I believe strongly in the importance of paying attention to details\nbecause I know that the details can make the difference between something being\nokay and something being AWESOME. And I always prefer AWESOME!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I once shared a story about an experience that happened when my daughter was 14 years old that shows how the details can make the difference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a Friday night when my daughter came home talking about a new gas station that opened up close to our home.\u00a0 She said, \u201cMom, that new gas station is awesome! The guys that work there are so nice and the gas station is really sweet inside, you have to see it!\u201c I thought it odd that a 14 year old seemed so impressed with a gas station but I shrugged it off until Saturday night when she and I were driving home and she again brought it up saying, \u201cMom, you have to stop at the gas station and see it!\u201c \u00a0I didn\u2019t need gas but we both wanted a fountain drink so even though I didn`t need gas, I thought, what the heck? Maybe I should see for myself what is so special about this gas station\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we pulled up to the gas station around 10pm\nthat night the first thing I noticed was how incredibly well lit up the station\nwas both outside the building as well as inside. With it being really\ndark out it really made it standout nicely all lit up outside. We\nparked and walked into the station convenience store and immediately we were\ngreeted by the man at the desk who was clean cut and professionally dressed (quite\nthe change from some gas station attendants you typically see these\ndays). Another worker walked up and asked if there was anything he could\ndo to help us. He was also clean cut and professionally dressed. He\nsmiled as if he was genuinely happy to help us. I was a little taken back\nas it was just a little gas station store and this was a very atypical reaction\nfrom these workers. We made our way to the slushy machines and I noticed\nhow incredibly clean and organized their store was. Everything was so\nclean and sanitary. I was impressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we went to make our slush my daughter began\nmixing her flavors into one drink while I went with the boring (according to\nher) single flavor myself. As we walked to the counter to pay, the\ngentleman complimented my daughter on her colorful mix of flavors saying, \u201cthe\nbest flavor is if you mix the red and blue slush half and half and add a little\ndrop of mountain dew in it\u201d. He then offered for me to drink half of the\nslush I\u2019d poured in order to make room for me to try the mixed flavor he was\nsuggesting. I declined as I would have felt bad taking more slush but I thanked\nhim for the offer and assured him I would try it the next time. After I finished\npaying the other worker held open the doors for me and my daughter and then he\nstood at the door to watch us get safely into our cars before he waved goodbye. \nI suddenly was reminded of a quote I once heard which stated that \u201cwhen we\nwithhold a compliment from someone who deserves it we are exhibiting\npride\u201d. So I stopped before getting into my car and told the gentleman\nhow impressed my daughter had been with their service when she came home and\nhow she talked about it several times since then. I let him know that I\ncould see why she was so impressed and I thanked him. Then we drove\noff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My daughter was a little embarrassed that I\nshared her thoughts with them so I told her the quote that came into my mind\nabout pride and explained to her that it is important for us to let others know\nwhen they do a good job, otherwise we are being prideful. She understood\nand agreed. When we got home both she and I shared with my husband and\nson how great our experience had been at the gas station. My daughter\nsaid \u201cI can\u2019t believe that for two days I have been talking about a gas\nstation, but they are just that awesome!\u201d I thought about her comments\nall day the next day. She was right \u2013 it was amazing that we had so much\nconversation over a gas station, but the fact was that we had been WOW\u2019d with\nan amazing customer experience. Those two men had been great at customer\nservice. Not just by how they acted, but also by the great lighting that\nmade us feel safe at night and the clean store they kept and the professional\nway they looked. Then on top of all of that you add the way they treated\nus and were so genuinely excited to help us out and they created a WOW customer\nexperience for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
THEY CARED ABOUT THE DETAILS. They cared about\nthe lighting. They cared about the cleanliness. They cared about every little\ndetail of our customer service experience. They understood how to be AWESOME!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Put your heart into the details because that is how you get from just okay to AWESOME!<\/p>\n\n\n\n