Service Heroes

[Patrick Maguire]

I recently read a blog post on FohBoh (a great restaurant industry site) by Bill Campion, a regular contributor. Here’s an excerpt:

Recently my cell phone stopped working so I got roped into purchasing a new one. It’s basically the same model which doesn’t mean much because I barely knew how to operate the old one. In any event I had to go in to ask a few questions on standard operation procedures.

I usually won’t enter the store until I case the joint – that’s police talk I learned from watching CSI… Seriously what I do is walk back and forth in front of the store to see if my service hero is working… and if she isn’t I don’t go in. If she is working I go in and ask for her by name. I don’t care if I have to wait 20 minutes. Dealing with her is well worth it.

I thought about the term ’service hero’ yesterday as I was leaving Shaw’s Supermarket at The Prudential Center in Boston after receiving great service from Marcus in the Meat Dept. I’ve interacted with Marcus several times over the last few years and his service, hospitality and attitude are consistently extraordinary, to the point where I always seek him out if I need help. He has never let me down, even if he couldn’t help me.

When I got home I called John Scuccimarra, the store manager to compliment Marcus. He told me he wished he had a nickel for every accolade he received about Marcus and related that he was the Associate of the Year last year. He noted that in the 20 years he has known Marcus, his investment in his job and commitment to hospitality have never wavered. He also mentioned that they buy lunch for associates who get commendations from customers. Marcus is a great guy, and I hope he gets more than a sub and an attaboy during his next review! Say hello to Marcus and John if you visit Shaw’s in Boston.

Do you have any ’service heroes’ in your life? They’re the servers you look for and ask for when you walk into a business, and will even wait for a little longer when they are busy. What is it about their service, hospitality and attitude that sets them apart? What is the server’s name? Tell us the name and location of the business where they work.

My goal is to identify and recognize at least 100 ’server heroes’ from around the world in the comments section below. Please join in. Thank you.

PS- The fresh Bell & Evans chicken Marcus helped me pick out was tremendous.

PSS- Please join me on November 8th at Kennedy's for the massmouth story slam, "Service."

[Deidre Christiansen]

That's a great idea... back when I worked in the service industry, I wish someone had just told me that it's really about not adding to someone else's bad day. I can't suggest a server hero, but I can recommend everyone at LeBlanc's Hardware in Manchester NH - nearly 10 years, many of the same people are still there, and most of them recognize me. The guy in the fastener aisle will take your handful of rusty oddities and hand you back a taped paper bag of clean, new bolts that confuse the pants off most of the people in the big hardware stores.