Makes you think

[BirdbyBird]

I hadn't seen this one before...a apologize if it is old news....but I like it. One of the English Cocker people forwarded it to me.


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No one can make you serve customers well.....that's because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey ..

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card.. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment...

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem I have a cooler
up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice..' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always.. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd..'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their
drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting..

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you... The ball is in our hands! A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up... let us do good to all people.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans. SORROW looks back, WORRY looks around, and FAITH looks UP... "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." And while in the storm, give it to God and let him handle it.

[Bethers]

I've heard similar, but never this one with the cab driver. Great story. Those are the emails I like getting - and that I hope are real stories. But even if not, they are great and can teach us a lot. I went to an "Attitude is Everything" seminar once - met the man who did the seminar and still remember it clearly - and will always believe it, even on the days when my attitude isn't good - I know I have only myself to make changes - by starting with my own attitude.

[VickieP]

Thanks for a great story, Tina. I think we all need reminders now and again of inspiration and how we can change our own lives.

[retiredhappy]

Loved the story. Negative breeds negative. We all need to remember to be positive.

[snowball]

I have read this one and feel the same regardless if it's true or not it has a lot of great thoughts and we are the only one that change us
sheila

[mitch5252]

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Hadn't seen that before. Loved it!
Thanks!

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[CanineCaravan]

Loved that, thank you

[sharon]

Thanks Tina...I think you just pointed out the reason my BF has really been getting on my nerves lately...I soar (most of the time), he quacks (most of the time). Point taken.

[Bethers]

For some reason this inspiring story made me remember a musical I saw about 10 years ago - called "Honk". It's a take-off on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Ugly Duckling" - as a musical and really making one think about tolerance. I laughed and cried and enjoyed that play so much. I took 2 friends of mine to see it - we'd never heard about it - and it really inspired us. Many places say it's a play for children and their parents - but much of the mesage would be lost on children, and I really believe it was made for adults - at least the production I saw was. The writer of it directed the performance I saw - and again, it was awesome. But I remember, the Honk of the "ugly duckling" was a loud discordant sound, while the others were so musical and sweet. Anyway, I was with 2 friends at an inspirational meeting and after a group of 10 or so of us went to eat. Someone in the restaurant was doing something bigotted, and without thinking, loudly, both Bobbie and I "Honked" in that loud discordant sound from the play. It cracked us up - made everyone in our group ask what was going on - as well as attracting lots of attention - and we were laughing so hard that Kenny, who was managing to contain himself had to tell the story of the play.

Here's some info on it for those interested:

Honk

Make sure to click on some of the other pages about the play - at least if you're interested

[Redetotry]

Great post Tina, thanks. It always helps to remind ourselves to do an attitude adjustment check-up.

Sharon, your last few posts sound like you might be ready to give someone an adjustment

[deborah12060]

I loved that story. Never have heard anything like it before. Makes sense. You create your own reality. Thanks for posting this.

DD

[sharon]

Great post Tina, thanks. It always helps to remind ourselves to do an attitude adjustment check-up.

Sharon, your last few posts sound like you might be ready to give someone an adjustment

Yeah, right upside the head!

[VickieP]

Great post Tina, thanks. It always helps to remind ourselves to do an attitude adjustment check-up.

Sharon, your last few posts sound like you might be ready to give someone an adjustment

Yeah, right upside the head!

Does that mean you'd crack a quack?