I’ve spent most of this week in Dallas, attending the annual ASIS trade show. On Wednesday morning, I met an industry colleague, Bryan, for breakfast at The Purple Onion in the downtown area. It was recommended to Bryan by his hotel, and it served to be a good suggestion. The menu was unique, and the food was pretty good. However, the real treat was their owner.
“Come on up here. You order up here” he barked. So, we walked to the back of the restaurant to order at the counter. There, an outgoing, boisterous Serbian gentleman told us about the entire menu and took our orders. Throughout his monologue and hand gestures, he must’ve thanked us three times for trying his restaurant. This wasn’t some dump that had no business – it was busy and pretty quaint. He didn’t need our business, but he was sincerely thankful for it.
Later that day I reached out to my Thursday breakfast appointment, Jack, to coordinate a place to meet. Great news! His hotel was a block from the Purple Onion, and he agreed to meet there.
“You’ve come back. Thank you, my friend. Thank you for being a customer.” First of all, I couldn’t believe he remembered me. I did nothing memorable on Wednesday morning. Secondly, when was the last time someone thanked you for being a customer. Not for spending a gazillion dollars with them, being diamond status, or for giving positive feedback on an online survey. No, just for being a customer. And he meant it. As Jack and I caught up, I could hear my new Serbian friend yelling at everyone as they came in: “Thank you for coming in.” He would walk around to the tables: “Is everything perfect?”
Whether you’re a sales professional, executive, lawyer, teacher, journalist, or rock star, you need to see this guy in action and watch how his appreciation impacts each person. In your roles as parent, sibling, neighbor, son, daughter, or friend, showing one-tenth his level of appreciation to the people in your life will change your relationships. If you’re ever in Dallas, go to the Purple Onion for breakfast. You’ll be happy you did. Oh yeah, the chicken fried steak and eggs is pretty good, too.
