Above and Beyond

This story is personal. In 1985 I bought the third Mazda RX-7 in Atlanta. I loved that car and named it Flash…you can imagine why. Flash learned most of the state of Georgia. I was consulting all over the state at that time and drove everywhere. I was going to keep that car forever. About 1,000 miles after I put a new engine in it, Flash sacrificed its life for my daughter, Kate, and me. We got hit at an intersection. Kate and I walked away. The car was totaled.

I got another RX-7. However, this one was not maintained as well as Flash and within 2 years it was no longer safe to drive. I knew the RX-8’s were coming out and unfortunately this RX-7 died before I could get an RX-8. So, I got a Mustang. Not bad. But I longed for my RX-7.

On Saturday night, I got one of the most pleasant shocks of my life. It was my husband’s 65th birthday celebration. When we walked out of the restaurant there was Flash! The same white car…although this is Flash II. Charlie Shazin, Mazda business owner extraordinare, my daughter, and my husband plotted for the past 7 months. Charlie rebuilt a Mazda RX-7 for me. (Charlie had taken care of Flash and knows Mazda’s inside and out).

The story is incredible. What they went through finding parts and an engine for a 20-year old car. They moved mountains. All of Charlie’s mechanics were into this project and helped. Kate was the last one to drive the car before they pulled it apart and it went to paint. She said it was in bad shape….not any more!

They searched high and low for a radio (I have weird requirements these days – tape and CD player). They found a guy to hand paint the pin stripe the same way it was on the original Flash. This was customer service above and beyond by people who were passionate about what they were doing. And, it showed.

Flash II looks like Flash with the exception of the radio (there were no CD’s in the 80’s) and the interior. Gray instead of maroon. Those maroon interiors disintegrated. I know because I had replaced the interior of Flash once.

And yes, I took it out yesterday afternoon for a drive. I couldn’t go too fast…there were too many cops on the road. However, I did find out that Flash II moves as fast or faster than Flash. I’ve got the car I love back!

The reason that I am telling you this story is that this is an example of passionate work by passionate people and it shows. We need to show our customers that we are passionate about their needs and go above and beyond their expectations.

Why not start with something that one of my clients’ air conditioning installation crews do…sign their work? Every system is signed by the people who work on it. They are proud of their installation and are willing to sign their name to it.

What can you do to go above and beyond?