People and Companies Who ‘Get It’
Customer-service excellence—if the company doesn’t get it, the customers won’t get it, either. —John Britt
Excellence is a journey, not a destination. The authors have had personal experience with the following people and companies, who, in our opinion, get it. While all of them have attained excellence, and the five traits are present, we chose to highlight just a few for the sake of efficiency.
We trust the following examples will inspire you to give and be your best.
Jack, the Coffee Tastes Better When You Make It!
Jack was in a local delicatessen in Philadelphia on a chilly fall day having brunch with Sarah, his wife of sixty-three years. As they were enjoying each other’s company, Jack noticed a young man approaching their table. As it turned out, he was a customer at the Wawa convenience store, where Jack worked the coffee counter three mornings a week. The young man greeted Jack and told him that he had dropped in to the Wawa that morning for a cup of coffee, and it didn’t taste nearly as good as it did when Jack was there making it. Jack smiled and thanked the young man for being a regular Wawa customer and for stopping by their table with his kind words. He then turned to his wife and said with a laugh, “Sarah, nice man, but how could the coffee taste better when I make it? It’s Wawa brand coffee, and it is supplied in premeasured pouches; the water comes out of a filtered tap directly into the coffee machine. And all coffee pots hold the same amount. How could it possibly taste better when I make it?” Jack thought for a moment and said to his wife, “I think I know why it tastes better when I make it, Sarah—it’s because I rinse out the coffee pots really well each time before I brew a new pot. That has to be it—I rinse the pots out well. That’s why the coffee tastes better.” Sarah smiled and said, “Yes, Jack, I’m sure that’s the reason.”
But who’s Jack? Actually, Jack was my (Harry Paul’s) father. He lived in the northeast section of Philadelphia, was eighty-seven years young at the time of his passing, and had worked part-time at a Wawa. He was the oldest employee at Wawa, a family-owned chain of almost four hundred convenience stores located throughout the mid-Atlantic states. He worked the coffee counter three mornings a week at a store located just a few miles from his home. Jack absolutely loved his customers—he loved talking to them, sharing stories with them, and getting to know them. He shared himself with them, and they in turn shared themselves with him. In a manner of speaking, he was the mayor of Wawa.
When my dad told me the story about the man at the delicatessen saying how the coffee tasted better when he made it, and said that he thought it was because he washed out the pots so well, I started to laugh. When I asked him if he really thought this was the reason, he said, “Sure, what else can it be?” I said it wasn’t that the pots were cleaner. Well-washed pots are a given. I said, “Dad, you make the coffee taste better.” Jack answered with some doubt in his voice, “I do?” At this point I said, “Sure, you do. It’s because you like people, you’re nice to them, and you’re interested in them. You share yourself with them, make them laugh, and create a positive experience for them, and in turn they share some of themselves with you, all of it making the coffee seem to taste better. You’re helping them start their day off on an upbeat note, and I’m sure they really appreciate it, besides the better-tasting coffee. You do naturally what organizations strive to do to attain and maintain success; you’re creating a positive experience for your customers. You’re making a big-time difference in their lives.”
Jack was the sweetener in the coffee, the missing element that people are hungry for in this fast-paced, technology-driven world we live in. Look at what you are doing and find the missing ingredients, the ones that cause you to look forward to going to work and making a difference for people. Everyone can make a difference, just like Jack.
Jack’s behavior did not go unnoticed by Wawa’s management. They awarded him with a gold medal for outstanding customer service—three years in a row! After receiving his third medal, he said to me with a smile. “I still think it’s because the pots are cleaner.” I responded, laughing, “Dad, they may be cleaner, but remember, you make the coffee taste better.”
Not long after that, Wawa built another store closer to Jack’s house. Transferring to the new store gave him a shorter commute time; when you are eighty-six years old, seconds count. Jack did not go alone to the new store. Scores of his customers followed him to the new store, and it wasn’t because he rinsed the pots better. The new store’s coffee business was brisk and growing. People looked forward to coming into Wawa every morning that Jack was working, for his great attitude, warm smile, friendly conversation, and great-tasting coffee.
Excellence!
Jack Paul got it, and so did his customers!
