If You Love What You Do...

Buzz of the Week

I was at the mall last week, trying to resolve an issue with my wife's wedding ring. Outside of having to fork over money, the overall experience was...refreshing. The manager of the store was a younger guy. My wife thought he appeared nervous, while I got the impression of an extremely calculated and thoughtful sales person. I did not pick up on any deceit, although I am naturally skeptical. He explained everything too us and told my wife and I that he'd do everything in his power limit our out-of-pocket expenses.

On to the good part. Mark, the manager asked if we wanted to view some larger diamonds. I agreed solely because my wife was upset about the ordeal, and I knew she'd enjoy it. This is when Mark's passion for his job started to shine through. He played the level headed manager role in the beginning, but when he was able to sell, he was lethal! He was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, while omitting the slickness of a typical sales guy. I had been very dry towards Mark, but even I became increasingly excited as he described the clarity, style, and origin of particular diamonds. I'll tell you what, if I had money, I would have seriously considered buying something.

35 minutes later I had to pull my wife away so we could head home. On our way out, we decided to stop by Yankee Candle. There, we were greeted by the assistant manager. She talked about candles, of all things, with so much passion, I was just as impressed with her as I was with Mark. I will probably never buy a candle if it isn't a Yankee Candle.

I think about the ho hum folks I come across in every profession. I think its an absolute shame that people in the customer service business are generally not very customer service oriented. It is always refreshing to see those who genuinely care about their craft and the people they serve.

I think about my new position and how excited I am to help the displaced/unemployed people turned students. I am hopeful that my work is viewed as helpful, passionate, and as sincere as the folks at the mall last Thursday.