I am hoping Seth Godin will be pleased with our notation on his wonderful book Linchpin which can be ordered on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591843162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276901355&sr=1-1
On page 70 of Linchpin Seth shares a brief story about a retail employee named David. Here are the 5 paragraphs that capture the essence of our SALT & PEPPER strategy and philosophy:
He Works For Blessings – Page 70 – Linchpin
David has been working at the midtown branch of Dean & Deluca for six years. This mini-chain of high-end coffee shops in New York has very high turnover, so six years is quite an achievement.
I met David while having coffee with a friend. The first thing I noticed was that he had walked over to a line of tourists and cheerfully said, “Hey, guys! We have another bathroom upstairs. No need to wait.” With a smile, he moved away, energetically cleaning off tables and straightening things that didn’t seem particularly crooked to me. If this is menial labor, no one told David.
As the hour wore on, I saw him greet people, help without asking, offer to watch a table or get something for someone. In a coffee shop!
I asked him about his attitude. He smiled, stopped for a second, and told me, “I work for blessings.”
Almost anyone else would have seen this job as a grind, a dead end, a mind-numbing way to spend six years. David saw it as an opportunity to give gifts. He had emotional labor to contribute, and his compensation was the blessings he got from customers (his customers). His art was the engagement with each person, a chance to change her outlook or brighten his day. Not everyone can do this, and many who can, choose not to. David refused to wait for instructions. He led with his art.
Bravo Seth!
Bravo David!
Bravo to everybody else who takes the work they do as seriously as David does his customer service practices and Seth does writing great books like Linchpin.
My advice?
Go buy the book and turn things up a notch! Become indispensable! Become a Linchpin!
Tags: Books, customer service, Dean & Deluca, employee engagement, empowerment, leadership, retail customer service, retail service quality index, RSQI, Seth Godin