Don’t You Love It?
By: Jan Bolick
In this rough, tough, seemingly heartless, bottom-line oriented world of strategizing for survival through takeovers, layoffs and budget cuts, don’t you love it when people do business with heart?
They seem to love their work. They get the job done. They really care. They make you feel good. They warm your heart doing business with heart.
Below are a few classic stories about doing business with heart. I share them with 3 hopes.
Hope #1 is that you will read and share them with co-workers, family members and friends.
Hope #2 is that you will share some stories of your own - and encourage others to do the same.
By the way – if you hold a regular meetings of any kind - sharing heart stories can be a great addition to your agenda. It sets a positive mood for the meeting and beyond. Get details for Ready-2-Go Meeting segment.
Hope #3 is that you will join me in thanking people around you who do business with heart. You can do this verbally or with a handwritten note or with one of our Heart Cards.
Spreading the word and spreading appreciation for doing business with heart is so very important now more than ever. Because the more people do business with heart….the more people will do business with heart. And as more people do business with heart…even more people will do business with heart.
Warming hearts everywhere by doing business with heart.
Okay – it’s story time. Here are a few classic examples of people doing business with heart.
Story #1 – About Antwon
At the Marriott in Atlanta, I couldn’t help but overhear a customer yelling at Antwon who worked as a bellman there. And couldn’t help but notice that Antwon stayed calm through all the ranting and raving.
When asked how he managed to do that, Antwon laughed and said, “I get lots of practice.”
He grew more serious as he said, “I try to rise above it. I figure if I be nice to them, then maybe it will make their day better. And maybe later they will think about it and be nicer to the next guy.”
Thank you, Antwon for doing business with heart.
Story #2 – About C.H. Russell
C.H. ran a trucking company and was as passionate as we were about not just meeting, but beating our delivery deadlines.
When we had a job for him to deliver, he would take off right after loading and drive straight through to Kentucky, or Iowa or whatever the destination, arriving early the next morning, just in time for the recipient’s loading dock to open.
Once he helped them unload the truck (another unusual service), he would call us to announce in his celebratory voice, “Mission complete!”
It was not unusual for our customers to call us after C.H.’s departure to say, “That’s some trucking company you’ve got there!”
We admire the way C.H. did business with heart.
Story #3 – About Kermit & Company at Whole Foods
Kermit used to work at Wellspring Grocery (now Whole Foods) in Chapel Hill. He rescued our dog, Hurley, who had run away from home, gotten all the way to Whole Foods and then got hit by a car in front of the store.
When store employees couldn’t reach us by telephone, Kermit took Hurley to the vet and waited there until we arrived.
Anna, the store manager and several other employees called us that day and for about a week afterwards to check on Hurley’s condition.
We continue to be grateful that they all did business with heart.
Story #4 – About a Great Landlord
It snowed the other day and the landlord actually came out and shoveled the walkway himself!!!
The tenant/business owner was so impressed and appreciative that she decided to re-sign the lease (she had been a bit on the fence). And she called a friend about taking the empty space next door….because unlike many landlords who are never around and hardly seem to care…this landlord does business with heart.
For more stories, go to:
Additional stories have been shared in the comments section below. I hope you will join in. Include your e-mail address, in case we have questions for you! Don’t worry though – your e-mail address won’t be viewable by the public – unless you want it to be.
Also – in case you haven’t looked at them – here’s a link to read more about Heart Cards. Whether you use our Heart Cards to do it or not, we hope you will say thank you to those who do business with heart.
©2009 – Business Class Inc
Other Resources to Help Establish, Grow & Nurture a Culture of Doing Business with Heart :
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Don’t you love it? - a collection of stories
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Heart Cards – to help you nurture the “heart” culture
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Team Retreats & Coaching Programs to help you establish, grow and nurture a “heart” culture. Workshops also available upon request.
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I teach at a public high school in Washington, DC. I am convinced that our custodial staff consists of some of the warmest men in the city. They arrive before the rest of the staff, stay later, and brightly greet us all. Going above the call, they act as mentors and coaches for the students of our school. Throughout the day they can be found counseling students and checking up on them in class.
The “Saturday Scholars” committee held a meeting to discuss incentives to boost student attendance to this weekend tutorial program. Our custodial foreman was in attendance to discuss building issues. While we brainstormed, he chimed in that he would be happy to bring his grills and host a cookout when the weather warmed up.
One Saturday, while our students were working diligently in the classroom, thick snowflakes started to fall. Rather than rushing to push everyone out of the building, they opened the gym for an hour long pick-up basketball game. They waited with the last students to be picked up by parents, cleared the parking lot, and shoveled the inches of snow from the tops of teachers’ vehicles.