On a freezing-cold January day in 2009, Jack was laid to rest with military honors. When I got up to deliver my eulogy, I looked over the folks crowded into the funeral home and was awestruck by how many people were there—many of whom I didn’t know. I did not speak of Jack’s being a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend, or the fact that he was twice decorated for bravery as a World War II paratrooper—I assumed that most already knew this. Instead, I spoke about how Jack taught us that we all could make someone’s life a little brighter, and I shared with them the story of how he had made the coffee taste better. Afterward, many people came up to me, including his fellow employees, customers, and caregivers who felt compelled to be there because Jack had made such a difference in their lives. Not only did he bring some joy to them, but he also gave them a fresh perspective on how precious life is and that we all have the ability and responsibility to make another person’s life a little brighter. For many months after Jack’s passing, my mom continued to receive cards, letters, and notes from his customers telling her how much they had enjoyed seeing and spending time with my dad whenever he was working at Wawa.
It’s the little things you do for customers that count the most. It doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day and make him or her feel great, but such actions have a huge impact on the success of the company. The good news is that doing the things that create exceptional customer experiences does not cost the company a dime. On the other hand, the impact of these simple but caring actions can have a huge effect on the company’s bottom line in terms of increased productivity, market share, and profitability. This is what all companies want to see much more of and what companies must have to thrive.
A twenty-year-old young man awoke one morning with life-threatening symptoms. This was every parent’s nightmare. On the previous evening, his parents had taken him to a local immediate-care facility, and he had been diagnosed with simple bronchitis, but today, his symptoms painted a picture of a much more severe problem. His parents rushed him to Baptist Hospital, and the following excerpts from a letter they ultimately wrote tell the story of excellence in patient care.
“From the minute we stepped into the hospital, our son was treated with respect and compassion. The triage nurse immediately recognized his critical status and quickly ushered us into a treatment room. I do not remember her name, but I cannot thank her enough for being so quick to recognize his symptoms and knowing that he needed to be seen stat. She was the first of many pieces that fell into place so that our son would live. In the ER, the doctor took over the care. What a wonderfully talented physician he is! We will forever be grateful for his expertise in diagnosing potential bacterial meningitis and starting treatment. Within minutes he had stabilized our son, started testing, and discussed his diagnosis with two very scared and numb parents. The doctor realized that he was not only treating our son, he was helping us understand what was happening. He is certainly a credit to your hospital and to his profession! Believing that our child did indeed have bacterial meningitis, he quickly called in a specialist, and our son was placed into his capable and compassionate hands. I remember looking at his warm eyes hidden behind a mask that morning and feeling uncertain yet confident that whatever needed to be done would be. He began an aggressive plan to save our son. The team selflessly dedicated many, many hours to our son’s care, and it is because of those long hours that he is still with us.
“Immediately after leaving the ER that morning, our son was taken to the Coronary Care Unit. All we can say is, what an incredibly dedicated team of nurses and assistants! Every single person on that floor demonstrated such a commitment to our son that went far beyond what we could have expected. As parents, we were amazed at the care each nurse and assistant took. They hugged us and reassured us that everything that could be done was. In all the chaos they offered a sweet smile and a warm hug every time we visited. We always knew that our son was in very loving and capable hands. We were constantly amazed at the endless work that was involved in his care. We sometimes felt a little overwhelmed with the medicines, the machines, the medical terms, but oh how wonderful it was the first morning we came in and saw that an assistant had bathed and shaved our son. She took such gentle care of him and we were very touched. Incidences like that happened over and over again the entire time he was in CCU. Those nurses never stopped from the minute they arrived through the doors of the unit until they left at the shift change. To say we love and respect them is so inadequate. The day our son left CCU the nurses all gathered in the hallway giving hugs and best wishes for his continued recovery. They were celebrating him, but they should also celebrate a job well done. Whatever salary they receive can never be enough for what they give to each patient that comes through their unit.
“After leaving CCU, our son continued his recovery in the Palliative Care unit due to an overflow of patients. He again received outstanding care from a wonderful staff. It was easy to see that they are committed to excellent care for all patients. They took a personal interest in his recovery and pampered him beyond words!
“The Baptist Hospital family, from the x-ray techs to food service staff to janitorial staff, treated us superbly. We can’t tell you how many staff persons stopped to ask about our son and to tell us they were continuously praying for our family. It was easy to see that the people who work at your hospital truly feel a sense of family … and coming from parents who lived through a horrendous experience, that “family” meant the world! Our prayer is that they will never underestimate what influence they have on families who come to your hospital. They each played such an important role in our son’s recovery.
