Service Is Not Slavery
My friend, Peter, a 30-year veteran of leading high-end travel tours, once told me that his favorite country is India . . . “Because it’s the only place in the world where people will come up to you and say, ‘Please, sir, may I give you a service?’ It’s part of their culture. Nowhere else in the world is like that.”
I have recounted Peter’s story often while working with companies to teach them the art of service. The word “service” derives from the Latin “servus” or “slave.” The word has evolved to mean “work done by one person for the benefit of another.”
We live in a service economy, yet how closely do we identify with the goal of our work’s being for the benefit of another?
How can we improve our attitude of service? Do our employees and vendors exhibit the optimal level of service? Service is not slavery . . . but do we sometimes see it as if it were?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Service is one of my favorite subjects. So many avenues to travel in delivering service. Often the norm or current standard for providing service is basic if not mundate. But, by dispensing a small degree higher, the customer is remarkably impressed. To be of service is an opportunity. The joy of exceeding a clients perception is very gratifying!