You receive inspiration from a variety of places. Often times the best advice is from someone or somewhere you least expect it. That is the case for me today - thought provoking inspiration from George Carlin and from a column on ESPN.com.
George Carlin was an iconic comedian. As a little kid, I remember listening to my oldest brother’s Class Clown album from Carlin, laughing at but not thoroughly understanding the Hippie-Dippie Weatherman and 7 Words You Can’t Say On TV routines. I didn’t know much about the five time Emmy winner, so it was interesting to me reading about such a legend that has been gone since 2008.
The Matthew Berry article celebrates the 60th anniversary of Carlin’s first TV appearance and then eventually dives into NFL Fantasy Football picks. But in between is a great nugget on customer service that I think everyone can learn from.
Carlin, according to the account from Berry who was a personal assistant for him back in the early 1990’s, always signed autographs, took the photos and was gracious about doing it for fans.
Carlin said, "I always do it. No matter what. Look, it's 30 seconds out of my life. And now those people had a good experience. And the next time my name comes up, for the rest of their lives, they'll say, 'Yeah, I met Carlin once. He was nice.' I'd much rather that than a lifetime of 'Yeah, I bought all that guy's albums and then he wouldn't even sign my hat. That guy was a jerk.' Thirty seconds of my time for a lifetime fan? I'll make the deal every time."
Customers can be a pain, and they can also be wrong. I’m not a fan of the old phrase, “The customer is always right.” They’re not always right, but they are always your customer. And if you treat them correctly, they will become brand ambassadors for your company. Next time that customer is driving you to the brink of yelling, repeat those words from Carlin: “Thirty seconds of my time for a lifetime fan.”
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet my share of celebrities over the years, especially sport stars. And as I reflect, Carlin was absolutely right. I have a much lower impression of some - for instance a certain quarterback for the Super Bowl winning Chicago Bears team, than I do for someone like long-time baseball coach for the Tampa Bay Rays Tom Foley. And it all stems from the brief encounter I had with each of them.
When you work on your business, you have to have a solid customer service plan. Yes, you need to do your best with each interaction because that’s just a part of the short term expectation an immediate process of business. But the value of that exchange, if done properly can have a lifetime of benefits.
Just like George Carlin said.
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