Have you ever received an unexpected upgrade, a complimentary appetizer, or some other pleasant surprise when you were not expecting it? How did it make you feel? I bet you can recall many details from the experience—probably because you’ve reinforced them by sharing the story with others.

Providing pleasant surprises that add unexpected perks to otherwise ordinary transactions, is an effective way to make lasting positive impressions on customers with little or no additional cost.

Here are three quick examples:

• I brought my Ford Expedition into the dealership for an oil change. When the maintenance was completed, an employee pulled it around front and, to my surprise, it had been washed and was gleaming! Wow—that was a memorable final impression of that experience!
• While using a self-service kiosk to pay for my groceries at Albertsons, I was approached by a store employee. She asked if I’d like a complimentary bottle of salad dressing that was being given away as a promotion. I gladly accepted and was pleasantly surprised by a complimentary 16 oz. bottle of Kraft Light Ranch salad dressing!
• And just last week, I stopped by Target to do some shopping. At the checkout register, the cashier rang up my purchases and then handed me a receipt together with a coupon for a complimentary Starbucks latte. Another pleasant surprise!

Providing pleasant surprises can transform bland and ordinary transactions (e.g., oil changes, retail checkouts, etc.) that will soon be forgotten, into unique and refreshing service experiences that will long be remembered!

I read a Wall Street Journal article this week by Timothy W. Martin titled, Choice Advice From Meat Cutters. The article highlighted the benefits of training butchers at leading supermarket chains to engage customers as a chef rather than as simply a meat cutter. The difference separates a memorable, customer-focused experience from an ordinary, process-focused transaction at the meat counter.

As the scale of operations have grown at most supermarkets, many meat cutters disappeared from the meat cases to backrooms where interactions with shoppers were limited to announcements over the intercom. Their roles shifted from a familiar butcher who formed close bonds with shoppers, remembering names and preferences (people-focused), to an anonymous meat cutter whose priority was churning out enough hamburger patties and chuck steaks to fill meat cases (process-focused).

In the article, Frank Thurlow, director of meat and seafood merchandising at Winn-Dixie Stores, observed, “Meat cutters have a reputation for not being the most personable, outgoing types of individuals. I mean, we sit in the back room all day and cut up animals.”

So, how do you address this perception and change it in order to increase sales at the meat counter while boosting employee morale and job satisfaction?

There are many factors including vital processes such as the selection and onboarding of employees. The quality of customer service provided by an employee will never exceed the quality of customer service he or she is ready, willing, and able to deliver. The scope of this blog post cannot take into account every variable, so I’ll just focus on the obvious one: sharing unique knowledge.

Unique knowledge is not the same as job knowledge. Job knowledge is necessary for an employee to be proficient in his or her job role. It is expected by the customer and, generally speaking, is transactional—not memorable. Unique knowledge, when provided by the employee, is unexpected, refreshing, valued, and memorable. It’s the sizzle!

To illustrate the difference, read this testimonial from Aram Dakarian, meat manager at Jewel supermarket in Chicago: “Before, I’d tell customers just to squeeze out the blood and add some salt and pepper (job knowledge).” Now he eagerly offers cooking tips (unique knowledge). For example, for baked chicken, he recommends olive oil with a dash of lemon pepper. For steaks, a garlic or peppercorn seasoning rub, or two hours soaking in a wine sauce marinade.

Instead of simply sharing job knowledge: A flat-iron steak is cut from the shoulder of a steer, he can add more value by sharing unique knowledge: How to properly grill a flat-iron steak and the difference between dry (grilled or broiled) and wet (simmering or braising) cooking.

Grocers are banking on shoppers’ willingness to pay higher shelf prices in return for general dinner advice. And there is also a benefit to employees as described by Mr. Dakarian: “Now, I’m getting more in-depth with the meat, looking at it more like a chef. It makes me feel good.”

While customers appreciate nice employees, they value knowledgeable employees. And the more unique knowledge employees possess, the more value they bring to the customer experience.

