SMILE on Huffington Post
Reggie Wilson, the star of SMILE Customer Service is in the news this summer. A wonderful article by Kay Kinton, guest contributor, at Huffington Post. Link to the article and to our favorite customer service video, SMILE! Your Gift to the World
I left Starbucks this morning in tears, my usual coffee in one hand and a gift from a stranger in the other.
The stranger’s name was Reggie and he is the driver of the city bus whose route begins at 5:30 each morning in front of the Starbucks down the street from my house. I’ve noticed Reggie before, a tall African American man who like most of us at 5:30am is not quite awake. Because his route begins at Starbucks each day, I often see him when I get my coffee. Today was a little different. As I walked past his bus this morning, I noticed 2 signs in the windshield. One simply said, “smile” and the other had a drawing of a smiley face (the usual 2 dots for eyes and a curved line for the mouth – both signs hand made, nothing fancy).
As I walked past the bus, barely awake, I did just what the sign said – I smiled. Reggie noticed and gave the horn of the bus a little, “toot”. It made my step a little lighter knowing that my smile had been noticed. I walked into the Starbucks sharing the smile with the same 5 people who seem to always be in Starbucks at this hour. As I ordered my usual coffee, Reggie walked in and came up to me with a simple little pendent that also said, SMILE. I no doubt beamed and proudly pinned the pendant to my fleece coat. He then gave me a smooth grey rock that he said he collected from the beach just across the street from the Starbucks. On the rock, he had written the word “smile” along with the drawing of a smiley face.
As I waited for my coffee order, Reggie told me that moments earlier he had been in deep thought about something that was bothering him. My smile had made him forget the trouble as he simply smiled back. I had lifted his mood.
After a few pleasantries, we said goodbye and I drove away with a certainty that I had never felt before – this is what life is about. It’s connecting in these seemingly insignificant ways that matter. It’s finding these connections in our everyday lives that bring a joy that no amount of money or prestige can bring.
So, my tears were tears of joy.
Think about sharing a smile today. You may just make someone’s day. And, they may surprise you and make yours right back:-)
More From Our Blog…
Reclaiming the Water
Why I’m in awe of the Howard University swimming and diving team By Gina Miller When we follow threads back through history, appalling origins or explanations for certain contemporary social issues / racial matters are often discovered. This was my experience when I...
Chances are your hiring process is riddled with bias
Inclusive hiring is the practice of minimizing bias and creating an equitable recruitment, application, interview, selection and offer process for a diverse set of candidates. It’s critical for attracting and retaining a diverse, engaged and innovative talent pool....
DEI Leaders are Burning Out
A recent article in Human Resources Director highlights something that we’ve been hearing a lot about - diversity fatigue. It’s a term from the 90s, but it’s back now and the reasons require serious consideration. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, there was...
The Day the National Guard Raided an HBCU Dorm
A portion of the bullet-ridden, exterior wall of Smith Hall still stands in commemoration at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Khadejeh Nikouyeh/News & ObserverThis is why Black history needs to be taught By Gina Miller, contributing...
Embodying Ethical Leadership
In an age when faith in our institutions—academic, corporate and government—is at an all-time low, it behooves leaders to “do the right thing.” Paraphrasing Charlamagne, “Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right, we must know what is...
Right Where She Belongs
How Lisette Martinez creates an inclusive culture and a world of opportunity as Jefferson Health’s Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer By Gina Miller The innate desire to belong The year was 1984 in Ypsilanti, Michigan when the world fractured in...
The Accessibility Journey
Accessibility is typically about providing the ability to access a building, a vehicle or a service. In our world of online eLearning courses, accessibility means enabling all learners to engage with a course in the way they need and prefer in order to gain the...
The 21-Day Plan for Disarming Microaggressions Wins Two More Awards
The Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts (AIVA) has recognized The 21-Day Plan for Disarming Microaggressions as a 2022 Davey Awards Silver Winner in the category of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Daveys are an international award competition focused...
New! SunShower Now Offers the Most Modern and Flexible Formats To Meet Your Training Needs
Years ago, in a far-off time, SunShower delivered its training programs on VHS tape. All training rooms had tape players, TVs and projectors. Trainers would carry the training tapes, insert them into the machine and hope they wouldn’t be “eaten.” In those days, the...
Maslow’s Hierarchy and the Scientific Connection Between Belonging and Health
Humans have an innate need to belong. In fact, “love and belonging” are featured prominently in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This central model in psychology asserts that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs, and “belonging” (that is, the need to...