May 7, 2010
Dallas "King Of Customer Service"
Dallas "King Of Customer Service" Cliff Ennico www.creators.com Here's a pop quiz: who are your most important employees? You? Your senior managers? I humbly submit that your most important employees are those, regardless of rank, with whom your customers actually come into contact. You can talk all you want to about customer service and how important it is, but if your "front line" employees don't get it, neither will be your customers. I was in Dallas last week giving a presentation at the Dallas Convention Center. The center was only about four blocks away from my hotel, but they were long blocks, and between the 90-degree heat and a recent leg fracture that prevents me from walking long distances, I needed a cab to get back to the hotel after my presentation. I waited over 20 minutes, and couldn't get a cab to save my life. When one driver heard where I was going, he just took off, looking for a better fare. I was beginning to think about risking the long (for me) walk to the hotel when a member of the Convention Center's maintenance staff named Jerrold (according to his name tag) drove up in a beat-up old golf cart. "I see you're having trouble getting a cab. Where are you going?", he asked. I told him, and he said "get in, I'll take you there." I looked at the golf cart and said "in that thing? You can't drive this on a city street." Jerrold smiled at me with a mouth only half-full of teeth, and said "We don't need no roads. Hop in!" I did, and for the next 15 minutes we drove the four long blocks to my hotel . . . ON THE SIDEWALK . . . at about five miles an hour, fast enough that pedestrians had to jump out of our way. In a golf cart, there is nowhere to hide, but to make 100% sure we were seen by everyone in Dallas, Jerrold honked his horn and waved at every pedestrian he knew (Jerrold is a popular guy in downtown Dallas, and he had clearly done this before). As the golf cart lurched around lampposts and trees, sometimes missing them only by inches, I started a conversation with Jerrold: C:I really appreciate this, Jerrold. I know it's a short distance, but I've got a bum leg and I really can't walk it. J:It's my pleasure, sir. C:Don't call me 'sir'. The name's Cliff. J:I can't help that. It's how my Momma raised me. She taught me to treat everyone I meet with respect, no matter who they are. C:Your Mom is a very wise lady. People rarely treat others with respect anymore. J:Man, you know that! And it's a shame. You don't have to be in love with someone to treat them like they're somebody special. Because you never know. It's like one of those movies where you help somebody out, and he turns out to be an angel in disguise. You never know who that person is going to be. For all I know, you may be an angel!" C:(Laughing). It's not likely, Jerrold. I'm a lawyer. J:Yeah, but if you really WERE an angel, that would be a really good disguise, don't you think? You'd fool a lot of people with that one! C:You got a point there. So, Jerrold, tell me - how do I know YOU'RE not an angel? J:Oh, you can ask my boss or my Momma about that, sir . . . they'll tell you! C:Don't call me "sir". By this point we had reached the hotel. I offered Jerrold a $20 tip, which he declined. He dropped me off and, with a wave of his hand, drove the golf cart back up on the sidewalk and headed back to the Convention Center, parting the pedestrians like Moses parting the Red Sea . . . Memo to the Dallas Convention Center: you have a beautiful human being on your maintenance staff who knows more about customer service than most entrepreneurs do. His name is Jerrold, and he may or may not be an angel. Treat him with respect, because he deserves it, and also because if you don't he'll tell his Momma on you. And that's one lady I sure wouldn't want to mess with . . . Cliff Ennico ( cennico@legalcareer.com ) is a syndicated columnist, author and host of the PBS television series 'Money Hunt'. His latest book is 'Small Business Survival Guide' (Adams Media, $12.95). This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com . COPYRIGHT 2006 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. Permission granted for use on DrLaura.com.

Posted by Staff at 1:49 AM