When I was a sophomore in college I had a terrible toothache.  It was one week before Thanksgiving, I was 600 miles from my dentist, and the pain was getting worse.  I found a local dentist who could fit me in for a quick exam.  The results, I needed a root canal.  Considering I was heading home in less than a week for break, I contacted my dentist.  Bad news, he was heading out of town for Thanksgiving and wouldn’t be back till late Friday.  Plus, he had a full schedule on Saturday and I was heading back to school on Sunday.  It looked like he wasn’t going to be able to fit me in.  However, he said he could make time for me on Friday evening if I was free.  So at 7:00 pm on the Friday after Thanksgiving my dentist performed the procedure.  He went above and beyond for me, cut his vacation short, and did the entire procedure by himself.  I will never forget this; it truly was a memorable experience.

The third principle in the FISH philosophy is, Make Their Day.  It encourages us to focus on our customers, to always ask the questions “How can I make each customer’s visit memorable?” and “What can I do to fully engage my customers?”  It pushes us to get to know our customers and to figure out what they want/need so that they return to us when they need our services again.

At Ketel Thorstenson we strive to emulate this principle regularly.  We send gifts to clients that reach milestones within their companies, hand out flowers on National Random Acts of Kindness Day, and send handwritten thank you notes to our clients.

Ask anyone, it doesn’t take much to make their day.  It only takes a handwritten note, remembering them when they open a new branch office, walking them to the appropriate office instead of just pointing to it, remembering a regular customers name or their drink order.  All it takes is a little effort on our part.

Here’s my challenge for you, over the next week ask yourself, “What can I do to make this customers visit memorable?”