Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this
point.
He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport.
When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was
polished to a bright shine.
Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black
slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back
passenger door for Harvey .
He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver.
While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission
statement.'
Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To
get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest
way possible in a friendly environment.
This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab
matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!
As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I
have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'
My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and
said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke,
water and orange juice.'
Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'
Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have
The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'
As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card.
'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to
listen to the radio.'
And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air
conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then
he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of
day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about
some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own
thoughts.
'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served
customers like this?'
Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only
been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my
time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the
personal growth individual, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.
He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer
said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll
rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining!
Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle.
Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''
'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally.
'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so
I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the
other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were
unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some
changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did
more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.
'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my
income from the previous year.
This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I
don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my
cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them
up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the
action.'
Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.
I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the
years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their
cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and
told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.
Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking
like ducks and start soaring like eagles.
Enjoy
Buzzbot
Bertie Birchfield
