Saying Thank You Out Loud and Often

We’re coming up on Thanksgiving, and everyone seems to be waxing poetic on things for which they’re thankful. I think it’s important to adopt an attitude of gratitude and reflect often, if not daily, on our blessings. But reflection isn’t always enough. When you see great service in action don’t just “reflect” - speak up and let someone know! Say “thank you” to the person who went above and beyond—and then take it one step further. Let his or her boss know that you were impressed.

We often make it hard to say “thank you.” I was traveling last week and had to ship a package from my hotel. One of the bellmen went out of his way to look up UPS for me and call for a pick up. He even waited in the shipping room for me to go back to my room and retrieve my Blackberry with my UPS account number. He was polite and considerate, and went far beyond my expectations. Of course I thanked him and tipped him, but when I was checking out, I decided to let the manager know about this stellar performer. The manager wasn’t available, but the desk clerk offered to give me a comment card. It took two of them to dig through the desk drawers to find a comment card. Upon finding one, she turned to me and said, “Lucky you; we found one.” I had to wonder if they were not accustomed to having people request to leave a compliment.

Customer feedback should play a major role in the culture enhancing strategy. What are you doing in your organization to solicit comments beyond the satisfaction survey? Is staff trained to collect comments and stories from patients and visitors and pass them on? Furthermore, when you’re the consumer, whether in a restaurant, hotel or healthcare setting, what do you do to say “thank you” out loud and often? How do you share your feedback with an employee’s manager or supervisor? Do you just think about passing along the compliment or do you actually do it?
My friend and colleague Kevin Stranberg has taught me the art of saying “thank you” properly. One evening we were out for dinner and I commented on how great our waitress was. He said, “I know--so you need to let her boss know.” And with that he called the waitress over and asked if we could see the manager. She looked a bit panicky but summoned her boss. He, too, looked a bit dubious as he approached the table. When I told him that I just wanted to let him know what a fine waitress he had on his team, you could hear him breathe a sigh of relief. Apparently both he and the waitress were conditioned to being summoned only for complaints. How sad is that? I think we could all kick it up a notch by learning to say thank you in a way that spotlights great service and reinforces the best.

So here’s your challenge: Make it a habit to say “thank you” when you encounter great service, and let the boss know. Your feedback will stimulate even more of the great service. And with enough of us reinforcing the good, who knows? We could be shaping a service revolution through this one simple act!