RETA Breeze Jul-Aug 2025

SERVICE

The Shade Tree Mechanic Volume LVII

organization needs training, so they send a consistent, positive message.

So, it’s the little things we say and do.

If they had this other customer in line, this one incident lost him. I’m sure he will be very vocal to his friends and maybe the expedited service will lose one of them, as well. No big deal, there are hundreds of thousands more customers. Right? Sure, but one can become three, and three can become 100, and eventually it will add up. Eventually, it can be terminal for a com pany. Not because of the decision of a CEO, or a board of directors. Not even because of a market downturn. But because of a little thing repeated too often by a front-line employee. An employee who may not understand the impact of their comment. As another example, I was in a retail store the other day where two cashiers were talking to each other, about what they were doing after work. They were going shopping at a competitor’s store. Why should I shop at their store if they don’t? This is a terrible look. The cashiers had no idea the message they were sending. They were very polite and courteous to me, but the underlying message was clear—they thought shopping elsewhere was better. Imagine going into Pizza Hut and seeing a table of people eating while wearing Domino’s Pizza uniforms. How likely would you be to go to Domino’s in the future? Maybe we need more training to be able to understand and prevent these things. Frontline employees need training in what to say and do. Supervisors need training on how to coach their teams. Leadership of the

I’ve heard that phrase all my life, but it’s true—maybe never truer than in the expedited service line at the Detroit airport. If you’re not familiar with expedited service line (I’m purposely not using the service’s name), it’s a paid service that allows you to take a shortcut through security at major airports. Well, on one particular day, the line was long and slow. Another customer politely asked why the normal line was moving faster than the expedited service line. He was told, in a very curt manner, that he could use any line he liked, but he would need to let them know if he was going to a different line. He took his ID, his wife, his kids and went to another line. My guess is that the expedited service lost a customer. Why? Because of a little thing. A tone and a curt comment. I love the expedited service, and I’ll be a customer for a long time. If you travel through major cities, it is a big time-saver. My experience has been very good. They helped me when I lost my ID and was trying to get home for Christmas. They moved me to the head of the line when they noticed my flight was boarding. They even carried my bag when I was sick from chemo, but was afraid to stop working. They’ve done the little things that I really appreciate, always without being asked. They’ve done the little things to assure that I am a loyal customer. It doesn’t take a lot of time to be polite and understanding.

We are all ambassadors every day. Whether in business, in life or in RETA-RSES. How good are you at this? Ambassadors can’t afford to have a bad day; bad days should be quiet days. If you can’t be positive, be quiet. On the flight following the incident in the airport, I happened to watch the movie “Crazy Rich Asians.” Part of the story deals with how a prospective bride is treated by the potential groom’s family. So, this got me thinking: Do little things affect family relationships, as well? Sure, they do. How do you treat potential or current family members? Are you a good ambassador for your family? How about your work family? relations—I think a 10:1 ratio would be better; a 1000:0 ration would be ideal. So please, think about what you are going to say before you say it. Think about who is going to hear you say it. If it doesn’t sound good in your head, it shouldn’t come out of your mouth. I need to do better. Everyone is welcome under the Shade Tree, but I need to make sure my speech and actions reinforce that. The shade tree grows outside of the little town of Broughton, Ohio. Where everyone is always welcome, the beer is always cold, and something is always needin fixin. A popular TV commercial taught me the 4:1 compliment-to-complaint ratio for good

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