Customer
Service Training:
Ducks Quack - Eagles Soar
By James A. Baker
Customer Service Training Center
November 2009
As a rule, I am not one of those people who forwards
cute little email stories to everyone on my contact list,
but every once in a while something comes along that is just
so dead on that I can’t ignore it. The minute I saw this
piece, I recognized it as one of the best pieces of customer
service advice I have ever seen. So, I am forwarding it to
you. I hope it will encourage you and your organization to
find ways to soar like eagles. - Jim
"No one can make you serve customers well....that's
because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a
wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.
He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab
pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi
was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white
shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab
driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back
passenger door for Harvey. He handed Harvey a laminated card
and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your
bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission
statement.'
Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's
Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination
in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a
friendly environment. This blew Harvey away. Especially when
he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside.
Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said,
'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular
and one of decaf.' My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer
a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a
cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange
juice.’ Almost stuttering, Harvey said, ‘I’ll take a Diet
Coke.'
Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like
something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time,
Sports Illustrated and USA Today.' As they were pulling
away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These
are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd
like to listen to the radio.' And as if that weren't enough,
Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and
asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he
advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that
time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat
and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey
preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.
'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver,
'have you always served customers like this?' Wally smiled
into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's
only been in the last two years. My first five years
driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the
rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth
guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written
a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said
that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad
day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop
complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition.
Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain.
Eagles soar above the crowd.'
'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer
was really talking about me. I was always quacking and
complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become
an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their
drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly,
and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some
changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers
responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said. 'It
sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I
doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll
probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I
don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for
appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my
answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a
reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the
action.'
Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out
of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than
fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea
and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them
a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told
me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was
suggesting.
Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided
to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles."
James A. Baker is the Founder and Chairman of Baker
Communications. Baker Communications is a sales training and
development company specializing in helping client companies
increase their sales and management effectiveness. He can be
reached at 713-627-7700.
Re-Print Permission
This article may be reprinted in its entirety if the
following conditions are met:
- The complete tag with the author's name and contact
information is included immediately after the article.
- A copy of the printed article is mailed to the
author at 10101 SW Freeway Suite 630 Houston, Texas,
77074, USA within 30 days of publication.
- The article is presented in a positive light as part
of an appropriate business related publication.
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