I Want to Have Breakfast…With You
What a 10 year-old can teach us about customer happiness.
Over drinks with a client earlier this year, he told me about a ritual he has with his daughter. Every week they have breakfast together one morning before she heads off to school. She’s 15 now and they’ve been doing it for years. He travels a lot, but every week when he’s in town they do this without exception. He said that when she was younger it was a way for him to ensure he got some one-on-one time with her, and now that she’s a teenager it’s proving to be a way he can keep connected to her world and stay on top of things going on in her life; something many parents of teenagers struggle to do.
As a father of a son and a daughter, my son and I definitely get more quality time together and my daughter tends to spend more time hanging out with my wife. When I heard this story it really resonated with me as a way to connect with my daughter, so I asked her if she’d like to do it. She said yes, with a moderate amount of enthusiasm (I suspected getting to go out for breakfast before school once a week was the cool part). I told her she could pick anywhere she wanted near home/school and we could mix it up each week.
Out we go…
We went the first time and she picked a nearby coffee shop/bakery. We sat there for 30 minutes and had a great chat about everything going on at school, with her friends, her interests outside of school, etc. All her, all the time. Whatever she wanted to talk about and everything that interested her. We both had a good time and I certainly planned to repeat the following week. Then something great happened.
Early the next week she came to me to confirm that we’d be going to breakfast again that week. I had to travel, but we switched up the day to make sure we got it in. She picked a different spot and we hung out again for some chatting and a little goofing around (we goof around a lot). Then, the next week, she confirmed once again that our tradition would continue. And, sure enough, it has; one morning before school every week that I’m in town. I know about her classes, her teachers, her friends (and the drama with some of her friends!), her interests, her daydreams and aspirations.
One night this week during family dinner at home I asked her if she wanted to go to breakfast again this week (the question has become rhetorical, but I ask anyway), and she enthusiastically said, “YES!” I sarcastically said the only reason she’s so excited is because she likes going out to breakfast.
Then she said, “I like going out to breakfast…with you.”
The Punchline…
That’s the punchline, friends — the reason I’ve gotten you to read this far. In those two words, with you, is everything that matters. It means this little experiment of mine (that I brazenly lifted from someone else) is working. With just a little extra selfless attention paid to my daughter, to talk about her and what’s going on in her life, we have created a connection on a deeper level than we ever had before. No fancy presents or grand gestures required. It doesn’t take a lot of money or a ton of time. Just 30 minutes, once a week, over some coffee, orange juice, and a croissant.
So, that’s the punchline, but what’s the takeaway in a business context? What I have also learned from many years in business, and coming up on six years of owning and running Dialsmith, is that clients also don’t require grand, over-the-top gestures. Just a solid, general interest in their success and well-being. A faster-then-expected reply, a project that comes in slightly under budget, a nice thank you note to show appreciation.
Simple connections and small surprises that naturally delight and show you care.
In the end, the best business compliments I’ve ever received are that we’re easy to work with and always deliver on our promises. But now, thanks to my daughter, the compliment I will most strive to receive from my clients is that they want to do more work…with me.
Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please hit the heart below and share the love. I’d also really like to hear your feedback in the responses on how this story relates to you, or hit me up at david[at]dialsmith[dot]com. Thanks, again : )
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