Passion and Service

“When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”

Recently, while back in Toronto I was out with a friend and had two very interesting experiences. In preparation for a trip south I decided to pop into a store to pick up a new bathing suit. As we entered the Bikini Village store at Yorkdale, there were two female employees there and no customers. We went to the men’s section and even at 6’ tall I had to tip toe a bit to reach the Nike pairs I was interested in. Not once did one of the retail clerks ask if I needed help. I made my way to the dressing room, tried on 3 pairs, one of which I decided to purchase. The Clerk went to the cash to ring it in. I asked “May I ask how long you’ve worked here?”  "This February marks four years” she replied. She gave me the item in a bag and we walked out. My pal Glo and I both remarked on the ineffective shopping/service experience - this would not be our first place of choice to shop at in the future.

On the way home I stopped at a full service gas station (Yonge &York Mills) given the cold temperatures. The gentleman who politely served us with a smile asked if I needed my oil checked, to which I replied “No thanks”. He then proceeded to clean the front and  rear windshields (without being asked) which were quite dirty. When he returned for my credit card he had quite the smile, despite the frigid temperature. He returned again for my signature, and I was happy to give him some cash for a cappuccino in gratitude for his service.

By way of context, in the former case the young ladies were no older than mid 20’s while in the latter the gentleman appeared no younger than 50.

Two points of reflection:

Health, Happiness, and Jack Lalanne

I was on a flight last week from warm, sunny Phoenix to the wind and cold of Chicago. It was late at night, and there were delays as we waited for a gate in Chicago due to the de-icing of planes waiting to take off. Faced with the wait beyond our control, it was fascinating to see how some people were jovial and laughing while others, tired and miserable, were barely able to smile as they sank into (and for some, overflowed out of) their seats on the plane or in the lounge. 
Let's face it, we are all busy and it takes energy every day just to keep going, smile or have patience. And, it seems, some people have more of the energy resource than others. I think Jack Lalanne was on to something...

Are You Progressing or Regressing through Change?

I’m always amazed at how quickly things change, and how some folks can end up worse off for a failure to adapt to change fast enough

This morning on the way to the gym near our head office, I couldn’t help but notice the big red signs: “Store Closing Sale.” It was a Blockbuster Video retail store. It got me thinking about how change brought rise and now demise to this chain. How did we see movies then and now? Think about it - from movie theatres, to VHS (and Beta), to DVD, and now streaming digital. Along the way, the competition for distribution became fierce. It appears that Blockbuster has not responded to recent market changes effectively, hence their filing for bankruptcy.