Sital Ruparelia

A few weeks back, I reluctantly ate in a Pizza Hut  restaurant in London. Having had a history of poor food and even worse service at their restaurants, I hadn’t been to a Pizza Hut restaurant in a while. But a conveniently located restaurant, lack of time and a rumbling stomach forced me to succumb to the smell of pizza after a late meeting.

To my surprise the food was good and the service I received excellent (no really it was!). So I made a point of complimenting the waitress who served me and thanked her for the service – at which point she replied:

“Thank you so much – we only ever hear criticism from both customers and bosses – you’ve made my day!”

So I asked for her name so that I could write a letter of thanks to Pizza Hut customer services to compliment her and the service - she was delighted.

I subsequently did just that, wrote to Pizza Hut customer service to pass on my compliments (and in fact recieved a very nice letter back).

It really was a ‘win-win’ all round. Pizza Hut customer services received a complimentary letter, the waitress received a pat on the back (and who knows a free deep pan ‘meat feast’ too), other customers probably recieved even better service from a more motivated waitress and I had a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing I was the catalyst behind the whole thing.

Yes, I know – not exactly halting global warming or creating everlasting world peace (…one step at a time hey), but it felt good and required very little effort or time.

So following on from that, I decided to set up a new habit:-

1. Every Monday my PA has an instruction to email me and say:- “Sital, who gave you great service last week? Who do we want to send a thank you note to?”

2. I email back one or two lines with details of who, what etc

3. She drafts a simple email or letter saying “thank you” and we send it out 

The aim is to send 2 notes a month (so no pressure that I must send a note each week)

 The Result?

- It makes someone’s day very time

- Makes me feel great

- I now seem to attract great people and customer service!

On this last point - in recent weeks, I have been driven by the most helpful cab drivers, been served by excellent people in coffee shops / restaurants and have even been ‘served’ (not processes) by call centre operators that enjoy their jobs! I suppose it’s the  law of attraction thing going on - i.e. you get what you focus on.

It’s amazing what a difference some genuine appreciation has on people. When I said “thank you” to the Pizza Hut girl, her eyes lit up and she walked away with a spring in her step and I could see how that impacted on the way she served other tables.

Yes I know – we are all far too “busy” and maybe you haven’t got a PA. And yes, the financial markets are a little crazy, the price of oil is sky high and the world is caving in. 

But showing some appreciation is simple, quick and totally free.

So go ahead, take the time to say ’thank you’ to someone today….