Mackay: Never undersell value of customer service

As everyone who is in business knows, the customer is always right. The customer who isn't always right is also not your customer. I have yet to see a business that can survive without customers.

I often hear stories that go both ways on customer service — the good experiences and the "what were they thinking?" moments. I've written and spoken extensively on the fundamental importance of stellar customer service, even when you are not sure the person you are dealing with is ever going to be your customer. And I frequently use anecdotes to illustrate my points.

One of my favorites involves an animal, not a human, customer.

Elephants never forget, or so they say. A man who had gone to the circus as a small boy made a return visit years later. He was sitting in a cheap seat when an elephant came along, reached up into the stand, wrapped his trunk gently about the man and carried him over to deposit him gently in the best seat in the circus tent.

The man turned to his neighbor and said, "The elephant remembered that the last time I was here, years ago, I fed him peanuts."

Just then the elephant came back, lifted his trunk, pointed it straight at the man and blew a stream of water in his face.

"Oh!" the man said. "I forgot I gave them to him in the bag."

In that vein, I like to share this story of a local meat market that has three or four clerks waiting on customers. One of them always has a line of customers waiting for him — even if one of the other clerks is available. One day, a visitor asked the always-busy clerk the reason for his popularity.

"The other clerks," he said, "always put more meat on the scale and then take some away to arrive at what the customer ordered. I always put less on the scale and then add to it. It makes all the difference."

Closer to home, my sister Margie shared an experience she had when flying with a veteran employee of Alaska Airlines.

Margie's seatmate explained that the airline "goes above and beyond to pick employees in all fields that can each be described as a 'people person.' " Its philosophy is that it can train someone to do their job, but it can't train them to be a true people person unless they already are.

Back in Minneapolis, the Star Tribune recently featured Natalie Foltz, a Lyft and Uber driver who wanted to make a difference for her riders, "even if it was just getting them to crack a smile."

Natalie said sharing the notes is the best part of her job. Make sure you and your employees share Natalie's attitude.

Mackay's Moral: It's not about what you can do; it's about what you will do.