The dedication of the custodial staff at my school stems not from any contractual obligation, but resonates more deeply with these men. They are inherently kind. Aside from their responsibilities to the structure, it seems that they are motivated to make life more pleasant for their colleagues and the students at Phelps High School. I am so thankful not only for my bright and gleaming classroom and hallways, but for the positive morale embodied in the staff at my school, in particular our custodial team.
Hi Josie –
How wonderful it is for all at Phelps High that the custodial staff does their business with heart! Thank you for sharing! Jan
One Sunday last month Ellen and I took guests to the Five Star Grocery in Saxapahaw for lunch. We had a wonderful meal which is normal.
Several hours later Ellen discovered that her purse was missing. Aside from the credit cards, she had over a hundred dollars in cash in the purse. Since that was the last place she remembered having it, I called and asked the person who answered the phone about it. She had the purse. We drove back to pick it up and everything was there.
Isn’t it wonderful to realize that there are people in business who have so much integrity throughout their organization. It says a lot for their clientele as well.
It is worth a trip to Saxapahaw for their delicious food, but that is not the only special thing about Five Star Grocery.
A District of Columnia resident out to make a few extra dollars in the bad weather offered free assistance to a disabled community member and found they shared common ground. Read the whole story (trudging through snow) from the Washington Post.
Inclement weather has crippled the Washington, D.C. area on this snowy February weekend, but the cold is not limiting the efforts of many to help their neighbors. In their work attempting to plow roads yesterday, snow plow drivers did not honk and hustle pedestrians off of the street. One kind snow plow driver in particular waved and gestured to people in warning that he was spraying sand behind him. When a mother and her small daughter scurried to get around him so that he could continue with his work, he said “You take your time! No need to run.” Even though he wasn’t getting to play, he was patiently sweet to those who were.
Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News ran a page on his blog titled “Tell Us Your Good News”. The aim of this endeavor, which was posted in the Spring of 2009, was to allow viewers to comment on their own personal stories of selflessness in the business setting and life.
One such story involved McCain Foods USA, where a large number of workers have been laid off recently due to outsourcing. Even in such trying times the company managed to run a successful food drive to benefit local food banks. The author goes on to note that she feels very fortunate to work for a company that employs people with heart.
Read this story and more at MSNBC
It is an old cliche that people who do things for others are inherently happier. This is a story from a Harvard Business Review blog about motivation. The story explores the idea of why we do things for other people.
Here it is.
Here is a story of ‘good pebble ripples’ about a British family on holidays in California and a local locksmith who saved their vacation. To read the entire account on customer service and generosity visit http://www.businessballs.com/stories.htm and scroll down till you see the lock and key story.
Paul Newman, creator of Newman’s own, passed away, but his altruistic mission lives on with the help of Julia Roberts. The maker of salad dressings and other natural products has donated over $280 million to charities since 1982. You can learn more about these products on their mission at http://www.newmansown.com/commongood.aspx
Newman’s dream did not pass with his passing, as Julia Roberts and other celebrities make it a priority to dedicate their time to working with children at Newman’s “Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.” This link spotlights the efforts of Roberts and others to give their time to those who are less fortunate: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/08/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main5070920.shtml
One Friday afternoon after 5:30 at VIETRI, wholesaler of handcrafted Italian home products to better stores across the world, the last 3 employees – 3 women – were leaving the company when one caught the phone ringing just as they were shutting off the last lights in the reception area.
A store owner in Georgia said she had a top customer standing beside her who desperately needed 4 place settings of dinnerware shipped overnight to her for her husband’s bosses to come to dinner that Saturday night(the very next day). Could they help her? She was desperate!
” A husband in need? We can do it!” exclaimed the three customer service ladies. They turned on the lights to the warehouse which had been empty since 3 p.m., hand picked the products from the shelves, packed the boxes and hand-wrote labels. Then one of the women drove the boxes to the UPS central shipping warehouse outside Chapel Hill from Hillsborough and shipped the boxes for overnight priority delivery, before she drove home to Mebane for the weekend! They had to invoice their work the next day when the personnel were in place.. and the end consumer was happy that night.
We don’t know if the husband got a raise. We surely hope so!
Husbands to the Rescue:
A wholesaler to better gift stores, VIETRI, received a call from a frazzled store owner who was about to have the biggest event in her history in her small town in central Georgia.
The event was to show her customers from her area that she was now carrying VIETRI and its handcrafted Italian products which she had started displaying 3 weeks before the event and all-day store party. Alas, in the four days right before the event she had been almost bought out of her VIETRI products. Help!
She was desperate to receive many more products…and she needed them in just 24 hours. When VIETRI telephoned her with the cost of shipping 12 large cartons overnight to Georgia, she burst into tears on the phone. “We are a small store, just expanded a bit more, without the money to pay for such an enormous freight charge. Isn’t there ANYONE at VIETRI who could drive the boxes to us? I could even send someone from the store to meet you half way.”
