Thankfulness as Inspiration

I was once involved in placing a large lunch order at a local chain restaurant. When the food was being handed out, we realized that there had been a mistakes with the order and one item was missing. We informed the restaurant, and they offered to replace the missing item, but what was really impressive was what happened later. We received a letter of apology from the manager as well as a gift certificate for a free meal. Although I was grateful for the apology and the free food, the letter was so well-written that I saved it as an example of how I want to apologize should the need arise.

While the story above is an example of good customer service, it also illustrates how you can find inspiration in almost any circumstance. In fact, years later, I still have that letter! It is instructive to reflect on experiences that made you feel thankful in some way and take them as examples to emulate in the future.

And, this isn’t just about good customer service. Perhaps you were thankful when your coworker showed you how to do something, your colleague handled a difficult situation well, or your office mate offered to help with a large project. Think about what specifically was done in those situations that you could emulate in the future.

When giving service to others, making business decisions, or providing feedback, we all reference past experiences. Use the best of those experiences to inspire you to greater excellence. You’ll be thankful you did.