Fri, September 25, 2009 - 9:15:11

Taken to the Cleaners

Every Thursday after work, Will Norton would gather up his dirty dress shirts, load up his car, and drive five minutes to his neighborhood dry cleaners.  “Welcome back, Mr. Norton,” the cashier would say and smile, “Good to see you again!”

After a few minutes of casual conversation, sharing the latest news of each other’s lives, Will would take his claim ticket, pull out his car keys and make his way back home.  Then one day, something different caught the cashier’s eye. 

“Hey, nice new key chain,” she remarked. 

“New car keys!”  Will proudly replied.

The two chatted for a bit about his recent big purchase and then, as always, Will tucked his claim ticket in his front pocket, waved goodbye, and started the short drive back to his house.  When he arrived home just a few minutes later, a message was waiting on his answering machine.

“Mr. Norton,” it began, “it’s Faye.  From the cleaners?  Anyway, a customer just came in with a hood ornament that he found in the parking lot and I think it might be yours.”

He glanced outside his window and sure enough, his brand new car was missing one.  So, he sped over to the dry cleaner and there it was, safe and secure in a plastic zipper bag with his name written on it in black marker.  Naturally, Will was touched.  After all, the cashier knew he would be in again the following week, but instead of waiting, she took the time to call him up before he could even notice his hood ornament was missing.  And to top it off, she even remembered the little detail of the make and model of his new car.

Immediately Will, a natural born talker, started telling everyone he knew about the stellar service he received at his neighborhood cleaners.  And just like the old shampoo commercial goes, he told two friends, and they told two friends, and before he knew it there was a line out the door and a place on the “best of” list of his town’s newspaper.

And it’s all thanks to the amazing power of small talk.  In a time when companies are looking to cut back on promotional costs, making small talk is a free and easy way to take your company from ordinary to extraordinary.  The short, seemingly insignificant conversations shared between employees and customers on a daily basis don’t just help to pass the time, they actually enhance the customer experience and help to give you first-hand knowledge that just might come in handy some day.  If Fay hadn’t mentioned Will’s new key chain, she may have never had the opportunity to perform the small act that helped take her workplace from just another corner cleaners to the best one in town.

So, the next time you feel like clamming up, get curious and start making small talk.  You never know where those little words could lead you.

Posted by Linda and Robin