“In closing, we would like to again extend our most sincere gratitude for everything that was done for our son and our family. Baptist Hospital demonstrated what health care should always be about! Truthfully, the afternoon our son was released and we pulled out of the parking lot, we both had tears in our eyes. We knew just how different an outcome we could have had if not for the diligent and compassionate team at Baptist Hospital.”
Founded: 1975
Located: Louisville, Kentucky
Profile: Baptist Hospital, a 519-bed community acute-care hospital with fifty-seven thousand annual emergency room visits and thirty thousand admissions, is a leading health-care provider in the Louisville metropolitan area. With a workforce of more than four thousand, it is one of Louisville’s top-ten private-sector employers.
Excellence in customer service is rooted in the values of Baptist Hospital. Originating from this heritage are the values of respect, integrity, collaboration, excellence, and stewardship. It is therefore expected that the operations of the organization will be accomplished in accordance with these ethical values and the deep commitment of Baptist Hospital to its customers. These values guided the selection of a framework for customer service.
Excellence!
The people at Baptist Hospital get it, and so do their customers!
This is just one of the many stories of excellence at Baptist Hospital. The competency of the health-care providers stands out in this letter from two very grateful parents. The passion that the employees have for their jobs almost jumps off the pages, and the hospital’s commitment to communication is phenomenal. Health care is a complicated business, and the excellence in patient care did not happen in just one department. It happened in the emergency room, the coronary care unit, the medical surgical unit, and all of the ancillary departments. Even the hospital’s wellness center, Milestones, consistently is recognized as “the best place to work out” in Louisville, Kentucky. Customers do not look at their experiences from a departmental perspective; they just see and feel the experience. If one employee or one department fails in its mission for excellence, the experience backslides into average or worse.
“Your company saved my life!” That’s what the woman in the wheelchair said to Skip Wirth when he asked how he could help his customer. Intrigued by this wonderful sentiment, he responded, “I am glad we did, but just how did we save your life?” She replied that years earlier, she had been involved in an accident that rendered her partially paralyzed and required her to be in a wheelchair. She recalled that while she was still in the hospital, she was basically told, “Go home and live your life.” The problem was, nobody explained how to go home and live her life. “I was totally unprepared for the challenges to come,” she said.
She went on to relate, “Buying medical equipment is not like buying a used car. You don’t go in, find something, and think, that’s pretty, I want that. You find what is best for you. Unfortunately, some companies just say, ‘Whatever you want.’ Well, that’s not the case; it is what you need that is best. From the time I entered the store and met the office staff, from the technicians to the people behind the business, they obviously cared about what I needed. Not what I wanted, not what I thought was nice. They cared about what was important for me. It took a while, but they saw to it that I got what was the right chair for my problems.”
Did the staff at First Choice Home Medical really save her life? Not in the sense of actually rescuing her from death, but absolutely in terms of improving the quality of her life. Because they made positioning adjustments to her wheelchair and educated her on simple home modifications, she was able to resume her busy life as a schoolteacher.
Company: First Choice Home Medical
Founded: 2003
Located: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Profile: First Choice Home Medical is a durable medical equipment (DME) company that provides home medical equipment to patients in South Central Kentucky. Their thirteen health-care professionals have over 175 years of combined health-care experience, and their care, compassion, and commitment are evident in every service they provide.
Excellence in customer service is at the heart of First Choice Home Medical. It is at the core of everything they do. Their mission statement summarizes their values:
First Choice Home Medical is committed to the customer’s right to choose. Our choice is to make a difference by providing our customers with quality equipment, service, and compassion.
Their commitment to excellence in customer service is at the forefront of their thinking. The team listens to what the patients are telling them. The team also listens to what their referral sources are telling them, and that information has been invaluable. Throughout the years, their patient and referral-source satisfaction surveys have been most gratifying.
Thad Connally III, president and owner of First Choice Home Medical, states, “Our business approach is all about quality. If we don’t have quality, then we just don’t have anything. We want to make sure that when you call, you understand that we will be there in a timely fashion.” It has always been his desire to own his own business and his passion to take care of others. He believes that First Choice Home Medical has made significant contributions to Bowling Green and South Central Kentucky. That is a view shared by many others. In 2010, Thad was honored as the Small Business Person of the Year in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Long before First Choice Home Medical opened, Thad and Skip used to wax philosophically about what a great company would look like. They would have a company built on trust and accountability. The team would be focused on care, compassion, commitment, integrity, and an ownership of the company’s mission. Their favorite mantra was, “Bigger is not better; better is better.” Their goal was never to be the biggest DME company, only to be the best. That message is communicated at every staff meeting—“We are in the business of caring.”
