This past weekend, The Washington Post ran an obituary for a local businessman and gasoline station owner, who, as the headline said “was a stickler for perfect customer service.” Bob Eastham, who passed away May 27 at the age of 71, was the owner of a Bethesda, Md. Exxon gas station that became known for superior service and was one of the top grossing Exxon stations in the country.
Mr. Eastham was so devoted to customer service that he had eight rules of customer service that were printed on a card for each employee to carry. Among Eastham’s customer service instructions to his staff were these, according to the Washington Post:
– “Run, do not walk to cars. 2 men on all cars!”
– “Greet customer with a smile and a cheerful ‘Good Morning.’ . . . NOT ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘Yes,’ OR anything else.”
– “Never discuss personal things — where you are going to eat dinner, your sex life, or anything else unrelated to my customer or his car.”
Clearly Mr. Eastham devotion to customer service paid off in many ways. First, it helped the bottom line of his business. Second, it helped the reputation of his business. And third, it made him stand apart and be remembered in a positive way.
Perhaps if business owners thought about what kind of legacy they will leave, they might want to be remembered for having a business that put customers first.
