At my last job, the president/COO of the company, Pat Riley, was always talking about the Red Penguin experience. Basically a Red Penguin is someone who exhibits a wow factor, they go above and beyond what is expected of them, thus adding intrensic value to their business.
An simple example of this would be employees at Chick-fil-A always saying, "My pleasure" when they serve you.
Whether you are talking about penguins or cows, I think that the message of these men is that in this over-crowded markeplace, you have to find ways to stand out from your competition.
This morning I had a Red Penguin at Starbucks. I was up early, working on a last minute project, and then I had to run my husband to the bus stop at 6:00 a.m. Since I was up and working, I took the opportunity to run into my local Starbucks.
The woman behind the counter was a wonderful example of a Red Penguin. After taking my order, she took the time to converse with me. She asked me about my weekend plans and then was generally excited for me when I told her that I was going to the beach. I am not the type of person to shout out my plans to the world so it felt good to have personal interaction, even with a stranger.
After I left her post and waited for my coffee to be mixed, I listened as she continued to be genuinely interested in the customers in line behind me.
In our world of drive-up/drive-through/walk-through machines where you can choose to avoid human contact, it is refreshing to have a person interested in you. She could have taken my order and still been courteous, but she went above and beyond and took the time to connect with me.
Maybe it is a woman thing, but connecting with people, whether they are strangers, friends or family is important to me and I feel that it is becoming a lost commodity. If you are looking for a way to stand out from the competition, try connecting with your customers/clients on a human level.
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