My first job was cutting my neighbors grass. Two acres that took about 2 ½ hours to cut, I was paid $7. At 10 years old that 7 dollars was a fortune! Mrs. Todd was my first customer. I learned how she liked her grass cut but more importantly I learned why that was important to her. She liked to look out her kitchen window at the long lawn and see the straight lines of the mower because that is how her son had cut it. At 10 years old I did not fully understand why it was important just that it was.
In our world today, service is constantly being redefined. The way service is delivered is changing at every turn of technology. All of this is good, but I propose that we always stop and ask ourselves (and our organization) what is important to our customer and why. We might not always fully understand their WHY but when we take time to consider this, put in that extra effort we will foster a relationship of trust and loyalty, yes that still does exist and it works.
Mrs. Todd was my customer for 6 years. That one lawn grew into my first business, cutting grass and landscaping for over 30 customers every year. Some wanted straight lines some did not, and some did not care. No matter their preferences and whys, they knew I cared to ask. That’s just common sense!
