Don't be a Duck, Be an Eagle

(Excerpt from The Simple Truths of Service)

No one can make you serve customers well. That’s because great service is a choice. Years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that 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 for Harvey. He handed my friend 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, Harvey 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 Harvey 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.”

My friend 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, Harvey 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 my friend 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 Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey 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 Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

“Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?”

Wally smiled into the rearview 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,” Harvey 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. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. How about you?

A Quick Note to the Eagle's Star

KNOW THAT I AM STILL WAITING...

I missed you today.

It saddens me to think that we're back to square one.

Timelines

For P.

Six months, sixteen days. My eyes are lined and my lips are glossed, my face is luminously aglow. It is a familiar drive down Katipunan Avenue. The sights and sounds haven’t changed, not much, but I know I have and so have you.

There is a familiar knot in my gut as I look back to the fifteen months past when I was yours and you were mine, though now I ask, was I totally yours and were you ever mine?

Fifteen months. I built castles in the air and thought you would make them come true, but songs were never sung and promises were never kept and the castles vanished into thin air.

Tonight, where the eagle met the star, I thought a smile would give them light. Not much was said, no goodbyes, just a “thank you” and a smile that never brought back the light. And when the eagle descended from the star, I heard her heart say goodbye.

Six months, sixteen days. My eyes are lined and my lips are glossed, my face is luminously aglow. It is a familiar drive away from Katipunan Avenue. I wave to the wind and say goodbye.

January 30, 2009

Thank You

I have been following the blog of a friend. As I was reading it, I realized that she is currently going through what I went through last year. Life as they say is a cycle, a wheel in revolution; it has its ups and downs. She said this season might as well be her “dip” season. I, on the other hand, think that I am on the upswing. Lately though, I have been fearful that this season of my life might end soon (and I don’t want it to because I am sooo enjoying it)…that my own “dip” would come (and I don’t want it…not too soon). But hey, who says it will not come? Who says I will not be tested and disciplined and broken and molded yet again? And why do I have to be fearful when I have survived everything that has been thrown my way with God’s grace? I have always come out stronger and better.

I couldn’t have survived without the help of friends. To those who nursed the wounded eagle, thank you and I love you more (you know who you are). I am over the wounded-ness and am now back with the serenity I once had. To Pastor Dennis who prayed with me for spiritual revival during the prayer and fasting week, thank you! He told me to be joyful and I feel I am. To Tita Virgie who was instrumental in answering a question I had been struggling with, thank you!

I still am not perfect; I still trip every now and then but more are the nights when I can sleep soundly and wake up with a silly smile on my face. I am soaring. Let's all soar!

Isaiah 40:31 (New International Version)
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.