Everyone who has read my book Results Rule! or heard me speak about it asks about Fernando the Waiter. Is he really that good? Is he still waiting tables today? Many have even asked for him at the Cantina Laredo in Addison, Texas.
The real question they want to know is why is Fernando that good?
The best answer is that Fernando is a lot like Fred Shea – the legendary postal carrier in Mark Sanborn’s best-selling book, The Fred Factor.
In case you never read The Fred Factor, it is a story of a postal carrier who takes customer service to levels rarely seen or experienced. Sanborn lays out four basic principles for being a “Fred.”
- Everybody makes a difference.
- Is all built on relationship.
- You can add value to everything you do.
- You can reinvent yourself continually.
Add one more principle – Your passion and enthusiasm are contagious – and you know why 75-80 percent of Fernando’s tables each week are from repeat and referral business.
I have always suspected that people respond to the story of Fernando for the same reason that they love hearing Mark Sanborn talk about Fred – there just aren’t that many of them around.
And while that may be true, there are a lot more than you think. Mark Sanborn introduces you to them in his new book, Fred 2.0: New Ideas on How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results.
Mark has loaded this book with practical examples and compelling stories of how individuals, companies, and entire communities have decided to distinguish themselves through service to others.
This is one of my favorite passages from the book:
“We are most impressed not just by the quality of a person’s work but also by the way he or she treats us. Relationships are key.”
That describes Fred, Fernando, and everyone who consistently delivers results.
Buy this book and discover ways to take your performance and the performance of your entire organization to a legendary level that makes you so distinctive that others will write and speak about you.
