One of the things I like to do is just way too much fun. I read name tags. You know the ones most people in the service industry have to wear as part of their uniform. I thank people by name. Bag boys, store clerks, the people at the post office…anyone who has their name out there for the world to see. It’s amazing how much the service improves and the atmosphere changes when you see someone and acknowledge that you see them by using their name. It’s really fun to see the look on some faces. For a moment they stop and look at me and wonder “do I know her? How does she know me?”
I also ask for the manager a lot. Mostly to tell them in front of the employee just how helpful the employee was or how they went out of their way to try to find what I was looking for. So often the only thing a manager hears is complaints and the only thing they hear about their staff is what screw ups they are. I guess you could say I’m a one woman army trying to turn the tide of impersonal into personal.
And yes…people often look at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. But I’ve found my heart.
