I had something pretty cool happen recently. Someone told me that I “just made their day.” Here’s the coolest part…
…it was a stranger
…it involved public recognition
…and it leveraged his company’s rewards program for the public to use
Wow! Right?
Practicing and Preaching
I’ve spent many years proclaiming the power of recognition. We all know it’s an important tool for building relationships, trust, loyalty, and engagement. Sometimes I’m better at practicing it than preaching it, but I never lose sight of how impactful it can be.
The Story
Some of you may know that my professional life involves a heavy amount of travel; and with that, comes a familiarity with the staff of Southwest, the carrier I use. Well, one of the gate agents in Tampa is not only incredibly positive, but he is consistently positive every single day.
Let’s face it….gate agents don’t get much glory. They don’t sing you the safety instructions or bring you cans of water. They are stuck announcing flight delays or gate changes.
Absolutely no glory whatsoever.
Well, Southwest has a rewards program whereby they send reward coupons to customers like me (think drink coupons, but targeted at recognizing their team members.) The coupons are personalized to me as a frequent customer, and allows me to recognize their team.
How good is that?
Which leads to his comment as I was walking by him to board the plane.
How About You
Are you doing more preaching than practicing when it comes to recognition in your organization? It’s funny how it actually works out. His response made my day too.
I’d love to hear from you.
No Excuses.
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