The blue deck chair: Universal respect

In an unashamed take from Graham Norton, I intend to write a few stories called ‘the blue deck chair.’ You are free to pull the lever and flip my chair. So please send feedback, flip, or let me walk…

While leaving the ferry one morning, having spent my time chatting to another interesting person who is no longer a stranger, the crew rudely rushed the passengers off the boat. This was a first. My companion said to me, ‘you never know who you are talking to.’ Yup, I agree; he is very senior in Auckland Transport, as their key organisational strategic planner.

Now, note that he is a true leader. He didn’t fall into Kiri Allen’s trap of saying to the poor front-line guy, ‘Do you know who I am?’ Instead, he put himself in the shoes of the front-line guy and observed that he may have had something else going on in his life. He then told me a story from 30 years ago.

He and a bunch of NZ student bums were travelling around Italy in a VW Combe. One day, they were having coffee in a waterfront café and talking about the boats in the marina. A random guy said, ‘The boats you are commenting on are made in Lake Como. Call in some time, and they will happily show you how they are made.’

While heading north, they remembered the comment in the café, drove to Lake Como, and pulled up at a pretty swish factory. These tired, dirty bums went to a pretty flash reception and asked if they could look at some boats and see how they are made. The receptionist said, ‘I will have someone come out to give you a tour in five minutes. Would you like some coffee and biscuits in the meantime?’ They said no, it’s no trouble (usual understated humble Kiwi stuff), but she insisted and brought out some great coffee and biscuits on a silver tray.

Ten minutes later, a suave Italian came out. He apologised profusely for being five minutes late and explained the reason. The Kiwis were astounded that a senior executive would come out of a board meeting to meet with what he would undoubtedly know would unlikely be buyers of these expensive boats. They accordingly apologised and offered to leave. He said no, and they were given an hour-long tour of the manufacturing facility.

On leaving, they asked why he did this. The senior executive said, ‘We never know who we might be talking to. Who we meet today may or may not be important, but we don’t know whether they may or may not be in the future. We treat everyone who comes to us as if they are our most important customer.’

The business is still operating today at Lake Como. It is still a global brand owned by the same people. And that story is still being told in NZ and, I guess, all over the world.

Not one of the young Kiwis has bought a boat from them since.

Flip or walk? Vote here.