The cheery barista's button read, "I love Thanksgiving." He wore it, he said, because he doesn't like the growing marginalization of this awesome festival of food and family sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas.
He shared this pleasant banter while maintaining good eye contact, getting our orders right and moving us along at an appropriate pace to accommodate the guy behind us, whom he also was keeping his eye on.
The cheery barista had no idea his skills were being dissected (and praised) by one of the Twin Cities' experts on a largely lost concept called customer service.
Remember customer service?
Jeannette Grace does. And she's making it her life's work to bring it back — to Mom-and-Pops, big box stores and everything in between, including your cubicle.
"We're surprised when people do their job, isn't that sad?" said Grace, a high-energy training and development consultant who teaches "The Art of Customer Service" for clients, including community colleges throughout the Twin Cities.
Mastering that art might mean a smile and a genuine welcome that doesn't sound like Siri. It's asking enough questions to learn what you need, then walking you to it. It's calling you by your name.
If a problem arises, it's saying, "I am sorry." Or, "I understand that our website can be confusing." Or, "Here's what we can do," because well-trained employees work for managers who give them latitude to own, and solve, the problems in front of them.
