The sirens came loud and startling.  The two cars in the ambulance path were stumped as to what to do.  Should they move in to the intersection and let the ambulance pass?  At the blare of the ambulance horn they quickly dispersed in to the middle of the intersection and let the ambulance pass.  A split second had gone by.  A split second of time that for someone waiting for the ambulance can be the difference between life and death; for the people in the cars it was just a split second of time nothing more nothing less.

It got me thinking about customer service.  Not just customer service from just from the business perspective but also from the personal perspective.  What about the customer service we give our family and friends? Our coworkers?

Every day we have split second interactions with people.  Interactions that can change the other person’s life yet we don’t even give them a second thought.  I can’t tell you how many times I will personally coach a person that has been given feedback from others such as--they are difficult to deal with, intimidate others or are too abrupt -- and the person I am coaching  will say to me, “I tell it like it is and I don’t think people can handle the truth.  It is just who I am.  It is other people that have the problem.  I am not going to sugar coat everything.”  That is a person robbing others of life.  That is a person that is making every split second draw blood from others.

We weren’t put here to hurt each other, to give our opinions or to inflict our beliefs on each other.  We are here to make life better for everyone, to work our hardest, to contribute to the big picture of life and to add value to others.

So every day, ask yourself, “Have I added value to everyone I met?  Have I made the world a bit better today by complimenting someone, appreciating hard work, motivating others or generating positive attitude in others?”