Shaun Belding - The Journey to WOW: The Path to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty

The Journey to WOW: A Roadmap to Outstanding Customer Experience and Loyalty

by Shaun Belding

Copyright 2018 Shaun Belding

ISBN 978-1-63393-693-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

Published by

210 60th Street

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

8004354811

www.koehlerbooks.com

CHAPTER
ONE

CAMERON WHITEHALL HAD A morning routine. Alarm at 6:00. Feet on the floor by 6:05. Showered by 6:20. Fed by 6:40. Out of the door by 7:00. Stuck in traffic by 7:03.

Cameron liked routine. It gave him a sense of comfort and control, along with a little bit of superstitious satisfaction that the day ahead was going to be manageable. Routine gave him something to grasp when things went sideways, a security blanket with which to greet the day. The only time, in fact, that routine didnt work for him was when the routine itself went sideways.

Which was, at the moment, exactly what was happening.

It was 4:00 am on March 27, and Cameron had already been awake for an hour. It wasnt helping that a seventy-six pound, three-year-old golden lab named Chewbacca had been staring at him from five inches away for the last ten minutes. Cameron turned his head and looked into the big, soft brown eyes. Just because Im awake early doesnt mean you get an early breakfast you know, he grumbled.

Hearing the word breakfast, Chewbacca barked, ran in a circle, then scampered out of the room and down the stairs. Breakfast was not something to be missed. Cameron rolled over and stared at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he groaned and willed himself to stand, shuffled into the shower, and let the warm water wash away any remaining pretense of sleepiness.

Twenty minutes later, as Cameron was getting dressed, Chewbacca bounded back up the stairs and skidded to a stop at the bedroom doorway. He tilted his head and looked at Cameron. Perhaps Cameron had forgotten hed mentioned breakfast? Cameron smiled as he pulled on his belt, inspecting himself in the full-length mirror to ensure everything was in order. Maybe you can tell me why I havent been able to sleep for the past two nights, he said to the dog. Sleep wasnt something he ever struggled with.

Its just our normal Monday morning meeting. Cameron said to his reflection. Why is this one bothering me? And yet here he was, getting dressed at 4:30 in the morning. He couldnt shake the feeling of impending... something. Not doom. Nothing so dramatic. But something. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Chewbacca saw the headshake and interpreted this as Ill be right down, ran in another circle, and raced happily away back downstairs. Cameron watched him and smiled. Chewy never lost sleep. He was always happy, and never asked for much more than a little attention.

If only people were that simple, he thought.

Cameron made his way downstairs to find the lab anxiously waiting beside his bowl. He filled the dish and the dogs head dove in. Now dont be expecting this every morning, he said. And dont be expecting a second breakfast in another hour.

Chewy lifted his head briefly to look at Cameron.

Wow, two breakfasts.

CHAPTER
TWO

THE DRIVE ALONG THE Long Beach Freeway to Vernon was pretty civilized at five oclock in the morning. Twenty-five minutes instead of fifty-five minutes. Might be worth considering a change in routine, Cameron thought. Who needs sleep anyway?

Truth be told, it could be worse. Household Solutions Inc. could have put their head office right in downtown Los Angeles. Even though the difference in distance was a scant five miles, it could add an hour to the commute on a bad day.

As he drove, he thought about the upcoming meeting feeding his insomnia. There was really no reason to believe that it was going to be any different than other weekly executive team meetings. Same time, same people; and while the issues changed from week to week, the general topic was always the samegrowing and building the business.

There was very little controversy, and few issues that were truly burning at Household Solutions. In fact, for a company its size, things were going remarkably well. But there was something about the email that landed in his inbox on Friday that had set off a tiny warning bell in Camerons engineer brain. On the surface it seemed innocent enough. Just one sentence:

Hi:

Please set aside an additional 30 minutes for this Mondays meeting.

Thanks,
Gerard

Maybe it was the brevity. The CEO, Gerard Ogilvy, was known for his long and detailed missives. Maybe it was the extra half-hour, but their meetings often went well past their scheduled time. Cameron couldnt see how it could be bad news. The companys sales had been increasing at a steady pace of three to five percent every year. And, as Senior Vice President of Operations, responsible for manufacturing and new product development, he was pretty sure things on his end were moving quite smoothly.

In fact, as a direct result of initiatives he had spearheaded, costs were down, productivity was up, and they had successfully launched a record number of new products internationally. Cameron gave himself a mental slap. Things are good. Why are you assuming the worst?

The elevator doors opened to the fifth floor at 5:30, and it occurred to him that he was likely the first one in the office. He was going to have to figure out how to work that giant commercial coffee maker in the lunch room.

The lights in the hallway brightened in sequence as he walked past reception toward his office. Cameron loved that. The power saving, motion-activated device, which had been his idea, remained dim unless something was moving. But Camerons favorite part was how the lights brightened progressively in front of you as you walked down the dim hallway, as if you were an office deity bringing enlightenment wherever you went. He smiled and began pointing at the lights as he walked, as though they brightened at his command.

The lunch room was on the way to his office, so he turned in to get the coffee started. The cleaners had beeneverything was neat and in its place. But there was already one half-full pot on the burner. Dont tell me they left this on all weekend, Cameron thought. Ew.

He picked up the pot and walked to the sink to dump it. He stuck his nose in it just to be sure. It smelled quite fresh. He inhaled once more. It actually smelled remarkably good. Better than usual. He poured a little in a cup and sipped it. Huh. This was not the usual lunch-room coffee. Someone had obviously beaten him in this morning, and whoever it was got extra points for their coffee-making skills. He filled his cup and headed toward his office.

He saw the light glowing in Gerard Ogilvys office just before he got to his own. Aha! Cameron thought. Even the boss couldnt sleep. Well, no time like the present to remind him of how dedicated an employee you are. He poked his head into the large, ornate oak-trimmed office. Morning boss, he said cheerfully.