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:

1) It’s so simple: Why don’t businesses just hire people who are passionate about what they do (and then manage them well)? Certainly someone passionate about helping others will create a better customer experience, and their employer need not necessarily pay any higher salary for that. In fact, hiring passionate people will create more profit.

2) Why don’t more people do what they are passionate about? Perhaps I’m idealistic, but that has always been my mantra. Do what you are passionate about and rewards will follow indeed. Celine Dion became successful because of her passion for singing and delighting people. It’s not a surprise that during the 2004-05 NHL strike many pro players were playing without compensation in Europe.

When speaking at conferences, I have often challenged people by saying, if you don’t like what you’re doing enough to want to be the best at it then find something else you’d rather do. Are you pursuing your areas of passion? If not... when will you start?

In the Spirit of Growth,

Chuck