In today’s all too often “no service” world, it’s tough enough to get attention when you ask for it, no less when you haven’t raised the issue. Perhaps that’s why I was so pleasantly surprised at what happened to me last week at a local restaurant.

Two days before Thanksgiving, I picked my college-attending son up at the airport and we headed for our favorite sports bar/restaurant to relax and enjoy some family time. In the waiting area, there are at least a half-dozen televisions, usually tuned to a wide range of sporting events. In addition, inside the restaurant seating area, there are more televisions, also dialed into sports programming.

As the waitress seated us, I could see into the lobby and on one of the TVs, perhaps 40 feet away, was an exciting ice hockey game featuring my favorite team, the New York Rangers, and the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes.

After ordering our drinks, I noticed New York had scored a goal, so I got up from my chair and walked into the waiting area to watch the replay. When I returned to my seat, the manager was talking to my son, and the TV nearest our table was now showing the hockey game. As I sat down, the manager told me he noticed me leave my table to catch the replay in the lobby. He said he figured I was especially interested in the hockey game, so he decided to change the station near my table so I could enjoy the contest while we ate dinner. No doubt about it, I was impressed.

How are you when it comes to servicing your customers? Do you wait for them to ask for your help, or do you voluntarily come to their aid, even before they’ve asked? In today’s highly competitive marketplace, every edge to give yourself could be the difference in gaining (and maintaining) market share.

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