The Turkey of Customer Service

BY: Kevin James Saunders

The Turkey of Customer Service was standing in line in the grocery store and between my glancing over the magazine headlines of “UNFIT CELEBRITY MOTHER” and “ANOTHER CELEBRITY ADULT FILM”, I found myself peeking at what some of my fellow shoppers were buying.

You can often tell a lot about someone by what they purchase at the grocery store. It can even be a sneak peek into their lives. Well, perhaps a pretend one for those of us with an active imagination. I always think that anyone with blueberries, tofu, and some type of vegetable that I don’t really know, would be a typical Vancouver yoga loving health guru. I imagine that this would be the type of individual that would wake at some awful hour to jog 5k before going into the office. Maybe they passed up their comfortable office chair for a posture-correcting exercise ball. I can imagine myself sitting on the ball and then leaning back in my “thinking” position, only to land on the floor, hitting my head and spilling hot coffee all over myself. I will pass on the bumps and burns during the work day!

Then we have what I like to refer to as the “life of the party” individuals. Usually their cart will consist of frozen juice, frozen fruit, soda, frozen pizza, tortilla chips, salsa, and cheese. Anything that would be able to accommodate an impromptu party including tasty frozen party drinks. They also seem to either have someone shopping with them, or laughing care freely into their telephones with the discussion of the later evening!

This time around, everyone seemed (except one person), to have something in common on their shopping list- TURKEY! It was Thanksgiving and everyone was preparing to cook their own household feast that would entertain their friends and family. It is one of those rare events encouraging everyone to sit lazily around the living room after stuffing themselves full of tryptophan!

One poor soul seemed to have no event to attend, seemed to have been passed by the love of friends, family and turkey alike. The poor soul was me! I had completely forgotten about the holiday and even though I knew there would be Thanksgiving feasts to attend, I now felt like an outcast without a “bird” to call my own! I continued in line and blushed with embarrassment. Maybe I should tell my blueberry and tofu shopper that I was protesting for the fair treatment of turkeys internationally. I could quickly
oculus get onto my phone and speak of how “wickedly fun & awesome” the turkey party was going to be at my friend’s house this year. But no, I was stuck! I was in line with my no-turkey shame.

I started to think of the holidays that we participate in and how we all love the traditions they bring. From the parties and blow toys at New Years to the fireworks on the 4th of July. When we become accustomed to something, it is almost impossible to feel satisfied without everything being in place.

The ways we interact with our customers follow those similar concepts. The standards they become comfortable with, they demand each and every time they return to our business. When the service levels slip, then those “traditions” and comfort levels slip also. When you strive to offer an experience that will IMPRESS, then you must strive for this on every opportunity. So this year, let us be thankful for our customers, but not forget the “Turkey” when they come to visit us.
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