better messages, products, and services. Specifically, we need those that wow.”
For example, in my story, do you think I care about the difference in cost in these two situations? They could charge me an extra dollar at my local shop; that certainly wouldn’t deter me from going there. I will pay for that WOW, almost every single time! And I bet you would too!
Question: How are you delivering WOW to your customers (or to your boss or to your team)?
The first barista showed you she was paying attention and that you mattered. It doesn’t take much to create wow.
You make it sound so simple, yet so many people struggle with this. It’s like the saying, “common sense ain’t so common.” 😉
Thanks Karin!!!
I have had similar experiences since giving up caffeine over a year ago.
I think as bosses, we can set the tone for our organization when we intentionally find ways to serve our team members. It might mean bringing in donuts, picking up trash left by others, or simply serving with a smile. Regardless, we can have an amazing impact on our companies when we lead from a position of service.
Congrats on the caffeine Jon! Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one…
I couldn’t agree more with your statement of service. I think all of us that are not bosses can also serve well. We can serve our team-mates, customers, and even our bosses. Like Karin said below, it’s not hard to “bake in the wow”, if we just treat people like they matter.
You and your work is a great example of that!
I agree. It’s the simple things that go a long way…a hand-written thank you note, a verbal thank you, and retrieving something for someone when they don’t expect it are very simple things we can do to make a big difference.