Sudden Service

When I've taken my vehicle to get it serviced, typically an oil change, I pull up, get out, and go into the store or the garage bay letting them know what I'd like to have done to my car. This is probably the typical way that you are treated. Maybe, if the employees are having a slow period, they may come out and ask you how they can help you.

However, imagine pulling into a place like that and having the employees running out to greet you? Not walking fast or jogging, but running! No more having to get out of your car and hope or wait to be greeted. Wouldn't that give you a favorable impression? Wouldn't you probably come back?

That is exactly what happens with a service center place called Les Schwab Tires, typically located in the northwest part of the nation. The following is something that comes directly from their website, they call it "Sudden Service"...

SUDDEN SERVICE
You come in, we come running. We’re proud to offer fast, friendly service. We hand torque your lug nuts and wash your tires and wheels. Plus, we provide mobile service trucks when you can’t make it to our stores.
At Les Schwab, "We Guarantee our Service, Like we Guarantee our Tires."
(emphasis mine)

I wish I could take my vehicle to this place just to see what this kind of service is like, wouldn't you?

What if we turned this around to a church setting? If you were visiting a church and received an out-of-the-box genuine greeting, wouldn't it make a favorable impression on you? You would probably think that you would like to come back again.

Imagine the impression that it would give to a visitor for our greeters to go to them, as they were coming in the door. Or, if it was raining to walk out with an umbrella? How about, for our own people, if our greeters went that extra step for us, how would that help our attitude as we came to class/assembly?

Let's continue it on by thinking about the impression we can give to introduce ourselves to a visitor, to possibly sit by them, and/or to even offer to take them out to eat. I can just imagine the impact we would make on someone who came through our doors, into an already foreign environment, and was genuinely lavished with hospitality.

What other things might we be able to do to cause that first impression to be "what an awesome place to be!"?

Let's become a distinct church! Let's do "Sudden Service"!

Thinking Like a Customer

Anytime you get to be on the other side of a situation, you gain an experience that is priceless. You get to see things from a different perspective.

Take for instance, baseball. I participated in baseball most of my young life. It is my favorite sport. It may be slow to some, and to me, sometimes. However, it still remains my favorite. When I was 16, the small town I lived in didn't have enough players to form a team. So, I took up something I had never done before...umpiring. I thought it would be a piece of cake. These are the "tiny" leagues. Not just little league. These were small town kids, who were probably not that talented, due to the fact they were so young.

It may be true that they were not that talented, but the seriousness of the game wasn't little. This town didn't have the extremely bad parents, etc., however, seriousness was evident. Little Johnny or Susie was just as important to Mom & Dad as a Major League Baseball player was to most fans. Call a close play wrong, and you generally "heard about it". Don't call the close strike, and the murmurs behind home plate were far from whispered about.

What is this all about? It is just a game, no World Series. Though the tension and attitudes worsened as you moved up the league level, it all taught me a valuable lesson, that I learned to look forward to (believe it or not).

Like that story, things look different on the other side of the line. As you come into your church building, you are quite familiar with the good and the bad part of things. You know the people, the schedule, and everything else. However, when you go somewhere else - as a visitor - you do not know all the things about that church (building or people).

Do you know that uncomfortable feeling to go into an unfamiliar place? Keep in mind any visitor that comes our way has that same feeling on any given morning. Our greeters are in place to play a part in welcoming our guests, but we all have that responsibility. When you have visited a place, be it a church or a retail store, how could someone have made it more comfortable for you?

Part of what makes people come back is their "customer service experience". How they are treated will make or break the chances to have them return. Make it enjoyable for people. Be hospitable. Be courteous. Be lively. Be smiley. Be Christ.

Think like a customer, then treat our guests the way you'd want to be treated.