The Customer Service director who was helping the Georgia store owner put the customer on hold and walked into the warehouse to ask the pickers and packers if anyone could drive toward Georgia. No one was free the next day, a Saturday. She asked in the other offices of VIETRI. No one was free. She then telephoned home where she knew her husband was home for the day. “Honey, could you help VIETRI tomorrow..?” After explaining the customer’s need to her husband, he agreed to pick up the boxes from VIETRI that very day, Friday afternoon and drive into the night to the designated McDonald’s at a specified exit off I-40 where he met the store owner’s husband. They moved the boxes from one RV to another and the store owner’s husband drove back to central Georgia and a happy wife.
All of the products were opened and arranged on the store’s shelves the next morning an hour before the store’s Big Event. Husbands to the rescue – and business with heart.
[...] Don’t you love it? - a collection of stories [...]
Susan in San Francisco does business with a BIG heart in my book!
A few days before Christmas 2009 I was surfing online for a cool new 2010 calendar/planner to help me kick off the New Year. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a penchant for polka dots. I found the perfect polka dot planner online and prepared to order it…organization can be stylish!
A few days later I received an email from the online store that said my planner was no longer available. Time for some serious investigating. Armed with a picture of my coveted polka dot planner and the designer’s name I began to dig. When I found that the creator, Susan Eslick, had a website I decided to go straight to the top with a personal email and voicemail. Here is the email thread that ensued and the very happy ending of my own complimentary polka dot planner! Susan may just be my 2010 Angel!
On Dec 23, 2009, at 2:36 PM, “Kristin Tucker” wrote:
Happy Holidays Susan,
I just left you a voicemail and thought I would follow up with an email. I am on a quest to find your 2010 polka dot small pocket magneto diary/calendar. I attached a picture for reference. Sorry to be inquiring at this busy time of year, but my order was rejected at Calendars.com and Amazon.com. I thought I’d go straight to the creator to ask if there are any other suppliers that I could contact to purchase this planner.
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide!
My Best,
Kristin Tucker
Hillsborough, NC
Fri 12/25/2009 10:17 AM
Merry Christmas Kristin,
Yes I have some of these in my studio. I’m out of town through the 4th but can send you one when I return. I love your sleuthing style.
Relax and enjoy you will start the New Year in style with the magneto planner designed by moi.
Cheers!!!
sESent from my iPhone
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 1:25 PM
Hi Kristin,
Happy new year. Are you still interested in this diary?
Please confirm.
susan
_________________________
susan eslick
design direct consult
san francisco, ca
Fri 1/8/2010 1:49 PM
Happy New Year Susan!
Thanks so much for keeping in touch. I am still interested in the polka dot planner. Let me know the preferred method of payment and if I should email or call you with that information. My mailing address is below.
Best to you in 2010!!!
Kristin
On Jan 28, 2010, at 10:26 AM, Kristin Tucker wrote:
Hi Susan!
A fabulous and generous surprise landed on my doorstep this week! Thank you so very much for my polka dot planner!!! 2009 may have been the worst year of my life, but 2010 is already showing promise and excitement. This may sound silly/corny but you’ve just added to that promise of good fortune with your gift to me!
PS…I included a picture so that you can see what a polka dot queen I am!
Cheers to you!
Kristin
Thu 1/28/2010 1:30 PM
Kristin,
You are fabulous. You can never have enough polka dots!
I had the worst year ever too last year. Here’s to the best year ever. You just never know what’s around the corner that will thrill and delight you.
Cheers!
susan
_________________________
susan eslick
design direct consult
san francisco, ca
susaneslick.com
[...] Don’t You Just Love It? is our feature article about Doing Business with Heart. [...]
[...] Don’t you love it? - a collection of stories [...]
[...] Don’t you love it? - a collection of stories [...]
Hi, i would like to acknowledge a dear friend and colleague of mine named Mark Prokop. (View his EBN personal profile here http://elygantthings.ning.com/profile/MarkProkop ) Mark has shown dedication time and time again for his non profit organization Granville. The number of charities and fund drives he has conducted and/or announced. You can’t find to many businesses as busy as Marks. Constantly there are blogs being written and catchy advertisements that keep your attention from beginning to end. Mark is also a people person. I have had talks with Mark that have left me feeling great about what he does and how i have helped him and how he has helped me. Mark always has something positive to say and do. I would love for everyone to visit his personal page which is located at Elygantthings Business Network and leave your positive feedback on what you like about his services. They are truly wonderful.
Stephen
Thanks, Stephen for sharing. Positive people like Mark are to be cherished!
[...] Mr. Doak for doing business (and life) with heart. And thanks to the others whose names we don’t [...]