Service stories show how you measure up!

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Service stories have been shared throughout history – even mythological tales  from ancient Hindi, Greek and Egyptian cultures have offered valuable lessons on the value of service. Think about the story of Prometheus a Greek Titan for example, who demonstrates his commitment to service by continuing to help humanity in various ways, including them how to read and write. Think about Ma’at an Egyptian goddess of truth, justice and balance, who inspires Egyptians of today, that by serving their community and the greater good, they will maintain order in the universe.  

We continue to tell stories today about real examples for all of us in the modern world to learn from, and regardless of whether they’re stories of misery or joy, we want to share them and we want to hear them. 

You can tell a lot about an organisation’s service culture by the stories that are shared. Stories tell us things about ourselves and help us see who we’ve become and who we’re becoming. 

I was listening to a reputable talkback radio show the other day, and they were doing a segment asking listeners to call in and share their worst experience with a company. 

This was prime listening, and I turned the volume up with anticipation to hear the stories. (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one.) Callers spent several minutes going over every detail of the characters they dealt with, the scenario, the drama and the impact, and were encouraged to name and shame the company. Just ordinary people warning fellow citizens to stay away from a brand and giving the reasons why.  

On that same day, I arrived at the workplace of a client of ours that is obsessed with collecting service stories from their customers and stakeholders. They had several to tell me when I arrived. And of course, all these stories of joy (and the ones of misery too) find their way to the CEO and are shared far and wide with the other teams, so people can learn and recognise the value of service in the company.  

What stories do people share about your company?  

Are they stories that belong on a ‘name and shame’ segment on talkback radio? Or are they inspiring accounts of how individuals have made a positive impact on the world through their actions and intentions? 

Be on the hunt for your service stories from this day on. Collect them. Share them. Talk about them informally and formally, with teams and with individuals.   

Make stories a key indicator of how you measure your service culture, because each story captures how you’re measuring up for your customers in a particular moment in time.