Making Deliveries

Wow…June at Gould’s Salon is my new best friend. I got a massage today and she is really great. I spent a good portion of the day trying to figure out how I could convince her that she needs to live with me. It was supposed to be an “in office” day, but once I left Gould’s…and June boohoo…I swung by Goodwill to see if I could find some shelving or cabinets or something to use in the TLC room , but nothing turned up so I wandered on to a few other errands including a run by the library for a book I had on hold, Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh ( pronounced Shay), former young CEO of Zappos.

I was already fascinated with the company and its mild-mannered leader, so when the book came out it was a must read for me. Imagine the excitement when I found out it was the next Book Club pick for the cleaning industry group I am a member of.

I can hardly wait to read it then pick the brains of those who have read it also to see how we can bring to life the same customer service phenomenon that he has helped create in his companies in our own businesses. After my errands were complete, I made the last stop one of my faves, Nagoya Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar near my office. I reveled in the clean atmosphere and clean food, as I began to turn the pages of the book for the next hour, while I ate a solo lunch. I don’t get to do so often, but today seemed, well, right for it. Upon returning to the office, we received a call from a lady wanting to get a cleaning bid, and I could tell by the conversation my office manager had with her on the phone, it was a sad situation that drove her to call us. As it turned out, the young woman’s husband had been ill for about 18 months, and the house had been a far second priority to her spouse’s care. The husband unfortunately had passed away 6 weeks before, and now she needed a great deal of help to get her surroundings, and life, back together. I hadn’t planned on doing any more bids this week, but the sadness struck a chord, and I went to meet her and view her home. The whole property inside and out was pretty much a totally neglected mess. It reminded me of Miss Havisham’s home as described in Great Expectations, almost as if the clock had stopped on this family 18 months ago when the husband and father fell ill. The woman was pleasant, but as we went through the home she became quite tearful, and so did I, as I saw the pain she was obviously going through just thinking about having to get things moving around her home again; this time alone. We set her up to get cleaned on Monday, and she looked relieved to know we could fit her in quickly. And, she looked a little hopeful as I left. That really made me reflect on the name of the book I was reading, Delivering Happiness. You know, it just doesn’t take much to make someone happy. Sometimes it just takes a Special Delivery.