Subject: DUCKS QUACK, EAGLE FLY
Some years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me 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 in the rearview 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 guru, 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.
So what are you?
Unknown "ღErmie" Naughty
- 15 years, 8 months, 18 days ago
