You have two options. You can blend in with the norm or you can soar above the rest.

Great customer service will put a company within a class by itself. But, the craving to offer great customer service isn’t something in which we are born. It’s a selection we succeed. The subsequent story is one that you may have heard before, however it bears repeating.

Harvey Mackay, a well-known writer and motivational orator, recounts a fantastic story concerning a taxicab driver, who demonstrated this point. Harvey was waiting in line for a ride on the air port. Whenever a cab pulled ahead, the original feature Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished with a dazzling shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black pants, the taxi driver jumped out and rounded the vehicle to ajar the back passenger door for Harvey. He gave Harvey a laminated card and said, "I’m Wally, your driver. While I am loading your baggage inside the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement." Shocked, Harvey examined the card. It read: Wally’s Mission Statement: ‘Get my customers to their destination while in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible inside a friendly environment,’

This blew Harvey away … especially while he noticed that the interior of the cab matched the outer surface. Faultlessly clean!

As he slid behind the steering wheel, Wally asked, "Want a cup of coffee? I’ve a thermos of regular and one of decaf." Harvey said as a joke, "No, I’d prefer a soft drink." Wally smiled and then said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and diet Coke, water and orange juice."

Caught by surprise, Harvey said, "I’ll take a diet Coke."

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

As they ended up pulling away, Wally handed Harvey a different plastic-coated card. "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio." Then, as if that weren’t plenty, Wally explained to Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfy for him. After that he advised Harvey on the best route to his destination at that point of day. He also let him know that he’d be delighted to chitchat and inform him about several of the sights or, if Harvey favored, to leave him in his particular thoughts.

"Tell me, Wally," Harvey asked the driver, "Have you always served customers like this?"

Wally smiled into the rear-view mirror. "No, not forever. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My former 5 years driving, I spent most of my time disagreeable akin to all of the remainder of the cabbies do. Then I heard on the radio one day that if you get out of bed in the morning expecting to have an awful day, you will not often disappoint yourself. He said, ‘Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and grumble. Eagles soar above the crowd.’

"That hit me right between the eyes," said Wally. "That was actually talking about me. I was continuously quacking and grumpy, thus I decided to vary my attitude and grow to be an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty; the drivers were unfriendly; and the purchasers were unhappy. Thus I determined to craft various corrections. I put in a couple at a time. When my visitors responded well, I did more."

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

"It absolutely has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my takings from the earlier year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You have been lucky to get me today. I do not sit at cabstands any longer. My purchasers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I cannot pick the person up myself, I get a dependable cabbie friend to do it, and I receive a portion of the action." Wally was exceptional. He was managing a limo agency out of a Yellow Cab.

Harvey probably shared this account with over fifty taxicab drivers over the years, and only two got the proposal and ran with it. On every occasion he goes to their cities, he gives them a call. The remainder of the drivers quacked akin to ducks and told him all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what he recommended. Wally the taxi driver made an uncommon selection. He decided to finish quacking akin to a duck and began soaring akin to an eagle.

How about us? How do we accomplish it? Absolutely the way Wally did … in going the additional mile:

• Each time position your best foot forward: Be neat, fresh, and well groomed. Have breath that smells fresher than home-made cookies. Show a large smile and display individual warmth.

• Take time to get acquainted: Show your purchaser by word and outlook that you understand them opening the customers' residence to you. Be pleasant, but not familiar. Do not hasten the person. Take as long as they require getting comfortable with you before you go to your sales presentation.

• Stay knowledgeable: Know the Company. Be on familiar terms with the services, and constantly make sure the service you offer is the greatest fit for the prospect. Never advertise a policy simply to make a sale.

• Be accessible when your client has a claim: Procure an individual interest. Make sure the claim is handled swiftly and smoothly and provide any support considered necessary. Care for them like your own mom and dad.

• Keep in contact: Mail birthday cards, holiday cards, etc., to clients so they identify throughout the year that you appreciate them. Acknowledge weddings, new infants, graduations, funerals, and other family events. Let them recognize their families are significant to you too. Make them feel special at all opportunity.

We can all acquire a message from Wally! Take into account, ducks quack, but eagles soar.