Be consistent.
I like to tell people I love change. “Change, change, change … I love it - it’s the only consistent in our lives … CHANGE!”. I’m lying. I really love consistency. Doing the same thing over and over. I get up at the same time, go to bed at the same time, drink coffee the same way I have all my life … I’m a total creature of habit. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
There’s this story of a gal who’s baking a ham. Someone asked her why she cut off the ends before sticking it into the oven. She said because her mom did. Asked the mom - she said it’s because her mom cut off the ends … asked her mom (grandma) … she said it’s because her pan wasn’t big enough. Consistency doesn’t mean doing things for the right reasons all the time; sometimes it’s just because consistency is comfortable.
I’ve been here forever (it feels). At orientation today - we talked about the 5/10 rule. (“Hi” within 5 feet and acknowledge within 10 feet.) It works. We talked about “managing up” and about service recovery. We talk about AIDET and about answering the phone with your name and a smile in your voice. For the past 21 years, we’ve been doing this consistently because it works.
We have to honest and humble with consistency. When it works -- be consistent. When it doesn’t … reconsider.
