The title of this post is a quote by Guy Kawasaki. Guy is a “somebody.”

I had my first interaction with Guy in 2009 when I approached him through Twitter to see about obtaining ten signed copies of his book, Reality Check.

Although he was busy with a leading blog, How to Change the World, a media website, Alltop, a venture capital firm, Garage Technology Ventures, and numerous writing, consulting, and speaking projects, he took the time to personally respond to me and fulfill my request.

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True story: My original request was for ten signed books. This was the number of books ordered and paid for in advance.

When the box of signed books arrived from Guy’s Palo Alto office a week or so later, there were only eight books in the box. 20 percent of the order was missing!

I immediately wrote Guy a note on my stationery thanking him for taking the time to personally sign the books and fulfill my order. I also mentioned that, for some reason, there were only eight books in the box, instead of the ten books originally ordered for which I had prepaid.

I’ve never met Guy but know from his writing and speaking that he has a great sense of humor. With that in mind, since he had sent me only 80 percent of my original order, I decided to send him 80 percent of my original thank you note and business card.

After carefully snipping 20 percent off the right-hand sides of my business card and thank you note, I then mailed the remaining 80 percent of the note and business card to Guy.

About a week later, two more books and an Alltop t-shirt arrived in the mail.

Fortunately, the 20 percent strips from my original thank you note and business card were still on my desk. I mailed them to Guy the next day.

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Months later, I sought Guy’s advice pertaining to an unconventional marketing idea that my wife, a marketer, opposed.

In his response, he endorsed the idea saying, “Steve, tell your wife that the way I got to be Guy is by doing stuff like this when I wasn’t Guy.”

In other words, the way Guy became a “somebody” is by doing things differently when he was a “nobody.”

Fast forward to Dec. 23, 2010: Because my blog is listed on Guy’s media website, Alltop, I received an exclusive email offer to preview an advance copy of his upcoming book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions (Available March 2011).

Guy’s thinking is that, because recipients of his offer are bloggers who are loyal to Alltop, there’s a good chance that they will dedicate a blog post to his book around the time of its release in early March. As a result, Guy will gain exposure to his fans’ fans and the endorsements (and book sales) will multiply.

This is an unconventional (and brilliant) marketing strategy. Guy knows that anyone who has been introduced to his work through social media, by reading his books or blog, or hearing him speak at an event, and, further, has taken the time to register their blog with Alltop, will likely be receptive to his offers. And, due to the exclusivity of this particular invitation, I suspect his response rate will be quite high.

Contrast Guy’s unique approach to engaging with and marketing to his fan base with the familiar and predictable patterns of other well-known business authors and entrepreneurs who set up Twitter and other social media accounts in order to “connect” with their fans.

In my experience, these high-profile accounts generally connect with each other (i.e., well-known “somebodies”) and are indifferent towards others (i.e., lesser-known “nobodies”) and their attempts to engage.

In so doing, they may be unwittingly forfeiting opportunities to enchant their fans and influence their hearts, minds, and actions—in the way that Guy Kawasaki does so masterfully.

The week before Christmas, I brought my car in for maintenance. The dealership offers both a waiting area as well as a shuttle service to take you to local destinations while your vehicle is being serviced.

While leaving my keys with the service department, I inquired about the shuttle driver and learned that he was off site and would return in the next 10-15 minutes. I then asked the rep if he’d have the driver locate me in the waiting area upon his return in order for me to run a local errand while my car was being serviced.

The rep agreed, made note of my name and cell phone number, and assured me that it would be no more than 15 minutes.

So far, so good.

While I was sitting in the waiting area, a client called. I took the call and moved to a quiet corner of the waiting area to talk.

Within five minutes or so, the shuttle driver appeared and called out my name. I motioned to the driver that I was on the phone and would be a few minutes.

The driver left the area, returning a few minutes later.

As I was listening to my client and taking notes in my planner, the driver walked towards me, pointed to his watch, motioned for me to wind things up and said, “I’ve got places to go.”

Stunned by his actions, I instructed him not to wait on me and that I would just take the next available shuttle. Clearly annoyed, he let out an audible sigh, turned, and walked away.

Think about the irony of this situation: Because I’m making myself available to serve a client over the phone, I’m reinforcing his decision to hire me. Because he hires (and compensates) me, I can afford to have my vehicle serviced at the dealership. Because I’m servicing my vehicle at the dealership, there’s a need for a shuttle driver. And because there’s a need for a shuttle driver, this employee has a job.