How this mind-set is accomplished begins before a staff member is hired. The expectations of every team member are clearly communicated during the interview process, orientation, staff meetings, and annual performance appraisals. Their staff meetings are never dull because every team member is not only encouraged but expected to contribute. Because they trust one another, each member is empowered to offer new ideas, suggestions for improvement, success stories, or requests for assistance. That trust also lends itself to their holding one another accountable. Quite simply, they are very intolerant of service failures.
Excellence!
The people at First Choice Home Medical get it, and so do their customers!
Because of the highly regulated nature of the DME business, companies do not compete on price. In essence, the price, per se, is defined by the payer sources, and thus the major competitive factor becomes service. The story of the woman who felt as if First Choice Home Medical had saved her life is one of many that demonstrate the company’s passion—the kind of passion it takes to earn patients’ business. They have a highly competent team whose members can deliver not only the complex technical aspects of their service but also the skills that are interpreted by the patient as caring. Their communication is transparent, and the team consistently demonstrates flexibility. Clear direction from the leadership has resulted in the ownership experienced by all employees who do their jobs as if they own the company!
In an industry long plagued by rising costs, poor customer service, dissatisfied workers, bankruptcies, and revolving-door leadership, one airline stands contrary to this pattern. Southwest Airlines has long enjoyed success and a dedicated customer following. They have enjoyed over forty years of profitability, stable leadership, and some of the industry’s highest customer-service scores. There is a reason why Southwest is called the LUV airline. It is central to who they are.
Here is just one story that represents Southwest’s unique customer service:
“She made me feel like I was the only passenger on the plane!” The attendant thought Katie looked scared and weak, and so she gave her a hug and told her that everything was going to be all right. And that was exactly what Katie needed right then, because Katie was 2000 miles from home as she boarded the Southwest Airlines flight that would take her to the city where she would have open-heart surgery. And the attendant didn’t stop there. She found the hospital where Katie was having surgery and called to make sure that everything, in fact, was all right. Katie survived the surgery and will never forget the friendly face that emerged in a sea of strangers and gave her hope and comfort.
Company: Southwest Airlines
Founded: 1967
Located: Dallas, Texas
Profile: Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier in the United States, based upon originating domestic passengers carried. Along with subsidiary Air Tran, it has forty-five thousand employees, operates more than thirty-seven hundred flights per day, and operates scheduled service to ninety-seven destinations in forty-one states.
Excellence! The people at Southwest Airlines get it, and so do their customers!
Part of Southwest Airlines’ success revolves around their philosophy of hiring people with the right attitude (passion) and potential. While competency is an obvious requirement for such a regulated industry, they don’t stop at how they do their jobs but continue with why and how to make flying a fun and engaging experience. The company places value on people being themselves (flexibility) at work. It is not unusual to see the pilot help clean the plane when a quick turnaround is required.
Southwest Airlines is perhaps best at recognizing the next person in the process as their customer, and that begins with their employees. The employees will tell you that because the company treats them with respect, it is easy to treat the passengers with respect, and thus the employees take ownership of their duties. Not only do they take ownership of their duties—they also come together as a team when the pressure is on. They have put who they are out there in reality television shows that showcase what goes on day in and day out at Southwest Airlines. Communication is paramount in keeping planes flying and on time. It is also important between passengers and flight crews, ground crews, and ticket and gate agents. When a challenge arises, team members spring into action and solve it, usually right on the spot. Their communications are innovative in the way they convey safety greetings and announcements. You can see many examples of Southwest’s innovative communications on YouTube.
Employees say, “We are like family here. We have fun, and we love our jobs. Everybody counts and everybody cares.” One employee said it this way: “We have hearts on our planes, and there is a reason for that.”
The extraordinary vision of Mitchells | Richards | Marshs is to “hug” the customer—to enhance and add value to the retail experience. They are obsessed with extraordinary customer service and creating a uniquely warm environment, because anyone who becomes a customer has an enduring relationship with Mitchells | Richards | Marshs. Their motto is “Once a customer, always a friend.” They give back to their communities and build trusting relationships with customers and friends that will last throughout generations. That is exactly what Mitchells | Richards | Marshs does to maintain their excellence.
