800. 13,000. and a story.

My last post was my 800th post. I never thought I would get this far. Thanks if you are still reading after all of this boring time - and especially if you continue to check in even when I don't blog very often (Sis!).

I got my first 13,000 step day yesterday. After my morning gym walk and weights, I had a super busy day at work and then a meeting last night. I got to my meeting about 20 minutes early so I made some loops around the big church parking lot. I am pretty proud of myself for being outside enjoying a nice day, walking and thinking instead of getting on Facebook, checking emails on my phone, etc. It was a good day!

The story. I work in the customer service industry. I know it doesn't seem like it (yeah, I still work for the Girl Scouts!) but I would wager that probably 99% of jobs are really customer service at their core. Our counci lhas been working really hard on our customer service experiences, mostly for our adult volunteers. We recognize that if our volunteers aren't having a good experience that it will filter down to our girls so we need to ensure that everyone involved is working hard to ensure a quality Girl Scout experience all around. That being said, I had an interaction today with someone in the customer service industry that was simple but very impressive. It was notable to me so I just wanted to share...

I went to CVS to pick up my prescription (after their automated voicemail thing called me twice, oops! - but have no fear, we are just talking about headache meds!). The pharmacist there has always been kind, pleasant, and informative and knowledgeable in answering some questions I have had about medications. Now, I only frequent this pharmacy once a month to pick up my meds so he doesn't get a lof of opportunity to remember who I am and I am sure he sees 100's of people a month. His first point was for knowing my name when I walked up. My first name. And my last name. Impressive. As I stood there and waited for my turn to pay, he was talking to the elderly lady in front of me. She was obviously a frequent customer because he remembered that she was having her knee replaced soon. They chatted a minute while she put away her change and he asked her when her surgery was going to be. She told him and he - got out a pocket calendar from his breast pocket and wrote it down - no lie. He wanted to be able to check in on her after her surgery and to ask her about it next time he saw her. I could see the calendar as I stepped up and it was well-marked with notes - surely some from his personal life but probably mostly from his customers. He cares enough to remember my name and to ask about her looming surgery - and then to follow up with her afterwards. That, my friends, is quailty customer service - maybe better called customer care.