Last week, my family and I traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to attend a family reunion. While in Lincoln, we stayed at a full service hotel downtown. When we arrived at the hotel, we unloaded several bags from our vehicle onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Minutes later, a bellman passed by without saying a word and entered the main lobby from the sidewalk.

My wife and I fully expected that he was getting a luggage cart to assist us with our bags. When he did not return, I went inside the hotel and encountered him standing just inside the lobby. He looked at me and asked, “Can I help you with your bags?” Already, I was annoyed because he clearly saw my bags on the sidewalk yet I still had to track him down for assistance.

Now that we were being helped, we no longer felt ignored but did feel as if this bellman was treating us indifferently—as if we were just another “check-in” or transaction. It’s not that he did anything wrong during the remainder of the check-in process, it’s just that he missed several opportunities to anticipate our needs and make a lasting positive impression.

For instance, one of my boys complained about the weight of his backpack. The bellman just stood there as I relieved my son of his backpack and hung it on the luggage cart. A minute later, while I went back to the car to retrieve a cooler, my wife corralled our four children in front of the elevators to take a group picture of them. She commented to me afterwards that she wished she had asked him to take a picture that would have included her—another missed opportunity for him to make a positive impression.

Later, when we were in the guest room, the bellman simply offloaded the luggage near the door, accepted his tip, and bid us adieux with the transactional industry farewell, “Enjoy your stay.”

He failed to observe other cues that would have made the difference between an ordinary check-in and a memorable service experience. Although a cooler, Pack ‘n Play® travel crib, and wine tote were all visible cues, he appeared aloof from any customer service opportunities these items may have presented. In the first ten minutes after his departure I had already retrieved ice for the cooler (which required accessing the 4th floor as there was no ice machine on the 3rd floor where our rooms were located), phoned housekeeping for a sheet to line our toddler’s travel crib, and gone in search of wine glasses.

With so many missed opportunities, the potential for a unique and memorable customer-focused experience faded and we were left with an ordinary and forgettable process-focused transaction. As happens far too often, many service providers are lulled into the monotony of processing “each customer like the last customer” and, in so doing, treating the customer like just another transaction (in my case, just another “check-in”).

Service providers must recognize that each customer presents a unique opportunity to make a favorable impression. By committing to energize their customer service delivery by looking for visual cues, anticipating customers’ needs, and offering the unexpected, service providers will capitalize on opportunities to provide unique and memorable service experiences.

Patient: Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?
Doctor: If you aim it well enough.

Throughout history, humor has been recognized for its healing qualities. The proverb proclaims what modern science has confirmed: “A merry heart doeth good like medicine.” Medieval professor of surgery, Henri de Mondeville, recommended mirth as an aid to recovery from surgery. More recently, a growing body of scientific evidence has reinforced the physiological, mental, emotional, and social advantages of humor.

Laughter has been called “inner jogging” because it stimulates the cardiovascular system, increases the oxygen throughout one’s bloodstream, exercises facial muscles, shoulders, diaphragm, and abdomen. A study by Stanford University showed a good belly laugh can give you health benefits equal to 10 minutes on a rowing machine. While laughter itself is delightfully stimulating, the residual effects create a temporary reduction in blood pressure, respiration, heart rate, and muscle tension.

Laughter enhances creativity and problem solving, reduces stress, eases strained relationships, and promotes mental health. It may even strengthen the immune system and contribute to longevity. In fact, University of Chicago studies show a great sense of humor can add an additional 8 years to your life!

Exercising your sense of humor doesn’t mean that you need to tell jokes all the time or be the life of the party. Just be open to the comic relief that daily life provides and cultivate the ability to not take yourself too seriously.

The French novelist, Colette, said, “Total absence of humor renders life impossible.” Being purposeful about using appropriate humor in the workplace not only affords employee morale and health benefits, it also makes customers’ experiences memorable—and that certainly beats the alternative!

Let’s do a word association. You know how these work: I’ll name a word and you, off the top of your head, identify a set of words that you associate with that word. Ready?

