Do you think your employees and your customers know the difference between a good experience and a bad one?
Do you think that the cumulative effect of those experiences create the stories told about you internally and externally?
If you don’t think experiences lead to stories, and stories impact your culture and brand then I would encourage you to listen to the following story:
I live in San Diego, California and routinely work out running the hills of Torrey Pines. After a run one day, I was stretching in front of The Lodge at Torrey Pines where a couple who must have been in their 70?s were each in rockers sipping a beverage watching the sunset.
I wasn’t trying to listen in on the conversation, however I did catch some interesting dialogue.
The wife looked at the husband and said, “Sam, thank you so much for bringing me to this lovely place for our 50th anniversary.”
The husband doesn’t say anything for several moments and then says, “Of course, dear.”
He then does the most bizarre thing that catches me off guard.
He looks at this wife directly in her eyes, takes his cane off the arm rest of the rocker and hits her in the shins with his cane.
She screams in alarm and says, “What was that for?”
He said, “As much as I love you, that was for 50 years of bad sex!”
As I am trying to sneak away without them noticing me stretching behind them, I hear another “WACK!” of the cane coming across the shins. This time, however, it was the wife who had struck the husband in the shins.
He said, “Marsha, what was that for?”
She said, “that was for knowing the difference.”
Today, more than ever, our employees and customers know the difference between exceptional experiences, and those that are not.
More than ever, these experiences and stories can be shared quickly and widely with the internet and social media.
The best organizations with legendary service create exceptional experiences for their employees, who in turn, create exceptional experiences for their customers.
Let’s hope your experiences are exceptional.
P.S.
Remember, your culture and your brand are nothing more than the cumulative effect of the stories being told about you. Experiences lead to stories. The cumulative effect of those stories will either make or break you. Don’t make the mistake of thinking people will not notice and share the experiences they are having internally and externally.