Company: Mitchells | Richards | Marshs
Founded: 1958
Located: Westport, Connecticut
Profile: One of the most successful high-end luxury retail groups of stores in the world, offering men’s and women’s clothes, jewelry, and accessories. Located in five cities on both coasts, the stores comprise over one hundred thousand square feet of retail space. They’re not successful because they have better products or prices than their competition; it’s because of how they treat their customers. Mitchells is still independent, family owned, and operated by a second and third generation of Mitchells who are looking forward to serving their customers for many generations to come.
They do this with passion and grab each customer with warmth as he or she crosses the threshold at all of their stores. They know their top one thousand customers very well. Why? Because they care and know that the customers are important. And it’s not just the customers that Mitchells | Richards | Marshs cares about but also the customers’ children, as each store has a kids’ corner. Since the first Mitchells store opened in 1958, a pot of coffee is always on; now that includes lattes and cappuccinos. Everyone concentrates on the customer and knows that they are interdependent with the customer experience. The competency that everyone has takes them beyond having product knowledge to being productive and important members of the team and creating unique and memorable customer experiences. Designers and manufacturers spend time each season to make sure that the staff members at all the stores are familiar with the latest fashions, jewelry, and accessories.
They use the collective ingenuity of three generations of Mitchells to ensure this ongoing learning culture. Everyone, from the family and management to all team members, understands that change is part of success, and all are flexible at adapting to an ever-changing environment. Execution is everything, whether it is a new fashion trend or the change in how people are dressing for success. Communication is key to their success in ensuring a seamless, outstanding customer experience no matter which of their stores you visit. Everyone at Mitchells | Richards | Marshs has ownership of every aspect of the customer experience, from the parking attendants and salespeople to the cashiers and tailors.
Excellence! The people at Mitchells | Richards | Marshs get it, and so do their customers!
Mitchells | Richards | Marshs is successful not because they recognize the importance of customer relationships but because they make them happen.
What do the managers of a standard hotel do when they are told that approximately one thousand visually impaired people, many of whom are bringing service animals, would like to hold a weeklong convention on the property? At the very best, panic! At the very worst, turn down the reservation. Most standard hotels do not have the facilities, funds, or willingness that it takes to host such a conference. Fortunately, Galt House Hotel is far from standard, with a drive for excellence in customer service that is second to none in the hospitality industry.
Company: Galt House Hotel
Founded: 1972
Located: Louisville, Kentucky
Profile: Founded by Al J. Schneider, Galt House Hotel boasts 1,290 guest rooms, including 650 suites. The hotel has fifty-three meeting rooms, two beautiful ballrooms, and six restaurants onsite. Stated simply, the Al J. Schneider Company, parent company of Galt House Hotel, cares. In 1969, when downtown Louisville was in decline and the riverfront was deserted, Mr. Schneider cared. He cared because he was a builder with a vision who was not afraid of working hard and taking risks. Louisville was his town, his home, and the people of Louisville were his extended family. Mr. Schneider invested his time, money, energy, and expertise in rebuilding his home, downtown Louisville. In 1972, he built a hotel. When Mr. Schneider retired, he handed the reins over to his daughter, Mary Mosely, who shared his love of Louisville and carried on the vision for the hotel.
From July 6 through 14, 2012, the American Council of the Blind held their 51st Annual Conference and Convention at Galt House Hotel, and the hotel staff and management pulled out all the stops (flexibility). All the stairs in the hotel were highlighted with reflective tape so that partially sighted guests could better see them. All hotel signage and restaurant menus were imprinted with lettering that was in braille or enlarged for better viewing. Room keycards were marked with raised labels for ease of use by the visually impaired. Hotel employees of all levels happily assisted the convention guests and guided them to different parts of the hotel (passion), not because the employees were directly instructed to do so but because it just came naturally to them. Galt House Hotel even constructed four sheltered dog walk areas for the personal needs of companion animals and scheduled a thorough, deep cleaning of the entire hotel grounds for the week after the conference departure.
Janet Dickelman, of the American Council of the Blind, said afterward in a card to the hotel,
“[Galt House Hotel] staff went above and beyond the call of duty. The housekeeping staff was careful not to move personal items in the rooms and helped frequently to find misplaced items. Everyone from the bellboys to the management was physically helping to guide our attendees from point to point in the hotel, and we appreciated that so much.”
The staff at Galt House Hotel demonstrated their competency and took ownership in circumstances requiring flexibility to meet the needs of a unique customer. This is just one example of how the employees strive for excellence.
Excellence! The people at Galt House Hotel get it, and so do their customers!