Be Extraordinary

Fred 2.0 by Mark Sanborn was a stocking filler for me for Christmas, from Roland. My friends and family know that if they just add a pen, notebook, book or hand cream to a gift they are not certain about, my happiness over the pen, notebook, book or hand cream eliminates any debate on whether the main gift was the correct one or not. The Fred Factor was a New York Times bestseller, and the author was asked so many times about what had happened to Fred, he decided to pen Fred 2.0.

As I started reading it, my mind was flooded with several episodes of bad customer service that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I want to say that perhaps I’m just super fussy (I am) or that I’m just pedantic (I am) but the more I brought up this topic with friends, the more it seems that shoddy customer service has become the norm of our lives.

On a recent trip to a quaint town, we decided to do what most tourists do there. Stop at a speciality restaurant and try the craft beer. Now, I’m not a fan of beer but since this was one of the attractions, I wanted to have a few sips and see what the fuss was about. We ordered our meals and asked the waitress, “What beer do you recommend pairing with this?” She replied without batting an eye, “Oh sorry I don’t know much about beer, so I don’t know.” My mouth fell open and I closed it before a bug flew in and we got on with ordering. A few minutes later, Roland points out that we could ask for a free tasting of about 4 different sample sized beers, which the waitress should have pointed out to us. That way, we could taste, then choose one of the samples as our drink of choice for the meal.

Why on earth would you be working there and not be able to advise customers on the main attraction? Why had the manager not trained her, if that was indeed the case? Why didn’t she take the initiative to care even just a little about our experience in this restaurant?

Rewind to a quick visit to a certain store that having a post-Christmas sale. We walk in and Kelsie heads to the sunglasses and is about to pick one up when the salesperson rushes over, clicks her fingers at Kelsie and growls, “There’s a sign. NO TRYING ON OF SUNGLASSES.” At which point I see a pair of sandals that I like, and I ask, “I assume you can’t try on the footwear as well?” And you can pretty much guess where I’m going with this. She frowns at me and waves her hand and says, “No. You CAN try on the shoes!” I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out the Covid protocol logic on that one.

These are two recent examples. Don’t even get me started on incorrect take-away orders, incorrect prices in stores and just plain bad experiences in the retail and food industries.

My children have got so tired of my complaining that on 12 January 2022, Caitlin was happy to eat raw dough on a chicken pot pie, just so I wouldn’t call the manager. In this instance, the pie was returned, twice, and then I was eventually billed for it as well. The manager came to us to make it an ‘us’ and ‘them’ scenario, blaming the kitchen staff and making it very clear she did not have an ounce of leadership or managerial skills. I wish I could say this was a scene out of Leon Schuster’s movies. I can assure you it is not!

When lock-down was announced, people lost their livelihoods in the blink of an eye. We craved our favourite take-outs, the simple act of walking into a store and being able to browse. When lock down levels were adjusted, I honestly expected poor service delivery and poor customer service to be a thing of the past. After all, surely these establishments would go all out to ensure that their loyal customers were looked after like royalty. Surely, they needed to secure as much business as possible in the dire economic conditions we face. These days, I’m better off having no expectations and will have a better experience overall if I just expect to get the raw end of the deal.

Fred’s story is a simple and true one. He was a mailman who took the ordinary act of delivering mail and made an artistry of his work. The four basic principles are:

• Make a Difference

• Build Relationships

• Create Value

• Reinvent Yourself (continually)

Of course, there have been many prolific books written on similar concepts. Some have also been award winning pieces of work and I don’t discount the value I have found in many of them. I simply mention Fred 2.0 because it’s the book I hold in my hand at the moment. It’s also so easy to be a Fred. Not just in the service or retail industry. But every day. In every aspect of our lives. I struggle with the current generation because us 70’s kids- we strive for excellence. We are not satisfied with mediocre. We can take a mundane, thankless task and do it with extraordinary flair. I go back to the examples I mentioned and imagine so many ways it could have played out. The lacklustre waitress would have got a much better tip. The salesperson could have possibly made a sale not just for the sandals I wanted but also of the sunglasses Kelsie wanted. The manager could have simply apologised and undertaken to make sure it never happened again.

I would be failing if I didn’t mention the Fred’s who have crossed our paths, during the same period that the non-Fred’s did. The sales lady at a trendy store who spent 45 minutes with us, only for us to walk out without giving her the sale because the store didn’t stock the colour of the item we wanted. She smiled, she said she understood, she waved goodbye and wished us a good festive season. I emailed the store the very next day to compliment her on her outstanding customer service.

The manager who went into his storeroom to hunt around for an item because there were only 2 left on the shelf and I wanted both, but he would not let me purchase the one item because someone had removed the plastic and touched it. The waitress who always brought Kelsie extra cookies because we frequented the establishment so often. When Roland and I pitched up alone, she would crane her neck looking outside asking, “Where are the kids?”

Maybe we just need reminding that we are all capable of being Freds. We all have the ability to tackle a tedious task with passion and innovation and excellence. Don’t just make a cup of tea. Make a cup that you would be proud to serve to the aging Monarch in England. I have been anything but a Fred during the week that passed. I have gone back to the book and pulled myself up by the boot straps. I have given myself a talking to. That all important conversation with myself of doing everything as if I'm doing it unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Reciting Philipians 2:12 Do everything without complaining........... Hopefully this will help me be a Fred this week. And the week after that too.

The Fred Checklist

• Goes beyond what is expected

• Isn’t content with being ‘normal’

• Does ordinary things in an extraordinary way

• Loves his/her job

• Cares about the people he/she works with and for