Everyone knows the story of Nordstrom returning a set of tires — even though they don’t sell tires — for the sake of customer service. We’ve heard how Morton’s Steakhouse met someone at the airport, piping hot porterhouse in hand, simply because they jokingly tweeted how nice it would be. These are WOW moments.ย Or, in the parlance of Barney Stinson, these storiesย are legen — wait for it โย dary.
Why? These stories get shared. Your customers can’t believe it. They can’t stop talking about it and want all their friends to know. Even better, your employees are WOWed, too, spurring imitators and encouraging increasingly creativeย WOW-worthy moments.
How can you motivate employees and create legends at your business?
- Display a Digital Frame full of WOW. When you first walk into the Ruby office you’ll be greeted,ย offered a seat, and treated toย coffee or water. While you wait, a digital frame circulates our best WOW stories, highlighting our virtual receptionists for jobs exceedingly well done. Ruby employees get to see these storiesย every day when they walkย in the office or while they answer phones and greet visitorsย in the front lobby. A slideshow is a great reminder of all the ways they canย WOWย andย provides some very public recognition!
- Core Values in Action Awards. Each quarter, after the last call of the night, the Ruby team gathersย for a staff meeting to create community, geek out over KPIs, learn, and launch new incentive campaigns. Our Director of Culture, Sarah Sackett,ย kicks things off with our Core Values in Action Awards (or CViA for short).ย All quarter long, Rubys can nominate their peers (or themselves!) for exemplifying our Core Values, and Sarah recognizes the very best with a CViA amidst loud cheering from the rest of the staff. One stand-out story gets the prestigious honor of “WOW Story of the Quarter” and a crisp $100 bill!
- WOW Station.ย Inspired byย a suggestion from one of ourย virtual receptionists, we created a “WOW Station” toย give Rubysย inspiration and tools to make even more connections with our clients.ย Rather than tucking it away in a corner or supply room, this station stands in the middle of our break room for all to see. Its drawers areย stocked with bright orange and pink tissue paper, blank notecards, and gift ideas. Stories of past gifts andย compliments and handwritten thank you cards from clients decorate the space, sparking creativity and creating even more legends!
