The Skill of Serving

Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35)

This past week, I've had an opportunity to observe extreme contrasts in the skill of customer service.

On New Year's Eve, we joined Doug and Marian Eicher (good friends from Nebraska) for dinner at the Chart House in Alexandria on the banks of the Potomac. We arrived in Old Town a little early so we could browse some of the shops before the crowds began arriving for the First Night celebration. By the time of our reservation, we were hungry and ready for a great meal.

We also had high expectations. The Chart House is a special place for Margo and me. We wrote our wedding vows at the Chart House in Half Moon Bay, California, almost twenty-two years ago, and it's where we returned to celebrate our twentiteth anniversary. It's also the place Doug & Marian enjoyed during their last visit to Washington, and they discovered what a terrific (albeit pricey) restaraunt it is.

When we arrived at the Chart House, we were seated by a window looking out on the river and told that "Mr. T" would be our server. As it turns out, Mr. T didn't show up with a mohawk and lots of gold chains; this Mr. T was a petite Asian gentleman with an impeccable skill for serving. Having worked in restaurants, I really appreciate good service, and Mr. T's skill at making us comfortable and anticipating our needs was incredible. It was the little things that caught my attention -- treating our wives with special attention and honor, pacing the delivery of food so we never felt rushed, topping off our beverages so they never even reached half empty, etc. When the rest of the table was off to the salad bar (I ordered the steak & lobster soup so remained at the table), I saw Mr. T swing by to clean off any crumbs from the bread and actually refold everyone's napkins so they'd be fresh upon their return.

Here we were on a very busy night at a very popular spot, and the service was polite, refined, relaxed, professional, and very satisfying. It was great.

But I saw the exact opposite this past Sunday when Margo and I swung through the drive-thru of McDonald's in Warrenton. We had a long drive and an important visitation to make in-between church services and our home Hope Group in the afternoon, and Margo wanted to grab a quick soda for the drive. So we pulled through McDonalds. This location has a little "hut" in the drive-thru and someone greeted us there in person to take our order. Pretty simple -- we just wanted the one drink, a Diet Coke. But Margo asked if they could top off her Diet Coke with just a splash of regular Coke; she discovered that it gets rid of that chemically after-taste found in so many diet sodas (try it, it really works). The guy said to tell the person when we pulled up to the first "pay here" window.

So we pulled around the corner, approached the window, and Margo made her request to the woman there. Instantly, we encountered an ugly attitude as the employee said, "We can't do that. It's a computer." (The employee was referring to the fact that the drinks are poured automatically by a conveyer belt device in this drive-thru.) I was surprised by how very hostile the employee sounded at Margo's request. So Margo politely replied, "Sure, just splash a little of the regular Coke on top." The employee then said, "Well, I'm not going to do it." Then she closed the glass window by hand and walked away.

I couldn't believe it. But we pulled forward to the "pick-up" window where we could hear the disagreeable employee ranting in the background about this woman wanting a mixed beverage and how she wasn't going to do it. Meanwhile, the employee in the "pick up" window kind of stared at us like a deer caught in headlights. Margo explained her request, but before she finished someone had brought over her beverage; apparently they just topped off her Diet Coke with a little Coke from the manual dispensers on the other side of the counter. Easy enough, and certainly not worth the attitude.

Again, my experience as a supervisor in restaraunts prompted me to ask for the manager's name. I figured I'd call him later and let him know of our experience; it's certainly the kind of thing I would have wanted to know if one of my employees had treated a customer that way. But when we asked for the manager's name and number, we were told that if we wanted to speak with him we'd have to come inside. And if we wanted the name of the employee who had shut the window on us and walked away, well... we were out of luck. The employee in the "pick up" window wasn't about to give it to us.

So I stepped inside and quickly spoke with Brian, the Assistant Manager. Apparently he had heard the woman's ranting, wondered why it was a big deal (he said it was no problem to mix the drink manually), and apologized for how we were treated.

All of this got me to thinking: I wonder what people think of our serving skills when they visit our churches. Do we go out of our way to anticipate their needs and make their visit comfortable and pleasant? Do we save the best parking spaces for them and have people available to greet them sincerely and make them feel welcome? Do they get to cut ahead of us in line at a potluck, and do we offer to take their empty plates to the trash for them? Do we make sure they know where they can get any questions answered, and do their kids know how very honored we are to have them in our classes? Do we intentionally select music that will feel familiar and appealing to them, and do we use terminology that is easily understood rather than alienating? Are we quick to slide over to the middle of the row when they arrive so they can have the aisle seats? Will they feel so warmly included that they look forward to their next visit?

Oh, I realize that when Jesus talked about "being the servant of everyone else," he was referring to far bigger things than the "customer experience" aspect of a local church. Still, the principle definitely applies.

From what I'm hearing from the newcomers at Hope, we're doing a great job of genuinely welcoming people and making them feel at home. Perhaps that's part of why God continues to send us new people and why they usually return the following week (we broke another attendance record just this past weekend as the church continues to grow).

The challenge is continuing to be genuine servants as the crowd increases and the task becomes more difficult. When we were first seated for dinner at the Chart House, we were Mr. T's only table. But by the time we were ready for dessert, he had a full section and was zipping about to care for a bunch of people and still have such great timing and service. Well, our "section is getting full" at Hope which means we all have to kick it into high gear as we practice hospitality and the skill of serving others.

I hope folks will honestly be telling their friends about their positive experience with us, and that we'll be more like Mr. T instead of Mickey D.