Last Thursday night, we took a night off from cooking and brought our kids to Chili’s for dinner.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, my seven year old, Cooper, noticed that the Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens preseason football game was being televised in the bar area.

As the hostess lead us into the dining room, Cooper asked if we could be seated somewhere where he could see the game. She found a long table (there were six of us) located directly opposite the bar area and the flat screen television set carrying the game.

We had settled into our booth when Cooper began jockeying positions trying to find a seat from which he could watch the game that was not obstructed by one of the many plants and decorations that make up the eclectic interior of a Chili’s restaurant.

He finally settled into a seat where, if he sat up on his knees and craned his neck, he could see the game over the top of a decorative rooster (pictured).

After a few minutes, Cooper asked me if someone could move the rooster so that he could see the game clearly from where he was seated.

My first reaction was that maybe the decorations were bolted down the way they are in many hotel suites—lest you abscond with a faux Ming Dynasty era bowl—but I told him I’d ask the question…

A moment later, I asked a passing employee whether or not she could relocate the rooster and she said she would check with her manager.

The next time I looked up, the offending rooster had been moved.

Cooper was elated that he could now clearly see the game. His face lit up! He smiled at me broadly and said, “Thanks dad! Now I can see the game!”

Watching Cooper delight in being able to watch the football game unobstructed reminded me that little things don’t mean a little. Little things mean everything.

Great customer service is not usually the result of one big thing. It’s the result of many little things done exceptionally well—like smiling, making eye contact, adding enthusiasm to one’s voice, or even relocating a decorative rooster.

Thanks Chili’s.

The other day, my family and I went to Dairy Queen for “Something Different” (the DQ slogan).

After waiting in line for a few minutes, our family of six made its way to the front of the line. Looking at the “scrumdelicious” pictures on the menus suspended above the counter, my youngest children could hardly contain their excitement!

Their eyes, wide with wonder, darted from one delectable menu image to the next. They smiled and began to giggle as they realized it was now our turn to order and that, within minutes, they would have their frosty treats in hand…

Smiling in response to my children, I looked up to face the counter employee. In sharp contrast to my children’s faces, her facial expression was matter-of-fact—even serious.

Her greeting consisted of, “Do you know what you want?”

She then robotically gathered information, processed the order, issued a receipt, and completed the transaction.

After we placed our order, my son Cole (age 9) and I waited off to the side for our order while the rest of the family found a place for us to sit on the patio.

I asked Cole, “On a zero to ten scale with zero being rude and ten being very friendly, how would you rate the girl who took our order?”

He said, “Six.”

I asked him why he rated her a six and he said, “Because she didn’t smile.”

I then asked him, “Was there anything else?”

And he said, “Yes, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

What Cole couldn’t put his finger on (because he’s only in third grade) is the leading cause of customer dissatisfaction: indifference.

In one survey, 68 percent of customers said they quit doing business with a company because of perceived indifference towards them as customers.

And here’s what is really scary: Most customer service providers are blissfully unaware of their own indifference. From their perspectives, they are efficiently executing customer transactions.

They may not recognize that what customers tend to remember the most are not the routine steps that make up transactions—they remember the demeanors and unique personalities of the employees who served them.

Behaviors like eye contact, smiling, and adding enthusiasm to one’s voice do more to convey appreciation for customers than any other aspect of a customer transaction.

These are the “little things” that make a lasting impression—and a real difference in customer satisfaction.