Friday, September 12, 2008

...DUCKS QUACK, EAGLES FLY...

Closing entry for the day, already on my weekend mood :) Not so sure if uols want to read this, but please read its superb.........

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???

"HAPPY WKEND AND SELAMAT BERBUKA"


6 comments:

tiffany said...

it's a gd story... mmg pple always quacking here and there, nagging bout this n that... but then they got nothing...

Hannan taught of being more mature and die mmg takkasi shieda bebel sana sini tak puas hati.. plus i'd many fren yg act like a duck but gain nothing... so, me and hannan jz lurve to be the eagle and proudly live our own way... ape yg tak elok, we learn from it...

again thnx kak for this story...

Moralle said...

shieda, quacking here and there, when I read this, macam terkenek kat batang hidung sendiri, but its with my girls yg I quack quack, so now nak jadi eagle pulak, hopefully they will understand me better :) no problem, will share watever I hv with all....

Lily Satrina ® said...

♦ Great service is a matter of choice. You can either quack like a Duck or soar like a Eagle, kan Sis Moralle?

♦ This isn’t just about service...it’s about life...ducks and Eagles...take a look around...i'm sure we can easily identify who belongs in each group...and which group we should avoid like the plague...it’s wonderful to have the chance to inspire others to soar well above the duck ponds...

♦One word.

♦INSPIRING.

♦ yeah, Im feeling better, and I am more positive this time. I wanna be a champ, nothing can let me down, or try to take away what is belong to me;- My happiness. Mmuahh.

♦ Have a great Saturday, Sis Moralle xoxo

Gembo said...

Hi Sis Moralle
I like the Duck Eagle story... haven't heard of it and will definitely share with Muhammad (GemBo Kid #1) who loves to hear stories . . .

Have a good weekend to you... Don't get urself wet, nanti demam.

Salam
From Mr G & Family

Moralle said...

tya,i think there a lots or ducks compared to eagle kan, memang dah lumrah alam lah dearie...

Its good to hear u r becoming stronger & stronger, ni semua berkat yr lil angel, she made u more stronger each day, nothing and nobody can take away yr happines selagi yr loves are strong......

Moralle said...

Mr G, i told my kids to abt this story, at first they macam termenung kejap than they agree with me, n they samakan I macam duck tu pulak :)

u to hv a wonderful wkend with yrs :)