The Extra Mile
When I first planned to take my parents to lunch
at an Outback Steakhouse in Little Rock, AR on
Father's Day, all I had in mind was the chance
to honor them, and to get a good meal.
What I actually got...I was unprepared to
receive.
When the menus came, I immediately looked to
see what soft drink logos were listed in the
beverage section. A quick glance revealed
that they are a Coca-Cola establishment.
While I enjoy a wide variety of soft drinks from
several companies (please don't send me your
"hate" mail if you prefer another, or if you
work for another soft drink producer), my hands-down favorite is a
certain PepsiCo product: Mountain Dew.
To those who know me well, this is not a news
flash.
When the waitress came to take our drink orders,
I launched into a playful routine that I normally do
with the wait staff in restaurants in my hometown area. It
goes something like this:
Me: "Do
you have Mountain Dew?"
Waitress:
"No."
Me: "Why
not?"
Waitress:
"Well, we're a Coca-Cola establishment."
I get a variety of responses from wait staff.
Some times they stammer and stutter and fishtail
all over the place. At other times, it is
the straight-laced response that I received
here.
Me: "Is
there a place close where you can go and get
me some?" It is usually at this
point when the wait staff realizes that I'm just
kidding with them, and I get all sorts of
humorous responses.
Waitress:
"Uh...there's a Walgreen's fairly close.."
She was on to the joke, and said this with a
great, knowing smile.
Not wanting to drag the game out any longer, I decided to end
it by
simply saying, "Nah, I'm just kidding.
I'll settle for a water with lemon, but I want
to be clear that I am settling."
My family and I continued to chatter while
glancing at the menus to make our entree
selections. We were oblivious to the waitress'
return with our beverages. While standing
just to my left, she placed a glass on the table
which contained only ice. I was just about
to smart off "...you do know
that's only ice, right?", when she placed
an already-ice-cold can of Mountain Dew on the
table... ...followed by
a second.
I can't be certain, but I think I heard an
angel choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus as a
beam of light shown down on my beverage.
...or at least that's how I choose to remember
it. <grin>
While my parents and my sister and
brother-in-law burst into laughter, I couldn't
even muster a sound. I...was...speechless. (Incidentally,
putting me at a loss for words is no small
feat.)
Did she leave the
restaurant (during a busy lunch time) to
retrieve the drinks for me? Did she
dispatch
someone else to retrieve them? Quite
frankly, I didn't care, and it doesn't matter.
What does matter is that she picked up on some
throw-away comments that I jokingly made.
Without any urging, prompting, or demanding (and
I'm guessing without clearing it with the
manager on duty), she made a command decision to
raise her level of service far beyond what was
"acceptable". She went "the extra mile", and
raised it to a point that was completely
astounding.
By her actions, my waitress earned a very
healthy tip. By her attitude (not playing
up what she'd done for a self-serving purpose),
she earned my respect and admiration. Of
course, she also earned my kudos to her
management and the ownership of the restaurant.
When was the last time you went "the
extra mile", and completely astounded
someone by delivering a unexpected level of
excellence? Your challenge is to make that
your action plan, and find new ways to implement
it on your job, in your community, or with your
family or friends. The result will be a
greater sense of fulfillment, and the gratitude
of those whom you bless.
What's new?
On June 30, I delivered a very brief
(approximately 10 minutes) opening speech at a
Toastmasters Learning Institute on the principle
of getting the maximum value from the things in
which you're involved (in this case,
specifically regarding Toastmasters). If you
are interested in viewing the speech, it is
available at
a special page on my personal website.
If you are not a member of the Toastmasters
organization, there may be many references
in the speech which are unfamiliar to you, but I
still believe that you will find it entertaining
and enlightening. And if you feel that I
would bring value to your upcoming meetings via
a full-length keynote address, I'd be happy to
discuss that possibility with you.
Additionally, please still feel free to visit
my personal
blog. As mentioned before, no guarantees are made that the
entries will follow any
particular theme. It will most likely be
along the lines of what catches my fancy on any
given day.
Have an example of someone going the extra
mile?
Have you personally ever gone way beyond
normal expectations, to the point of excellence,
in your interactions with others? Have you witnessed it in others?
Tell us about your example, so we can share
it with others who are involved with The Pure
Excellence Initiative.
(All personal and contact information will
remain confidential.)
Share an example of the
Extra Mile!
Got a question on excellence you'd like to
see discussed?
If there is a particular aspect about or
subtopic of excellence that you've been
wondering about, you can submit it for
discussion. The process for doing this is quite
simple. Simply click on the link below to submit
your question/sub-topic for discussion.
Submit a question for the Pure Excellence
Initiative
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