My Driver

I wanted to write this morning about my driver; my bus driver to be precise, who does one of the most stressful and undervalued jobs in the world! This bus driver has compelled me to ring his employer on at least two occasions to comment on his excellent customer service - then he disappeared and I was shocked and saddened. He was back today! So what made him so special?

1.  Exceptional customer service: He personally welcomed every single passenger with a cheery "good morning sir, madam, miss or mate" and seemed to tailor the address to whether the man might prefer or warrant a "sir" or "mate". After a busy day what a refreshing entry onto the bus

2. Thanked you for your patronage: when you got off the bus you were bid farewell. Acknowledgement in this day and age - how quaint! With most drivers you would be lucky to receive a grunt

3. Skill - he drove carefully and smoothly and seemed to enjoy a job that would drive me nuts (no pun intended). I knew I would get home safe and that he took my safety seriously

4. Memorable: I shared this story with my husband this morning and he knew exactly who I meant even though he had not caught a bus for three years. He even asked me to mention to my bus driver that he too was pleased he was back

5. Goodwill: if he did make a mistake, he has a massive goodwill bank to draw on

So yesterday, when I got on the bus after his absence of six months or more, before I knew it I had blurted out - "welcome back - where have you been?" And on leaving - "it is so good to have you back" - he looked shocked. I hope he doesn't think I am stalking him!

Seriously, I have no alternative way to commute to the city, but it brightens my day and encourages me to talk favourably about my bus driver and his company. There is a saying 'look after your customer and your customer will look after you' - I am a great believer in this because it really matters. How well do you and your team look after your customers?

Natasha Hawker owns Employee Matters Pty Ltd; an HR Consultancy that assists small to medium businesses with their HR functions to make them more efficient and profitable. Their offering includes HR Management, Recruitment, Training, Coaching, and Exit Management – find them at www.employeematters.com.au