I just returned from a period in London, where I stayed close to Kensal Green stop. It’s a small station, with less transits than the bigger central stations.
Here works Andrew, a wonderful black man in his sixties.
[Job]
Every morning he oversees transits and tickets, shows tourists possible ways and problems
[Positive can-do attitude]
and recommends the best route, giving everyone, commuters and not, a sincere “Mornin’, have a nice day!”.
Each station has a white-board for service information; Kensal Green’s one was often unused, there being little communication urgent to give.
[Extra-mile & Love]
Andrew every morning goes beyond, giving magic and love to commuters: with the help of a ruler, he writes his calligraphed aphorisms to start the London day in a positive mood.
One morning I stopped by to thank him. We chatted for a few minutes and he thanked me for having stopped (!).
At the end, he greeted me with a smiling and very human “Good luck darlin’.”
Here’s what this story taught me and why I loved his approach, that can be applied to many areas:
- Make an extra effort and put your touch everywhere, in your job, in your web or blog post, in your interactions. Maybe it won’t change anything but maybe it will. It’s up to you.
- Be inspired and positive. Life is hard, outside (and sometimes inside) it’s raining, but never mind: go, inspire and smile.
- Stay human. We have plenty of robots and automation, nevertheless we are human beings who interact with other human beings.
- If you do it, do it well. Make calligraphy instead of a scribble, even if it takes time. Done is better than perfect, but half done is far away from well done.
- Be consistent. Freshen-up, change, adequate your message always staying true to yourself and your mission. People and customers (that are people) will appreciate it.
- Thanks. Even if it’s you who is giving something, thank people for their feedback.
