Those of you who follow me on Facebook will know that I was dining out with Nikki and Liv from Pure Dental (Cornwall) on a few weeks ago, prior to our London Mastermind Group meeting (MMG). There on the next table sat a face that I couldn’t place (its my age) – I leaned over to Nikki and asked “who is that lady?” The girls nearly fell off their chairs when they recognised Rachel Stevens of singing, dancing, acting and being famous fame.
 
After some discussion and as we left the restaurant I approached said Ms Stevens (dining with her husband and friends) and politely asked:
“I apologise for interrupting your dinner but would you mind a quick photo with my friends?”
 
She looked at me, beamed a huge smile and replied: “No problem”
 
And then chatted to the girls for just a few moments as I fumbled with my iPhone.
The resulting snap will no doubt decorate the staff room at Pure and a few Facebook sites for a long time to come.
 
We were discussing said incident at the MMG meeting the following day and those present reminded me that what happened was a metaphor for those “moments of truth” in a customer service experience or patient journey.
 
The fact is that Ms Stevens could have said “no” or complied grudgingly – her friends and hubby could have reacted negatively (he, by the way, was a delight, joking that we could have the photo for a round of drinks – but I mean joking).
 
Had that been the case then all three of us at the time and the MMG members the next day could have SMS’ed, tweeted or FB’ed our contact list to spread the bad news.
 
As it was – we did the opposite and immediately used our various social media channels (as here) to express our gratitude and delight that Ms S was so accommodating, humble and pleasant – “Brand Rachel” is thus enhanced.
 
It doesn’t take much does it?
 
A smile, a few kind words of interest and a moment of time – and her brand is positively promoted to hundreds of people.
 
Every member of your team is a custodian of your brand – everything they do – and more importantly, the way they do it – is an example of your brand – don’t spend thousands on marketing and positioning and then employ people who are not naturally as lovely as Rachel.