giving gifts

I am currently reading a book called Linchpin by Seth Godin . Normally i do not read management stylee books but this one is good shit .

In the book Seth Godin talks about being indispensable and why such people should/are valued by the company .

He also talks about emotional labor and work being an act of giving gifts .

Whether we are finicky about it or ignorant , customer service and interaction with such people is a significant part of our mundane everyday lives.

Real customer service to me is when you give a “gift” – solution to a problem, sort stuff out , bring joy , leave a lasting impression.

I got such a pleasantly surprising “gift” couple of days ago.

My eftpos card was in a partially damaged state, it had a huge crack next to the magnetic strip and I being lazy did not have inspiration  to fix it , i was just waiting for it to be rendered completely useless.

Even in that state, i used the card heavily ( as normal) , some customer service guys expressed sympathy , some surprise ,some refused to use it , some expressed indifference

and then a guy at Caltex did something else .

When I approached the counter and proceeded to pay , he first informed me about how shit the card was (politely) and then as I was keying in the numbers . he asked for permission to fix it .

I got my hero there , i happily said yes and then my hero pulled out cello tape and neatly put it on and fixed it !

I thanked my hero and went away smiling,happy and sorted .

Why is he my hero ?

fixing cards with cello tapes is not part of his job description

suggesting solutions is not part of his job description

executing solutions is not part of his job description

his boss was not watching or supervising him

still,he found and showed me a way without having a map for it .