A redwood is one of nature’s most impressive sights. It can stretch to over 350 feet tall and its trunk can grow large enough to drive a car through. It garners jaw-dropping looks of wonderment and adoration. In short, people think redwoods are truly remarkable.

On the other hand, apple trees are pretty standard fare. They’re not very big and the branches have a tendency to stretch out in awkward ways. You probably wouldn’t even recognize an apple tree unless it was bearing its fruit. The fruit that it bears every fall, right on schedule, in impressive volume.

We like to admire and promote the big and impressive things in our organizations. Sure, fancy retail stores and beautiful buildings contribute to the customer experience, but that’s not where the real value comes from.

The real fruit of a customer experience comes from the little things that separate you from the competition. Maybe it’s a reliable customer service agent that makes people smile. Maybe it’s a boring product that provides a crucial function for many of your customers. Maybe it’s a front-line manager that does whatever it takes to exceed customers’ expectations.

So what’s more remarkable, the redwood or the apple tree?

Is to be willing to do what others will not.

Apple was willing to put design in front of features.

Zappos was willing to ship free both ways and put culture before profits.

Amazon was willing to build a platform instead of a product.

The greatest customer service story ever told was about a company willing to do what others were not.

Remarkable doesn’t mean successful — one doesn’t necessarily lead to the other, but they sure seem to get along well together.

Even the best of us are capable of providing bad service at times. These excuses have rattled around in my head more one than once. What about you?

1. It isn’t part of your job description.
2. You’re overworked and underpaid.
3. The customer is not always right.
4. You had a terrible day and just need to be alone.
5. You don’t have the right tools to deliver great service.
6. Your customers just want a good deal, they don’t care about the experience.
7. The customer is unreasonable and rude.
8. Another department is responsible for what the customer wanted.
9. Your company hasn’t made customer service a priority.
10. Your bonus isn’t based on customer service, so why spend any time on it.
11. The customer didn’t complain, so they must have been happy.
12. You had too much to do and other people were waiting. You couldn’t spend all that time with just one customer.

Every single one of those things will probably be true at one point or another.
Whether you choose to accept them as an excuse is up to you.

Allow me to describe two different restaurants to you.

Restaurant 1 was recently remodeled.
Restaurant 2 was remodeled in 1989.

Restaurant 1 has a fancy looking menu and prices to match.
Restaurant 2 has a coffee-stained piece of paper.

Restaurant 1 has flat screen TVs and granite counter tops.
Restaurant 2 has a crackly sound system and paper placemats.

Restaurant 1 serves something resembling prison food.
Restaurant 2 has great food, especially for the price.

Which venue would get more of your business?

Every touchpoint matters, but the first step to customer loyalty is to consistently deliver on your core business. Covering it up with gimmicks won’t fool anyone.

I’m willing to bet you aren’t designing the next big thing. Your company probably isn’t being raved about in the news. You might not even care about the product your company sells.

How does that affect your passion in what you do?

Most people’s passion is derived from working on something (or for someone) they’re passionate about. The only problem with that is you’ll always be let down. The product will eventually lose its flair. The company will hit hard times. The boss you’ve always looked up to will take another job.

You’re guaranteed to end up disappointed when your passion is dependent upon the success or prestige of something else.

Of course there’s an alternative: Shift your passion inward.

Seth Godin once wrote,

It’s more important that you be passionate about what you do all day than it is to be passionate about the product that is being sold.

Here’s some free advice; hopefully worth more than the price…

Be the one at your office that other employees talk about. Not because you’re that weird guy who eats candy for lunch and rarely showers. No, please don’t be that guy.

Be the one that’s constantly raising the bar for what service should be. Be the one that takes ownership and isn’t afraid to say, “Here I Am.” Be different. Set the example. Stick out.

Derive your passion from what you do and how you do it. Whether you’re working construction or designing Apple’s next gadget, it takes passion to produce great products, not the other way around.

Photo credit to opensourceway