Each June, my mom and I spend a few days in Maine opening our family's cottage. To open the rustic home, we remove the sheets covering the furniture, make the beds upstairs, and I vacuum the cobwebs and dust that accumulate over 9 months. At some point, I hear the UPS truck come down the small South Bristol street as Eric is honking away. What's he bringing?
Inevitably, my mom has accumulated more than a few boxes of clean bedding, outdoor cushions, and Maine-themed ephemera over the winter. We're thankful that Denise at Wall & Walsh, the family business, is our shipping department and gets Mom's boxes to the local UPS driver in a timely fashion for them to arrive in Maine while we're there.
I was vacuuming as Eric drove by. He was looking into the front windows and passed by before I could scramble onto the front porch. A minute later, he came back, headed the other direction, and saw me pointing towards the short, steep driveway, into which he immediately backed up. I met him by the backporch as he greeted me with a lilac bough for my wife or girlfriend, and was even more excited when I told him that my mom would be the lucky recipient. He gladly handed me the 8 large boxes that we were expecting and was off again, honking as he went.
Eric's a UPS driver in coastal Maine that greets returning summer residents with wildflowers that he collects along his route. In addition to delivering packages, Eric delivers happiness every day, which is definitely not mandated in his contract. I look forward to our once annual interaction so much that I spend 900 miles in the car with my mom to do it and was compelled to tell you about it.
What small moments of joy can you create for your clients? What will keep them shipping UPS instead of FedEx?