The first word is indifference. What words immediately come to mind?

The second word is enthusiasm. What words immediately come to mind?

When I perform this activity at my seminars, participants’ associations with “indifference” are words like: apathy, don’t care, unimportant, don’t matter, etc. and their associations with “enthusiasm” are words like: lively, energetic, smile, radiant, etc.

Consider this statistic: 68 percent of customers quit doing business with a company because of perceived indifference towards them as customers.

In other words, lots of customers feel as though employees are apathetic and don’t care, and that, as customers, they are unimportant and don’t matter to the company.

What could be leading customers to feel this way? Everyone’s experience is unique but definitely interpersonal communication effects this perception. When employees don’t smile, make eye contact, or add a bit of enthusiasm to their voices, customers notice.

But here’s the good news: When employees do smile, make eye contact, and add a bit of enthusiasm to their voices, customers recognize that too. And because it’s a change from the indifferent service that most customers have come to expect, it stands out as refreshing, unique, and memorable.

Recently, I was reading the book Love Your Patients by Scott Louis Diering, M.D. and came across the following passage:

“Everyone is important. Every person you meet is very, very important. Every patient’s problem, every concern, every appointment, every minute is very, very important. Everything is important to someone. All we need do is recognize that importance. Enthusiasm is the easiest way for our patients to know that they are important.

When we act with enthusiasm, our patients will know that we truly take them seriously. We must ‘get into it.’ Many of the techniques and suggestions (referenced above) show our enthusiasm: We nod our head, make eye contact, and listen intently. We do these things to show our patients that they are our biggest concern.

It does not matter how many other more urgent problems we have to deal with. It does not matter that our last patient and our next patient are dying. What matters is, while we are with this patient, we are not distracted, bored, uninterested or unconcerned…

The best ways to show our enthusiasm are to thank our patients, to ask some non-healthcare questions about them, and to let them know that we are glad to see them…

Someone may criticize this view. They may say small talk distracts us from real patient care. They are wrong. Our business is people. The more we know about our patients, the better we can serve them.”

Many job roles, regardless of industry, become process-focused and routine over time. Service providers systematically go about their tasks and may unwittingly convey indifference towards the customers they serve.

Always look for opportunities to convey authentic enthusiasm: smile, make eye contact, add enthusiasm to your voice, ask engaging, non-routine questions and let your customers know that you’re genuinely happy to serve them.

In doing so, you will be expressing your uniqueness by adding personality to an otherwise routine and indifferent transaction. Best of all, you will be seen by customers as memorable—which certainly beats the alternative.

How much more effective would you be at expanding your presence on Twitter if your updates were not only seen as useful, interesting, relevant, or entertaining—but also stood out in a crowded Twitter stream as unique, refreshing, and memorable?

And I’m not just referring to your avatar. Sure, an interesting pose or graphic is going to draw attention initially but if there’s no personality in your bio or character in your Twitter stream, many won’t follow you back. So, beyond the shiny avatar there must be some memorable substance.

In his best-selling book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell introduced the concept of The Stickiness Factor. In essence, he identified the qualities that enabled ideas, concepts, products, etc. to be memorable or “sticky.” The Stickiness Factor is often generated by things that are unconventional, unexpected, and contrary to popular notion.

Later, brothers Chip and Dan Heath devoted an entire book titled Made to Stick to addressing the question: “What makes some ideas stick and others disappear?”

So how can the principles of “sticky” ideas and concepts be applied to Twitter in order to transform typical, bland, and ordinary tweets into “sticky” ones that are unique and memorable—and stand the best chance of being shared (or retweeted) on Twitter?

Studies of the brain have revealed certain traits or characteristics that contribute to something being memorable. Here are some of them:

• Sensory: involves the five senses
• Intensity: exaggerated, absurd, or outrageous
• Outstanding: remarkable, awe-inspiring
• Emotional: contains high-emotion
• Personal importance: interests us, personal significance
• Unexpected: surprises us in some way

By intentionally incorporating these characteristics into your Twitter updates, you will be creating unique and interesting posts that stand a better chance of being noticed in a crowded Twitter stream. And you also increase the odds of expanding your presence on Twitter by having your updates shared and remembered by others.

