Customer Service from a “Quack”

A business man was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a Yellow Cab pulled up, the first thing the business man noticed was the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door.

The cab driver handed the business man a laminated card and said: I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, the business man read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew the business man away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' The business man said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.' Almost stuttering, the business man said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.' Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed the business man another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.' And as if that weren't enough, Wally told the business man that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised the business man of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if he preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' the amazed business man friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?' Wally smiled into the rear view mirror, 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd’.

‘That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy.

So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'' I take it that has paid off for you,' the business man said. 'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. The person telling this story has probably shared this story with more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever he goes to their cities, he gives them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told him all the reasons why they couldn't do any of what he suggested. Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and start soaring like an eagle.

 How about us? Do we quack or do we soar?

It has been said that a man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up...let us do good to all people. That sounds like good advice to me. I’m sure if we all “quacked” a little less, and soared a little more, we’d all be better off and our community would be better because of it.

Thanks to Sandy (Holifield) for sharing this story with me and I think it fits perfectly with what we as community leaders and business leaders face when looking as how we need to serve our customers better.