After my call ended, I approached the dealership’s general manager and we sat together briefly in his office.

I shared what had happened, recognizing my contribution to the misunderstanding. I realize that conflict doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Conflict is the result of a failure to meet expectations—and I clearly did not meet the shuttle driver’s expectations. After all, I had requested the shuttle service and then wasn’t available when the driver returned. I get that.

Even so, I told the GM that the driver’s behavior made me feel devalued as a customer. His dealership spends a lot of money to evoke certain feelings from its customers and I’m certain ‘devalued’ isn’t one of them.

What the GM did next cemented my loyalty to his dealership and the Cadillac brand.

He said, “Here, take my car” as he handed me the key to a white CTS in the parking lot.

As we walked from his office to the showroom, he apologized on behalf of the shuttle driver, thanked me for my business and said, “Take as long as you need. I’m here until 7 o’clock.”

Misunderstandings are inevitable. How employees respond to them, however, is optional.

Those employees who truly value customers, seek understanding, and give customers the benefit of the doubt (or, in some cases, the keys to their car), are one step closer to resolving misunderstandings—and creating loyal customers.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an exceptional customer service provider, like Nordstrom, and a typical service provider, like Toys”R”Us?

First, consider what the two have in common:

• Both are retailers with physical stores as well as a web-based store
• Both distribute merchandise catalogs to a mailing list of existing customers
• Both rely on front-line employees to be the “face” of the company
• Both periodically advertise sales or other promotions
• Both face competition from other retailers
• Both serve customers

And where they differ:

• Standards

Sure, they stock different products, offer different pay scales, serve different clientele, and differ in other ways but the biggest difference is the rules and principles used as a basis for employee judgment and behavior.

Recently, I was at Toys”R”Us shopping for a Christmas present for my three-year-old son. I was unable to locate a certain toy in the Scooby-Doo aisle so I stopped a store employee who was passing by to ask whether or not they carried the Mystery Machine.

He said that if it was not on the shelf, then they didn’t carry it.

Okay. I can accept that. It was a predictable response to an ordinary question.

But I would have appreciated a more engaged response such as, “If you have a moment, I can check the website for you to see if we carry the Mystery Machine. If so, you can purchase the toy now and I’ll waive the shipping charges to your home since we didn’t have what you were looking for in the store.”

I recognize that I was not dealing with a Nordstrom employee. Even so, there’s no reason why a Toys”R”Us employee cannot behave like a Nordstrom employee.

What he said next surprised me.

While holding up two novelty toy balls, he asked me, “Do you know where these go?”

I responded, “Are you serious?”

He said, “Uh huh.”

I said, “No. If I worked here I might.”

Can you imagine a Nordstrom employee asking you, the customer, where a misplaced pair of slippers go? Of course not. That’s ridiculous.

Earlier this month, I stopped by the Toys”R”Us merchandise pick-up door behind the store to retrieve a Barbie bicycle that I had bought for my daughter.

When the employee delivered the shiny new bike, he ripped the “HOLD” sticker off the seat and then suggested that I get some Goo Gone cleaner to remove the remainder.

Can you fathom a Nordstrom employee delivering a pair of blemished shoes to you at the counter and saying, “Give those shoes a good shine and that blemish will come right off!”

That’s preposterous! Why? Standards.

Since Nordstrom considers the effects of its procedures on customers, a sticker capable of leaving a residual blemish on a piece of merchandise would likely never enter the process. And if something did result in a product imperfection, it would be rectified or replaced in keeping with Nordstrom’s high standards of product and service quality.

Not so at Toys”R”Us. There, you’re instructed to pick up some Goo Gone on your way home to remove the imperfection yourself.

Some will consider this an unfair comparison. They will focus on the differences in products, pay scales, and clientele as justification for why a Toys”R”Us employee didn’t go the extra mile to locate a Mystery Machine. Or why he asked me, a customer, where the novelty toy balls are located within the store. Or why another Toys”R”Us employee was indifferent about delivering a new bicycle to me with an unsightly, sticky blemish covering much of the seat.

The major difference between exceptional customer service providers and typical service providers is the difference in their standards—the rules and principles used by companies as a basis for employee judgment and behavior.

So if you are looking to improve your customer service, you must first elevate your customer service standards.

I welcome all comments, questions, bouquets, and brickbats.

Happy Holidays!