Here are seven ways that you can incorporate the above characteristics to create tweets that stick:

1.) Express genuine interest: This goes beyond the predictable, “Nice to meet you on Twitter. Have a nice day.” @DrMollieMarti does a great job of expressing genuine interest and conveying authenticity. As a result, she’s made many great connections on Twitter. Here’s an example of one of her updates that showcases her tendency to get real: @DrMollieMarti “Want to make a real difference? Make a continuous choice to be fully YOU, not who your social mask helps you pretend to be…”

2.) Offer sincere and specific compliments: When the opportunity presents itself, compliment others. From time to time on Twitter, you’ll see endorsements of others in the form of #FollowFriday recommendations, retweets, and other props. I’ll use @rmolden’s approach to #FollowFriday as an example. Every Friday on Twitter, users have a chance to recommend Twits they follow to their Twitter communities. The typical #FollowFriday update consists of a string of Twitter @names that are either preceded or followed by: #FollowFriday. What’s different about some of @rmolden’s #FollowFriday recommendations (and why they’re memorable to me) is that he tends to add a bit more substance. Here’s an example: @rmolden “I recommend #followfriday @suzannehih Engaging, positive, perceptive, housewife (with an edge) and theme-maker with a great site http://bit.ly/juX1C” Well done @rmolden.

3.) Share unique knowledge: Twitter offers access to a wealth of diverse backgrounds and expertise. The key is to offer unique knowledge that adds value. @guykawasaki has a reputation for sharing a steady stream of interesting articles from his Alltop website. Many of these posts are memorable for their substance. Others, like this one, are remembered (and retweeted) for their absurdity: @guykawasaki “Fried squirrel, anyone? Live off the land — in the city http://adjix.com/46ub” Another twit who adds value is @KevinZraly. He freely shares his expertise through interesting posts about wine that increase the wine knowledge of his followers. Here’s an example: @KevinZraly “As white wines age, they gain color. Red wines, on the other hand, lose color.” While Twitter users appreciate friendly twits, they value knowledgeable ones. And the more unique knowledge you can share, the more value you add to the Twitter experience for others.

4.) Convey authentic enthusiasm: Just check out Jen’s avatar: @JenChicago. To me, Jen personifies authentic enthusiasm. Love her avatar. Enjoy her updates. She’s a breath of fresh air whenever she surfaces in my Twitter stream. Here’s an example of an update that captures her authentic enthusiasm: @JenChicago “I just bought the song ‘Go Cubs Go’ from Amazon. I am SO Chicago.” You don’t have to live in Chicago to appreciate Jen’s authentic enthusiasm. She is genuinely filled with enthusiasm and authentically conveys this enthusiasm to others in a way that is unique, perhaps even singular, and matches her style and personality.

5.) Use appropriate humor: This doesn’t mean you have to be the life of the party. It does mean opening yourself to the comic relief that daily life provides and cultivating the ability to not take yourself too seriously. The funniest twit I know is @badbanana. His updates usually relate to current events. Here’s one that followed a recent stock market rally: @badbanana “There’s cautious optimism on Wall Street. Now stock brokers are only jumping out of first floor windows.” And another update that came the day after Earth Day: @badbanana “Sure enough, Al Gore came down the chimney last night and unplugged all of our appliances.” Unless you’re at home recovering from abdominal surgery, you should be following his updates.

6.) Provide pleasant surprises: #FollowFriday recommendations, retweets, and other forms of public recognition fall into this category. Also, some twits offer books and other prizes associated with trivia contests or other promotions. @JeffreySummers, for example, provides the book Tribes by Seth Godin to every 500th follower he receives.

7.) Deliver service heroics: A few weeks ago, I posted this blog about how @ComcastBill delivered service heroics. The illustration was even picked up by the national media and provided Comcast with some positive customer service recognition—not something you generally associate with cable service providers.

