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Hey, it’s Pat! 👋

During my time in college, I worked as a waiter for two years, and it was one of the toughest, yet most rewarding experiences of my life. It taught me a ton about customer service, and it’s a job I think every person should try at least once in their life.

In today’s email, you won’t have to become a waiter to learn one of the most important lessons I picked up from that experience. I’m going to tell you straight up how it applies to our online businesses, especially in a world that’s becoming more and more automated.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, this will help you.

Let’s get unstuck.

THE STORY

I had only one goal while waiting tables at a Macaroni Grill near Berkeley, CA — make as much money as possible.

Although I was working minimum wage ($9.25 per hour at the time), it was the tips that came from customers that made the difference between a successful shift and a poor one.

Early on, I realized that there were several factors that contributed to a less than ideal tip:

• Making the patron wait longer than they have to.
• A wrong order.
• A dirty table or dirty silverware.
• The food arriving cold, or not to the specifications of the customer.
• Bad interactions between the customer and the staff.

As a result, I made an effort to make sure my tables and silverware were always clean, orders were placed quickly, food came out hot and on time, and I kept a friendly demeanor, even if I wasn’t in the mood.

With that said, even if all of those things were done, it usually didn’t mean I had a higher than average tip — it just meant the tips had a lower chance of dipping below average.

This was the minimum expectation.

Or in other words, this was table stakes.

(See what I did there? 😉)

In order to earn larger tips, I’d have to go above and beyond the food and treatment patrons expected while in the restaurant. It took me a couple months to realize this, but when I did, I figured out what worked:

• Remembering people’s names and special orders when they came in multiple times (I talk about this in my book, Superfans)
• Filling beverages back to the top of the glass before customers asked for a refill.
• Having extra crayons in my pocket for parents who came in with young kids.
• Engaging with customers who are talkative, and keeping interactions brief for those who are busy and need to be served quickly.
• Drawing a special note on the table for each customer.

This last one on the list worked the best out of all of the above. Let me explain.

Each table at a Macaroni Grill is lined with paper and has a couple crayons on it. After the customer paid for their meal and I dropped off their receipt to sign, I would say, “Thank you, I hope to see you back again soon,” while simultaneously writing a personalized note — maybe 4-5 words max — on the paper right in front of them.

The note would say something like:

• Your blazer rocks.
• Your sunglasses are awesome.
• Your kids are so well behaved.
• Where’d you get your shoes?
• I adore your accent.

You get the idea.

Sometimes, when I wrote a question, I’d see an answer when I went to clean the table, which was pretty cool.

People — we humans — just want to be seen. We want to feel noticed, and when it’s a surprise, it means something — often way more than we realize.

Yes, I initially did this just to get more tips, but I also learned that the more genuine I was, the more thankful people were, and the better I felt on the inside, too. As a byproduct of that, I had way more great shifts than not.

Your Call to Action

I was watching YouTube the other day and saw a video from Singapore featuring a robotic arm serving omelets. After you place an order, within minutes, a robotic arm will have prepared, cooked, and served your omelet.

This is really neat, but also symbolic of where things are going right now. The one thing that’s going to separate you from the robotic arms that can serve the same kind of omelet you can, is the customer service you offer with it.

Yes, things need to be clean and tidy. You need to hit the minimum expectations or else it’s a done deal, but there’s a huge opportunity right now to create experiences, create communities, and make people feel like they’re heard and that they belong.

In fact, if you’re a smaller brand or business or just starting out, this is the true advantage you have over everyone else. Create experiences, and remember the actual human being on the other end of that social media platform, that email subscriber number, and that dollar sign.

SPONSORED BY TIM URBAN

A Brand New Framework for Thinking About Today’s Complex World

What's our problem? Get to the bottom of modern society with a groundbreaking new book from Tim Urban, creator of the wildly popular blog Wait But Why. Dive deep into history, evolutionary psychology, political theory, neuroscience and more as you explore an entirely new framework for understanding our complex world. Packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and hundreds of drawings.

What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies is sure to change the way you see your world.

GET YOUR COPY

​SPI NEWS AND NOTES

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We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the best ways to support your business. Check it out:

1. There is still time to sign-up for our April networking event! Meet the faces behind SPI, the members of our entrepreneurial communities, and other creators for a fun-filled hour starting at 11am PT on April 12th. This is the perfect chance to make some new connections and get some fresh ideas for your business. RSVP here for the event link!​
2. Have you always wanted to create an online course but not sure where to begin? Then this upcoming workshop is perfect for you! I’m hosting Online Courses for Absolute Beginners to show you how to choose the right topic, exactly how to create the course itself, and the best approach to selling your course. Join me on April 19th at 10am PT for this live event!​
3. ​Starting and growing a YouTube channel can be incredibly overwhelming and confusing. When done right, a successful channel can help you grow an audience, launch a new business, generate an income, and even change your life. On April 17th at 11am PT, I’ll be providing a complimentary live training on how to start and grow a YouTube channel. Sign up to add it to your calendar.​

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