Take Pride in All You Do

Take Pride in All You Do

-       by Pete Zdanis

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work" – Aristotle

I like candy.

So, during a recent visit to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, we stopped in at a candy store to get some of that irresistible salt water taffy that only tastes good when you buy it within a few hundred feet of the Atlantic Ocean.

While browsing the counter, I came across my absolute favorite candy – fruit flavored jellies.

So, we bought a pound of the jellies along with our salt water taffy.

The sales person was pleasant enough. They asked if we wanted all of one flavor of the jellies, or if we would like an assortment of all flavors.

We chose the assortment. The sales person took some of each of the six available jelly flavors, weighed them, put them all together in a paper bag, and off we went with our purchase.

Well, as it turned out, the fruit flavored jellies were really good. So, we thought we would return to the candy store and pick up some more before we left for home, and we did just that a couple of days later.

This time, there was a different person behind the counter. They were as pleasant as the first sales person we dealt with, but this buying experience was different. Very different.

After asking if we wanted any particular flavors, or an assortment, they said that they would have them ready for us in a few minutes.

We were browsing around the store, and the sales person soon called to us that our order was ready.

Here’s where the “different” part comes in….

This time, the jellies were not just tossed together in a paper bag.

The jellies were in a box.

Not only were they in a box, the box was lined with waxed paper.

The jellies were also arranged by flavor, in neat rows of the same flavor.

AND, the sales person wrote the names of each flavor on the waxed paper!

How cool is that?

Now, buying a pound of fruit flavored jellies is not exactly a life-changing purchase, but the pride and care that the second sales person demonstrated in their customer service really struck me.

Wouldn’t it be great if we always received excellent customer service like this?

Even more important, how different would your life be if you took the same pride in everything you do, and demonstrated the same care in your relationships with family, friends, customers and prospects?

Would anyone care for a fruit flavored jelly? The cherry flavored ones are the bomb!