Today I had to run errands. Oddly enough, I sometimes enjoy Saturdays filled with quick drives to different places. Maybe it’s the time in the car spent rocking out to 90s alternative without the disapproving looks from my daughters in the rear view mirror, or maybe it’s the blissful surge of accomplishment I feel as I check off items from my long-ignored to-do list. Whatever it is, lately, I am loving the Saturdays!
One of my stops today was the bank, a place I rarely visit thanks to mobile apps. I had to do a wire transfer for one of the foundations and I had been putting it off for what I thought was a little over a week but turned out was nearly a month. I was actually excited to go this time though, as the last time I visited this particular PNC branch, one of the tellers was so kind and so thoughtful to each and every customer that I found myself studying her and taking notes.
“This is great customer service.” I quietly told myself. And as she assisted another teller in completing several complex transactions for me, I continued to be amazed with her demeanor. She was calm and clear as she taught him the steps (lots of steps!) and patient when he made mistakes. In between assisting him, she greeting customers BY NAME at the drive-through and even had little personal anecdotes for nearly every one.
“Back from vacation, I see!” She said and waved and out the window.
“She is the best person at being with the people,” I thought.
And I almost said nothing. I almost left after I was done signing all my documents. But then, I paused and looked around to notice that she was pretty much the only person working there that displayed this impressive behavior. So instead of just chalking it up to a good experience for me, I decided to speak up.
You see, once my friend Chuck told me I was the best at giving compliments. And I felt like that was one of the best compliments I could’ve ever gotten. I love making people smile. I love telling them why they are uniquely awesome at something, or how a color works so well with their eyes or how they always say the funniest things. I love to tell the people I love what I love about them. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I try to do it every single day.
So, as I stood there in the bank, wires done and ready to leave, I decided, I should do the same for this woman. After all she was clearly unique awesome at this. And maybe no one had told her that today, or this week, or maybe ever. And she should know. She should hear that she was making such a difference by smiling and knowing names and taking it slow while people were learning.
“Excuse me,” I began, “Are you the Branch Manager?” I asked.
“No, I am not. Is everything ok, because I can get you a manager?” She responded.
“Everything is actually awesome,” I told her, “You should be the Branch Manager. If I had service from this bank like I had from you today, I wouldn’t be switching banks right now.”
She was nearly speechless.
“You are wonderful at your job. You are just wonderful with people. I hope that this place knows how lucky they are to have you.” I continued.
I spoke loudly and looked around, taking note of the other customers and tellers who could hear me.
She thanked me and I left.
Today, I had to go back to that branch because I messed up one of the transfers. I came in and she recognized me right away. She brought me over to an empty desk to help me fix the errors. We talked a bit about the work I did with the two foundations. She was sunny and warm and just as helpful and engaged as I remembered.
“Thank you, by the way” she said. “I am now about to be the Assistant Branch Manager. When you made those comments last time, a lot of people heard and told management. And it made a real difference.”
YAY! I wanted to hug her. Because this is the stuff I live for.
This is the part of life where I get to make sure that other humans see how amazing they are in what seem like such simple ways, but which are not simple because they are changing people’s days and moods and hearts and experiences.
Clearly, I am not the reason she is getting promoted. She is. But maybe it took hearing it from an actual customer for her supervisors to recognize just how important she was to the team, and the company. Maybe others had spoken up too and this just happened to be the one time that put the cherry on top. Whatever the case, thank goodness I didn’t just gather up all of my paperwork and leave.
Can we do something together? All of us! Can we do more of this? Can we decide that from this point forward we are going to say all the good things, all the time, out loud.
Tell the barista who makes your coffee how much you love admiring their penmanship on the cup. Tell your coworker how much you look forward to hearing about their dog’s latest antics over lunch. Tell the person ringing you up at the grocery store that they are the fastest ringer who has ever checked you out. Tell all the great people that you get the privilege to encounter every day, just what you think makes them great.
Because, get this. Maybe no one has ever told them these things matter. Maybe no one has ever made them feel like these seemingly simple things are actually awesome day-changers. Because when someone chooses to take the time to be kind, or extra helpful, or when they have really great style or a wicked sense of a humor or any other admirable quality, we should tell them. We should recognize it and celebrate it and let them know that it has touched us.
I believe this changes people, in big and small ways. I believe that when people feel heard and valued, they decide to speak and do more of the good stuff. And God knows we could use a lot more of the good stuff these days.
So…if you choose to do this, tell me about it. Please! Tell me how you celebrated someone, especially a stranger. In doing that, you’re going to really make my day too!
PS: I think you all have amazing hair and beautiful smiles and the cutest toes ever.