Ever wondered what sets great businesses apart from the rest? It’s all about lining up your ducks in a row to work FOR you, not being a sitting duck doing what everyone else does.
What follows is a touching yet extraordinarily valuable story of why great service is a choice and that treating your customers like gold can double your revenues.
This is one of those emails you receive in your inbox from a friend for a reason. One that makes you stop and think and nod your head in agreement. That’s why I wanted to share it here with you.
Since being back in Los Angeles I’ve been witnessing some stellar examples of great service that are in stark contrast to what I experienced in Buenos Aires. So this story resonates with me deeply, as it’s something all of us should take stock of. Making time to go that extra mile will make a big difference to your bottom line.
Ducks Quack. Eagles Soar.
No one can make you serve customers well…..that’s because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.
He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey ..
He handed my friend a laminated card and said: ‘I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.’
Taken aback, Harvey read the card.. It said: Wally’s Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment…
This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.’
My friend said jokingly, ‘No, I’d prefer a soft drink.’ Wally smiled and said, ‘No problem I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice..’ Almost stuttering, Harvey said, ‘I’ll take a Diet Coke.’
Handing him his drink, Wally said, ‘If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.’ As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, `These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.’
And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.
‘Tell me, Wally,’ my amazed friend asked the driver, ‘have you always served customers like this?’
Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. ‘No, not always.. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.
He had just written a book called “You’ll See It When You Believe It.” Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining!
Differentiate yourself from your competition.
Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd..’
‘That hit me right between the eyes,’ said Wally. ‘Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy.
So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.’
‘I take it that has paid off for you,’ Harvey said.
‘It sure has,’ Wally replied. ‘My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore.
My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.’
Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting..
Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and start soaring like an eagle. How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you… The ball is in our hands!
Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.
What One Thing Can You Do Today?
I ask this question on a daily basis: What thing can I do today to make a difference in someone’s life?. This applies to friends, family, clients and people I’ve just met. Naturally I don’t always achieve this and sometimes I’m sure I’ve not achieved it at all, but the difference is making an effort to do this.
I lived in London for 2.5 years and experienced a lot of ducks. You know the type, all lined up in a row, doing the same as thing as the next one in line, and not making an effort to stand out from the crowd.
That’s why I ditched the cabs and London Underground and buses to bike everywhere – best decision I’ve made ever by the way.
The thing that’s always struck me with cab drivers around the world is the opportunities they have to meet so many incredible people and make a difference in their life. I’m sure you’ve had the chatty drivers who make you feel at home in their cab, turning on the music and asking you about your day.
Contrast that with the cab drivers who don’t say a word, deliberately take you on a longer route and then scowl at you when you ask for a receipt or don’t have the right change.
Think you’re going to call them after you’ve got out of their car to use them again? Hell no.
When I first arrived in Argentina my first experience with a cab driver was hilarious and horrendous. He didn’t speak a word of English. The kind man who loaded my suitcase in the back of his car ushered me in with a smile and suggested the trip would take close to an hour.
After too many rip off merchants on my travels I made sure to agree on a fare with the driver before we drove anywhere. I attempted to bargain in both Spanish and English. He threw out a price of $280 pesos which I knew was exorbitant. I threw back a price of 80 pesos which my local friend had suggested was all I need pay.
The driver exploded in a rage throwing his arms up in the air, insulted beyond belief that yet another foreigner wouldn’t pay his price, and promptly drove me around in a short circle to drop me off where I began!
Moments later, a little shaken, the same man who had loaded my luggage suggested I’d be wise to pay around 140 pesos. The next driver who came along agreed to that before I got in, and was a total angel compared to the last. He made conversation with me in stilted English the entire way.
He told me all about his city of Buenos Aires and what to do and where to go and was really interested in what I did. When we arrived at my destination he handed me his card saying if I ever needed a ride anywhere to call him. Guess who I called when I went on my next taxi journey?
A simple shift in mindset from screwing people to serving them instead will make a world of difference. Imagine taking that to amazing customer service and seeing your business go from surviving to thriving.
So what are you going to do differently from now on?