Happy Sunday Everyone:
Kim and I were at the Oakland Airport Friday afternoon, grabbing a bite at a busy bar before our flight. The gal working behind the bar came over with a big smile and asked what we wanted. I ordered without thinking to ask Kim if she was hungry. She gave me that look, quietly ordered a salad off the QR code menu, and when the bartender brought it over, she said with a grin, “you didn’t want to tell me in person you were hungry?”
I watched the gal the whole time. Every time someone sat down, she was already there. Not going through the motions, something that felt like genuine care for her work and for the person across from her.
When we wrapped up, Kim mentioned she must have to explain the split-billing system constantly. She looked at Kim, big smile, and said, “babe, I got to wear this smile every time it happens.” You could take that as a funny one-off comment but the concept of wearing a smile means something. Kim and I both took note of the comment.
As someone who smiling doesn’t come naturally to, this is a callout to myself. A while back I wrote about two different women who approached me within the same two weeks. I can’t make this stuff up, one at Costco, full confrontation: “why are you so angry?” without me having said a word. Another, more grandmotherly, caught me picking potatoes at the grocery store: “are you okay? You look like you want to kill somebody.” I was having a very negative impact on the energy in the room without realizing it.
Just last week, one of our rockstar team members said something simple that stuck with me: “I want our clients to hear my smile over the phone.”
That gal at the bar wore her smile like it was part of her uniform for 45 minutes straight. Our teammate gets it instinctively. For me, it’s a major work in progress, clearly. The question for all of us in client-facing roles, and honestly just in life, is whether the people on the other side of us can feel our smile. Back to the airport this morning, I’m going to make a project out of it!