Be Human

Two interactions with businesses in the span of an hour the other day struck me with their humanness. I was left with such a positive impression that I knew there was a lesson there. They were simple things, and cost the businesses nothing, but the story they told me was big.

Before I left for lunch I noticed an update in my inbox from the local paper about a topic I would normally care nothing about – that day’s 1 BILLION dollar lottery prize and what to do if you won. For some reason, I clicked on it and was pleasantly surprised. The article could have been dry, practical bullet points but they chose to have fun with it instead. The instructions included things like, “Freak out,” “plan,” and “party.” My favorite part was this:

Mathematicians will tell you it doesn’t matter [what numbers you choose] because the drawings are random. But they also don’t win the lottery because they will also tell you that it doesn’t make sense to play the lottery. That’s why it’s important to believe in yourself and follow your dreams.

Lol.

Yes, I just used “lol” in an article aimed at professionals. You’ll see why in a minute.

I left for lunch and headed through the drive-through for my McNuggets. Don’t judge, you know you have your thing, too. The speaker voice greeted me with, “Welcome to our gourmet steakhouse. How may I serve you today?” Not what I expected at McD’s. The rest of the order proceeded in a similar manner and ended with, “That will be four hundred and seventy-four cents, please pull forward.” When I got to the window, I told the owner of the speaker voice how much I enjoyed the fun he’d injected into the transaction, and with a big smile, he thanked me for being part of it. What a refreshing change from those times when you leave a place thinking, “Well, THAT employee clearly is not a fan of being alive today.”

What’s the lesson here? Yes, businesses exist to make a money, and that’s fine. However, in the expense-slashing race to the bottom in search of maximum profits, the human element is often thrown aside and we are all reduced to cogs in a machine. As more businesses do that, the ones who don’t will stand out. Even if a customer can’t pinpoint why, they will be drawn to the ones that, all other things being equal, treat them like a human being. Someone of value. Someone whose existence is worth recognizing. They’ll keep coming back and they’ll bring their friends. That’s what you want, right?

This concept scales, no matter how many or how few employees you have. It only takes one person to treat a person like a person. The more we can encourage people to do it, the more we all win.

(And about the “lol” well, I’m a human and I lol. I bet you do, too. 🙂 )