At the time of this writing I was following about 1,500 people. With more than eight million users now on Twitter, I’ve only “met” a fraction of them. Everyone reading this post can think of people from your own Twitter communities whose updates are memorable. The fact that you can recall these people, out of the hundreds or thousands you may follow, illustrates my point: memorable twits share sticky tweets.

By Steve Curtin (@enthused)

Have you ever missed an opportunity to provide a compliment? Perhaps viewing it as optional? I have. And when I do, it’s usually my wife who points it out. Maybe I’ve overlooked her new haircut or the way she keeps a household of six on track. It’s easy to become complacent in this area and, instead of communicating appreciation, convey indifference or apathy.

We do the same with customers. One statistic I read suggested that 68 percent of customers quit doing business with a company due to perceived indifference towards them as customers.

The author Leo Buscaglia wrote, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

You may be thinking that “…have the potential to turn a life around” sounds a bit dramatic. If, for example, you work in the retail industry and miss an opportunity to compliment a customer on her choice of handbags, life goes on. But consider the field of healthcare and the positive effects that compliments have on patients.

Earlier today I was reading the book, Love Your Patients by Scott Louis Diering, M.D. and came across the following passage:

“One of the nicest gifts we can give anyone is a compliment. A compliment does not cost us anything, is easy to prepare, and shows our patients that we have taken the time to recognize them as special.

For example, when someone is in pain, it is nice to recognize their tolerance. We can say, “You must be very strong to tolerate that!” Or, “You are better than I am, I would be crying!” Or, “You could give lessons on how to manage pain!” Our compliments show our admiration for their pain tolerance.

We can compliment our patients for anything, but compliments about their own healthy behaviors are always good. For example, we can compliment them on their recall for their medical history, their blood sugar log, or their initiative to come in to see us.

Further, praising our patient’s healthy behaviors is a reinforcer for those behaviors. If we reinforce something, it is more likely to occur in the future. And, if we ignore their good behaviors, those good behaviors are less likely to occur again.”

Complimenting customers or patients will help to make the personal customer service you provide more memorable. But remember that co-workers are customers too. They deserve the same type of affirmation and recognition. For more on the topic of recognition, read this light-hearted post titled, Effective recognition is not pi in the sky!

So, while the opportunity to offer a sincere and specific compliment may not present itself during every customer service interaction, just be on the lookout for those opportunities to genuinely recognize the customers you serve.

They will feel better and so will you. As the author J.M. Barrie observed, “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

Here are two separate stories I received this week that share a common theme: restaurateurs who made meaning by expressing genuine interest, conveying authentic enthusiasm, and providing pleasant surprises. Those who practice these memorable customer service behaviors cannot help but succeed—even in a fragile economy.

Lynn from Kansas writes:

“When I went to pick up my taxes this morning in Paola, I parked in front of one of my favorite restaurants—Beethoven’s 9th—across the street from my accountant. It’s a fantastic German restaurant run by a German couple and their son. It was only 9:30am, and they don’t open until 11:00am.

I was making a call on my cell phone in the car when the restaurant owner came out and herded me into the restaurant. We talked as they made breakfast (no, they don’t open for breakfast, but that’s what I got!) and we had the whole restaurant to ourselves! What a pleasant surprise!

On top of that, they never gave me a bill to pay, so I left double the price of what I thought the breakfast would cost, as a “tip.” What wonderful people they are!”

Erin from Colorado writes:

“On Saturday, Fran and I went out to breakfast at a little restaurant that we frequent—the Country Road Café in Kittredge (highly recommend if you’re ever out this way!). It’s known far and wide in Evergreen, Morrison, and beyond, for its incredible food and is always packed.

While we were there Saturday, the owner, Mark, was out serving tables and topping everyone off with coffee, being very attentive to diners’ needs. He and his waiters kept coming by our table to try and top my coffee off, so finally I said, “Thanks, but no thanks, I’m pregnant, so I’m just trying to stick with one!” He seemed a little embarrassed, but said sorry and then something clever and walked away.

