Can I say bravo?

A lot of good things can come from a pat on the back. On a recent visit for medical care with family, we received outstanding service. I wanted to show appreciation for a job well done and send an official compliment, so my wife and I tried to make sure our positive feedback was heard by the right people.

Hey, I realize there surely are other ways to live, to each their own. So maybe it’s a personality thing, perhaps it’s my hippie attitude. But I’ve learned to believe that going out of your way to say “bravo” and commend someone who provided you with excellent service is generally worth the extra effort, whether we’re talking about getting medical care, working with an employee, or just any service you can get. Maybe it’s publicly expressing the “bravo” in a post-mortem project meeting, or taking five minutes to write a letter with extraordinary feedback to the person’s supervisor.

Sure, it can feel nice to be nice and share appreciation on a human level.
Jean-François Chainé, VP Operation

But putting ourselves in the position of the person receiving the compliment, remember a time when you received professional kind words of thanks? Sometimes it can feel like it’s a lot easier to give complaints than compliments for services received. But in my work at Locomotive and in life outside the office, I’ve noticed that offering authentic praise will probably have some sort of positive effect on the person who receives the compliment. Even if this effect is small, such as feeling appreciated or putting a smile on someone’s face. Or maybe it could make a difference in someone’s career path by improving their professional relationship with their employer (so they know that person is a keeper) or helping them work towards a raise, promotion or new position. And there’s also that bit of extra confidence sometimes gained from knowing you did a good job, whatever the task may be.

Of course, any benefits to the compliment receiver are personal and unpredictable. There’s a good chance the person who doled out the praise for services rendered may never find out what the effects may be, but that’s part of the point.

Going out of your way to say “bravo” can take some sincere effort and a bit of extra time, but why not?
Jean-François Chainé, VP Operation

And on that note, thanks to one of our talented Locomotive copywriters Simona Rabinovitch for working with me on this blog post and getting my thoughts down on paper.