Since I had my five entry rant about bad service, I wanted to talk about great service.

Seven

Sean opened up his coffee shop about a year ago. It’s four doors from my house. I don’t drink coffee. My kids can’t eat the gluten baked goods, and we all adore Sean and being at his place. I take David in there when he’s being fussy, so he and Sean can have a chat. We go in to read the kids’ books Sean provides or play with his toys. Sean has somehow made his coffee shop a haven for laptoppers, lovers, business people, dogs, and kids.

Pete’s Eggnest

My corner diner. I don’t think there are many words sweeter, besides maybe, my corner dark chocolate emporium. The food is great and abundant. The service can be slow, but who cares, it’s Vula. Vula, who hugs and kisses me every time I walk in the door. Vula, who is so happy to see my children, my parents, my out-of-town friends. Vula, who remembers to put extra cheese on Rose’s omelet and what type of tea John drinks. Vula, who makes everyone feel this welcome.

Mr. Gyros

They got rated the best take-out place in Seattle by Seattle Magazine. Oh yes. The gyros are outstanding—deep flavors, a great combination of textures—just delicious. But, again, it’s the service that makes them stand out. They smile and greet everyone, usually with a “Hi Bro,” or “Two regulars with spicy?” They are a couple of young guys, still in business school, and they make the place feel like a party, and you are the guest they’ve been waiting for.

Jenna at Gildenfire dance

Rose and Miriam just decided they wanted to take dance class, so I got a hold of the dance teacher Rose had at her pre-school last year and started them up again today. It was great. She made us all feel so welcome and smoothly integrated them into the class.

Carpet people

After our disaster with the first carpet company, I was only going with ones that had a personal recommendation from a friend. Our fantastic contractor, Mike Clay, gave us the rec. Margaret didn’t try to upsell me. She bid fairly. I told her the couch was not a fold-out. When it turned out it was and therefore took the team two extra hours to deal with it, she left it up to my judgment whether I paid for that time. Of course I did, but I appreciate the gesture.

The Greenwood Library staff, especially Kathy

Maybe it’s the mark of really great service when it doesn’t feel like service, it’s just a friend helping you out. I remember one day almost two years ago. David was an infant. Rose, David, and I had been hanging out in the library for about an hour doing puzzles, nursing, changing diapers, reading books, and it was time to check out. David started to lose it, screaming at the top of his lungs. Two reference librarians and a library assistant came toward me, not to shush me or hustle me out the door, but to coo over my baby and help. They finished checking me out, loaded up my backpack, chatted with Rose, and told me about their babies. I felt so safe.

Kathy is one of the children’s librarians. We’ve been coming to her story time for a couple of years. Her face lights up every time she sees us. I feel the same about her.

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And then there are people I pay for services who have also become my friends

Jane at Equinox Healing Arts

They just got rated best massage by Seattle Magazine. (Hi Jane!) Jane’s massages keep me walking and make it possible for me to move my neck. But, really, besides the great massage, I want to thank Jane publicly for the late-night gigs. She lets me put the kids to bed and then show up at her door. Jane and I talk about everything, including the need to put some limits on client requests. I’m very grateful she’s cut me some slack.

Kathleen gardening

Kathleen (Hi Kathleen!) jokes she’s not sure whether she’s being paid to garden or babysit. Well, it’s not my fault if my kids adore her and follow her everywhere. This is not the place to rave about how wonderful a person Kathleen is—funny, smart, loving, talented—because I’m trying to focus on her as a business person. Here’s an example. We had rats. Uggh! We had the rat man come out. He laid traps in the attic and said they are probably climbing up the trees. I emailed Kathleen and said I had a two week window and needed the trees cut back. She made it happen. This was in the midst of my service provider disasters. The contrast was so obvious. Kathleen was efficient, cheerful, and got the job done. She’s trying very hard to retire. No, our ecoturf needs you. We need you!