A few minutes later, he came back, and proceeded to tell us that he couldn’t believe he didn’t tell me congrats—and also told us about how much he enjoyed being a father. Later, as we got ready to pay our bill, it was marked, “No charge, congrats!”

Fran and I already loved this place, but we’ll be sure to continue going back after that kind of service and attention – and we’ll definitely share our great customer service story. And in this economy, we know a free meal means more, both to him (since people aren’t dining out as much) and to us, so it was an especially nice gesture.”

Guy Kawasaki in his book, The Art of the Start, describes why some succeed in business while others fail. He suggests that those who succeed in business set out to “make meaning, not money.” And contends, “Those who set out to make money, will not make meaning or money.”

These restaurateurs are out to make meaning. And their businesses, clientele, and reputations reflect that.

Last month while I was awaiting a flight at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, I received a phone call from Lisa, an account executive with FedEx.

Lisa was calling me to check on my newly established corporate account and see whether or not I had any questions or needed any shipping supplies. We had a nice chat during which she pulled up my website and asked me why I was holding a pineapple—but that’s a topic for another blog posting… As our conversation ended, Lisa reinforced that she was available when questions did arise and let me know that she would be sending me an email containing her contact information so I would have a record of it.

So here I was, just four weeks into my corporate account with FedEx and having spent less than $100 in shipping with them at the time, receiving a phone call from a company representative. And it was not simply a rote, transactional call confirming the details of my account. Lisa was fun, animated, engaging, and demonstrated her genuine interest by pulling up my website during our call and asking me questions about my business.

After our call, it occurred to me that in the ten years that I used DHL Express I had never received a call from a company representative. During that period, I spent thousands of dollars on domestic and international shipping. As you may know, DHL Express ceased domestic operations in December 2008. That is why I established a corporate account with FedEx in January.

Companies in general—and overnight shipping companies in particular—live or die based on the confidence customers have in their service. And confidence is reinforced through personalized, memorable customer service. To me, FedEx has consistently delivered confidence and reliability.

Now, after my memorable phone call with Lisa, I see them as delivering a personal touch as well.

Go FedEx!

Last Friday night, our family ate out at Ted’s Montana Grill. The menu was kid friendly as was our server, Jonathan, but what really got our attention was the individually packaged Wikki Stix www.wikkistix.com that were provided to each of our older children (ages 4, 5 & 8).

Like most parents of young children, we have come to expect a set of crayons and disposable children’s placemats with a menu on one side and a variety of games (Word Search, Connect the Dots, Crossword Puzzle, etc.) and coloring options on the other. Our children have come to expect the same and, on occasion, are not sufficiently engaged to avoid the restlessness that begins to set in after waiting 10 or 15 minutes for their meals to arrive.

The Wikki Stix, however, were brilliant! Described on the packaging as “twistable, stickable, buildable, playable one-of-a-kind creatables!”, these were novel in their simplicity. Each package contained several Wikki Stix in a variety of bright colors. They were bendable and self-adhesive in order to form a limitless number of designs. One of my boys made a surfer on a surfboard! His brother made a representation of Indiana Jones! Kennedy, as I recall, fashioned hers into a pony.

They continued playing with the Wikki Stix right up until the time their food arrived at the table. That gave my wife and I a chance to check in with each other—at least in the few minutes we had between pacifying our 18 month-old, Carter, who is too young for Wikki Stix!

We enjoyed our entrees, the service was great—especially for a busy Friday night—and the price was reasonable. Even so, there are a dozen other restaurants in the area that offer a comparable experience. That is, until you ask the kids where they want to go.

Despite the fact that they enjoyed their hamburgers and macaroni and cheese entrees, they want to return to the restaurant “with the Wikki Stix!”

It’s yet another example of something that is unique, refreshing, and unexpected winning out over the bland, uneventful, and predictable. Look around your business. What are you continuing to offer that customers may perceive as typical or ordinary? How could you alter it to make it unique and memorable?