On Finding Joy at Work
If you be happy, you'll pee happy
- Valerie Washington
We at Orange pride ourselves in fostering a happy environment where all feel welcome and at home. But can we learn about customer service from a restroom attendant in a North Carolina airport? Wow, can we ever!
Click here to see a sample of Valerie - the world's happiest restroom attendant
Here are a few thoughts about Valerie's approach to customer service:
She makes everyone feel like a VIP
From first glance to final flush, Valerie treats everyone like a star. She learns your name and uses it to greet you. She holds the door for you and helps you with your things. If you have a extra luggage she'll make sure you get the largest stall (or as she calls it "the penthouse").
She "makes her own sunshine"
Valerie tell us that sometimes people are grumpy. "They forget to stop and look around. That's where I come in" she says. "I remind people that sunshine on the inside makes sunshine on the outside. Ain’t nobody responsible for bringing you sunshine but you. You gotta make your own.”
She smiles at everybody.
According to Valerie, something as simple as a kind word or a warm smile can change a person's day. "You never know who might need a smile" she says, "that's why I smile at everybody."
She believes in spontaneous acts of kindness.
This could be the secret to Valerie's euphoria. Performing random acts of kindness has been shown to boost our mood, raise our self-image and increase our sense of gratitude. Just like Valerie says, "if you be happy, you'll pee happy".
Her positivity rubs off.
What I love most about Valerie's enthusiasm is not just how it affects her customers, but how it spreads to her co-worker's as well. Watch how a much more conservative employee creeps in near the end to promote his own work.
She's content with what she has.
When asked if she wants more out of life, Valerie responds like this: "why would I want more? People come in grumpy and I make them forget what they were grumpy about. I send thousands of smiles out into the world every day. What more would I want than that?"