My mum is prepared to travel 30 odd kilometres or km (one way) from KL city centre to see her cardiologist in Shah Alam, the state capital of Selangor. There are four credible hospitals including a heart specialist centre within a five km radius of where we reside. I, on the other hand, sit through 11 stations, every six weeks, to get my hair cut and coloured when there are two perfectly good hair saloons within a stone’s throw of my condo.

We go those extra km to see my mum’s cardiologist because of the never absent kindness and commendable care and service she experiences at every single visit. He speaks to her directly. He asks her questions, and waits for her answers.  Only when the answer is a little unclear, he looks to me to explain. On one occasion, he held her hands in his, looked at her, and gave her the assurance that all was well with her general health. His compassion and empathy were moving and memorable. Many, many times more effective than medication for an elderly person like my mum. Older people, just like everyone else, want to be listened to, acknowledged and respected. In reality, they are, sometimes, excluded or marginalised because they can’t hear and see clearly, and can’t quite understand or grasp how some contraptions and services work.

My hair stylist is a kind soul. She is generous and considerate. After an operation I had, I mentioned in passing that I was still suffering some residual pain. Without hesitation, she picked up the telephone and got me an appointment with her acupuncturist. Instead of cutting my hair, she took time off from her salon, and drove me to get poked at. Acupuncture didn’t work for me but what she did was over and above the call of duty. For me getting my hair done is like meeting up with a good, old friend, which she is, for a chat, a little snack (which we happily share) and a make-over.

I do not discount the fact that remaining with the same cardiologist and hair stylist for more than 15 years has helped build that special connection. It is a two-way relationship; we are return customers only because they don’t fail or disappoint us. That said, I had unforgettable interactions with two people, whom I have never met or spoken to before; one at a bank and another at an insurance company. These two encounters made me realise, very happily, that there are still people out there, who take pride in their jobs and do their work quickly and efficiently. No prompting, no reminders were required. They just got on and did their jobs, brilliantly.

My first was with a call centre personnel at my current bank. My bank is no different from all the banks in town. It has the same inscrutable policies and procedures that befuddle me. Never mind. I called up on a Sunday morning about my errant online bank account website. She listened to my problem, apologised for the inconvenience I was facing, provided suggestions, and walked me through some processes. My site was still down. She assured me she would consult her IT people, and call me back. As promised, she called and solved the problem that very day. I was so impressed I wrote her a testimonial. My faith, in her, the person, working at my bank, was restored.

My second pleasant surprise was with a front line staff at an insurance company that was assigned to me when I bought my car last year. A month before my car insurance was up for renewal, I received a WhatsApp reminder, which was subsequently followed by text messages containing information about my premium and road-tax. My enquiry on the premium based on market value was immediately answered, and without a hitch my insurance and road-tax were delivered to my door. I was so inspired by the service of this one person that I plan to park (pun intended) my husband’s car insurance under the same company.  I do understand that company procedures help smoothen processes but without the right attitude and commitment in the first place, Standard Operating Procedures’ (SOPs) don’t mean much. No ads needed, just good people to retain loyal customers and win new ones.

It is people who make or break a company. We remember names of successful companies and their high-profile founders and C-suite or top-senior executives. But these are not the people we interact with. It is the front-liners and customer service people we come in contact with. As an example, my friend and I walked into a recently opened, well-known café for brunch but walked out quite immediately when the servers behind the counter took no notice of us, and the pastry and cake cabinet desperately needed to be replenished. What did we do? We went to an adjacent café for brunch, and spent our money there.

Since then, I have mentioned this unsavoury café experience to family and friends. Do the servers care? Will the café be impacted? I don’t know. What I do know is people, who offer exemplary service are almost always noticed, appreciated and rewarded.