Friendliness Matters

Friendliness Matters

Sponsored by New Leaf Hyperbaric’s & Wellness Center & Montana Oral Surgery Centers

When you travel as much as Kathy and I do, you begin to understand some things about small towns.

For three years, we produced a travel series for Toyota called “Exploregon The Back Stories.”

We are back in Oregon, and traveling through Idaho at the moment.

It’s given us pause to think long and hard about the importance of friendliness, when it comes to community.

People will come into your town and if you are lucky enough for them to stop in, what you and your customers do, will tell those travelers a lot about your community.

Example:

Last night we stayed in La Grande Oregon.

We drove past a really cool bowling alley and walked inside.

Wow, this is the nicest bowling alley we’ve ever seen.

For the record we are NOT bowlers but decided to rent a lane for later that night.

We shared our lane with four locals.

Within minutes we shared names, told them how horrible we are at bowling, proved it by our “moves” and in the end were high-fiving each others games.

They helped us pick out “better balls” and screamed cheers when we finally kept our balls out of the gutter.

So what did this tell us about La Grande?

Every restaurant we visited, every stop we made, people were friendly.

They wanted, and appreciated your business.

From the coffee shop to the hotel to the bowlers, a community reveals its heart and soul to strangers through interactions and a smile.

My Thoughts: A business is there to make its owner a living but it’s so much more than that. We are there to serve our community. Are the hours we keep for our benefit or for the benefit of others? Are we greeting people as they walk through the door and appreciating their business or going through the motions?

Friendliness matters. Service Matters. Why are we here anyway?

Each one of us paints a picture of our community, a picture that sticks whether we like it or not.

La Grande left an impression with us that will bring us back or at least leave us with a good story to tell others.

How friendly is your community?

What is the story you are telling to the outside world?

It matters.