Start with the little things
Three years ago, when I moved to Virginia from the Northeast, I went to the closest grocery store to stock my refrigerator. The name of the store was Ukrops. The store was extremely clean and very organized. They asked my bagging preference and took my groceries out to my vehicle. I thought to myself, I guess they do things differently down here in Virginia. I proceeded to take out a few dollars to tip the young man. He told me they cannot accept tips. I told him, “nonsense”, and tried harder to reward him for his help. He told me he could be fired for accepting the tip. The exceptional service had nothing to do with being in Virginia, but everything to do with being at Ukrops.
The point to this story is the difference between Ukrops and the other local grocery stores. Ukrops does all of the small things better than any company I know. All of the employees are more than eager to help or just smile and say hello. They promptly bag all of your groceries while you pay, then take them out and load them into your car. The stores are extremely well stocked with premium items and are exceptionally clean. After having to go to another grocery store out of necessity, I will never go anywhere besides Ukrops. I will pay an extra few cents per item for better service, premium selections and a much more pleasant experience.
In the workplace, anybody can stand out by just doing the small things better than the next person. Most of these things are common sense, but you would be surprised at how many people disregard them. Staying with the Ukrops theme, below is my bakers dozen list of examples:
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Always try to be positive and smile. Nobody likes the company of someone who’s miserable all of the time.
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Be helpful by going out of your way to solve someone’s problem rather than add to it.
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Treat everyone as a customer with the respect you would like to receive.
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Answer the phone when people call. You never know who it might be. You would be surprised at how many people just let calls go to voicemail.
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Return emails and voicemails well within 24 hours.
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Under-promise and over-deliver.
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Dress not for the position you have but the one you aspire to have.
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When people ask for something, try to deliver what they need as soon as possible. People ask for things because they need them.
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ALWAYS do the right thing! Integrity should never be compromised, period!
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Take accountability for mistakes, learn from them and never make the same mistake again.
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Always strive to be exceptional.
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Take time to think strategically. Too often we get caught up in day-to-day tasks.
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Set and be the example!
By doing these small things each and every day, not only will you stand out from everyone else, but you will be more valuable to the organization and team.
Most Commented Posts
March 14th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[...] is titled, “Seductive Analytics“, posted on February 12th. In two previous posts, Start with the little things and 5 C’s to successful management, I mention the importance of integrity. The quote below is [...]
April 7th, 2007 at 2:10 am
[...] an earlier post, I wrote about how Ukrops delivers excellent service with high-quality products and many companies [...]