I was five minutes early for the train into Manhattan this morning so I crossed the street to stop into the deli. The place has changed owners over the years. First it was the Pot Belly Deli, then Brooklyn Paul's Deli, now it's Patti's Deli.
Patti greeted me warmly, "Hi, young man." I like her already! I asked for a whole wheat bagel, and she dug around the big bag of bagels delivered earlier in the morning. "We always get one whole wheat." Sure enough, there it was. She lightly buttered it as I asked, wrapped it, and then I heard a light thunk sound -- a stamp being applied to the bagel wrapping. "Made with ♥."
I commented on how nice that was, and she said with a warm smile, "Everything here is made with love." And I believe her. I then noticed her cute logo shirt with an embroidered porky-pig type character on it. It made me smile.She told me a new menu was coming, and that it would be less expensive than when Paul owned the place. I wished her luck and told her I'd be back.
From Patti's, I went into the Manhattan to see some of my coaching clients and attend the Small Business Summit 2010 conference to hear Seth Godin speak. Seth's new book is called Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?. I have been thinking about this book since I finished it two weeks ago, and when I heard he was speaking at the conference, I registered. He gave an inspiring talk, the essence of which was this: The nature of work and the economy has changed -- and not just because of the recession. If service providers are simply "good enough," we will find the lowest cost one and not remember the rest. For an individual or a company to stand out, they need to be, in Seth's words, "artists" who create a unique experience that consumers will remember and seek out.
Patti's an artist. I think her art is fulfilling her customers' orders with love and sincerity. There are other delis in town that might butter a bagel faster or butter more of them, and they are all good enough. But Patti's bagel was made with love, which is a pretty nice thing for a cloudy Tuesday morning. I'm sure I won't be buying a bagel anywhere else.
I agree with the business being an art and a unique experience. this is a really nice blog and it reflects what people are really looking for and that is great service with a heart.
Thanks Keisha. Sometimes people want business with a heart, and then other times it’s businesses that do extraordinary things. Always interested to see/hear other examples so let me know if you have any.
I agree wholeheartedly that it is these simple things that in actuality win us over. Like stamping ‘Made with Love’ and meaning it.
Most sales people are grossly lacking in capturing the hearts of their customers. All they seek is our dollars and cents and they only make such a sale once.
We would never want to go there ever again.
I am all for love. Service with a smile and all that.