As I was reflecting on Karen’s blog, I remembered the good old days when people actually made an effort to help me. There were people answering phones, taking messages or helping the caller. There were people actually willing to help me find another size or who genuinely wanted to make me a satisfied customer. 

As my boss says, there was a “smile in the voice.” I don’t sense the smile very much in my interactions with clerks, cashiers, agents, representatives, or politicians (ok, maybe a little – but is it real?). I do sense the smile in the employees working at my bank. These people really “get it” about customer service. Competition has created an environment where the best service (that “smile in the voice”) gets the customer’s money. Oh that everyone was trained by the staff at my bank. I realize there are many people out there who “care,” but there are fewer and fewer people who are dedicated to being “Freds” (read the "Fred Factor" by Mark Sanborn). Fred sincerely cared about doing the best job he could, even to going over, beyond and above what was required of him. I need to talk to more “Freds!” How about you?