In 2007, I read the outstanding book by Chip and Dan Heath titled, Made to Stick. In the book, the authors identified a number of principles that contribute to a message or experience being memorable.

One of those principles was unexpectedness.

In other words, if a message or experience is typical, common and expected, it’s likely to be forgotten. If, however, it’s unique, uncommon and unexpected, it’s more likely to be remembered.

Would you prefer to be forgettable or memorable in the eyes of your customer?

Mediocre customer service quality is typical, common and expected in most service settings. Exceptional customer service, by contrast, is unique, uncommon and unexpected. It stands out. It leaves a positive lasting impression.

And because exceptional customer service is unexpected, as customers, we’re generally pleasantly surprised when we receive it.

I recall a true story that illustrates the power of the unexpected:

Years ago, the executive team of a Marriott hotel in Denver, CO was making a sales presentation to a group of executives from United Airlines. The Marriott hotel was competing with a number of local hotels for a significant number of airline crew room nights for the upcoming year.

While the Marriott’s director of sales and general manager were making their pitch from the front of the board room, a cell phone began to ring from the inside pocket of the general manager’s suit jacket.

At first, the general manager seemed to ignore the call and continued his presentation. When it was clear that the phone was beginning to distract the group’s attention, he paused, reached inside his suit jacket pocket, and removed the ringing cell phone.

As his executive team sat mortified that, not only had he forgotten to turn off his phone, he was actually about to accept a phone call in the middle of a crucial sales presentation to the dismay of the waiting United Airlines executives.

It was in that moment that the general manager answered his phone, looked at the senior United Airlines executive and, with a wry smile, said, “Excuse me sir. I have Bill Marriott on the phone. He’d like to personally ask for your business.”

Marriott was awarded the contract. Are you surprised?

Yesterday morning, I brought two of my children, ages seven and five, to school. As I approached the drop-off point at the very top of a steep hill, I noticed the car in front of me slide just a bit on the black ice covering the road.

When I tested the brakes, I felt my own vehicle slide and thought better of descending the hill. At that point, I made a left-hand turn into the driveway of a home that faced the school in order to turn around.

It was then that a man emerged from the home, charged to the passenger side of my vehicle, and began shouting at me through the window.

My memory of exactly what he said is a bit sketchy. The moment was quite surreal and his first few remarks were muffled by the closed window and cheerful holiday music playing inside the car.

The gist of his rant was that I was being a jerk for pulling into his driveway in order to turn around.

I do recall him saying that I “should be ashamed” of my behavior—which I thought was a bit ironic given the conniption he was having in front of me and my young children.

About this time, I pulled my wreath-adorned vehicle to a stop at the curb in front of his house and lowered the passenger window.

As his tirade continued, I noticed he was wearing a uniform shirt with a Burt logo. Burt is an automotive group located in the Denver area.

Although I bought my Ford SUVs elsewhere, I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the years at a Burt Ford dealership not far from my home.

When he paused his verbal attack for a moment to catch his breath, I asked him if he worked for Burt.

He shouted defiantly, “Yes I do!”

I then said, “It is you who should be ashamed of the way you are representing your employer right now.”

Here’s the deal: From the moment you or I associate ourselves with an employer (e.g., uniform, name badge, desktop image on a laptop, logoed bag, company vehicle, etc.), we are a reflection of that employer—for better or for worse.

If you get cut off in traffic by a truck associated with a local supermarket chain, you may hold the supermarket responsible for the employee’s reckless driving.

That’s one reason so many company vehicles have a notice on the back end providing a toll-free number, a vehicle number, and requesting feedback on the driver’s performance. It’s an accountability measure.

Apparently, the angry homeowner felt no sense of accountability for his actions. Certainly he would not talk to a Burt Automotive Network customer that way at a dealership, would he? Perhaps he mistakenly thought he was not yet on duty?

That’s a shame because the reality is that from the moment we don a uniform or, in some other way, associate ourselves with an employer, we are on duty in the eyes of the customer and our personal conduct is a reflection of that employer.

From now on, whenever I think about Burt Automotive Network, I’m going to think of this angry man shouting at me for turning around in his driveway in order to avoid descending an icy slope with my young children.

And that doesn’t bode well for future purchases or positive word of mouth/referrals from me.

In the Charles Dickens story, Ebenezer Scrooge came around in the end and recognized the error of his ways before driving his friends and family away forever.

Let’s hope the first of three spirits visits this angry Burt Automotive Network employee sometime soon before he does the same with any more customers.