Customer Service Anyone?

Sir, may I help you? How can I serve you today? Is there anything I can do to make your stay any better? Would you like that to go? Is everything tasting good today?

Vs.

Hang on while I get somebody... I am on break. Sorry, but we don't do refunds. No that is not included in the advertised special... you need to read the fine print. Sir, there are people waiting in line for a seat are you almost done?

Customer service. We are all familiar with it, both the good and the bad. I am one who is hyper-sensative to it. Why? Because it is what I have done since I got my first official job delivering newspapers for the Tigard Times.

I've worked retail, I've been a product rep, I've been a missionary, and now I am one of the forefront voices for a manufacturer in a tough industry. In retail I've sold clothes, donuts, gas & beer & cigarettes, shoes, cameras, text books, gadgets, and numerous other things. Throughout my experience I have learned the right and wrong on how to treat people and react to situations. But the key to my education on how to treat people came from my parents. As a child they drilled into my being the Golden Rule. I know you all know it... "treat others how you want to be treated." It is by this rule that I observe, judge, and rate those that provide me with customer service. And it is how I treat those that I deal with at work on a daily basis.

So this all boils down to my reason for this post. Lately I have made an observation about one industry that has consistently good customer service. Coffee shops. Consistent, excellent, top quality customer service. One of my favorite stops is Sip City in Newberg, the city in which I work. This is a locally owned drive up shop located in the parking lot of an auto parts store. The ladies that work this shop are great. Most know me as a regular, call me by name, and often have my 20 oz. latte ready by the time I make it through the line of cars. Lately they have had some new people join the team, which at first made me nervous, but then I am comforted by one of the veterans peeking through the window and pointing me out as one of their best customers. Don't get me wrong... I don't go everyday... but barely once a week... yet I am "one of their best customers". Those are just the right words to make me feel valued and appreciated, not taken for granted. Great work ladies.

It doesn't seem to matter if I am at Sip City, Dutch Bros., any given Starbucks, or a local coffee shop in any city, the customer service is top notch. I am given my choice of coffee with a quick, smart conversation and a sure smile. The few times I've complained about my coffee not tasting right or being too cool it has been quickly remedied with a new cup with out question or hesitation. That is great service.

Thank you mom and dad for instilling in me the golden rule as I am doing likewise with my children. It is better to kill somebody with kindness than to shoot them with a dirty look.

To all you brave people in the service industries I salute you. And I beg you to heed the Golden Rule as you approach your boss... the customer.