Chapter 43. Great Service

The next day, while eating at Grandma's Soup House, Nancy looked at a card Kathryn had written her.

Dear Nancy,

I just want you to know how thankful I am that you decided to mentor me. Honestly, a few months ago I was planning to quit. No matter how much I needed the job and the paycheck, I could no longer work at place where I didn't matter. I hated coming to work and even worse I hated the person I had become while working here. But then everything changed. You stopped ignoring me. You started taking me to lunch. You gave me advice, and you listened to my ideas. For the first time I felt like someone at work cared about me and the work I do. Now I love coming to work. I feel like I'm making a difference, and I love taking care of our customers. It's all because of you. So thank you for making me feel like I matter. Thank you for making Soup, Inc., a place I love. I look forward to helping you and the company accomplish great things.

—Kathryn

Nancy placed the card on the table, wiped the tears from her eyes, and realized that her business was not much different than Grandma's Soup House. The key to both their successes was great leadership and great service. Although she wasn't serving food in a restaurant, she was in the service business; she needed to serve her people and in turn they would serve their customers. She decided that great customer service begins with serving your employees first and your customers second. If you shower your employees with ...

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