What can an airbag teach us about business

Does your business make customer service a priority?
“An invitation to return” is what I prefer to call good customer service.
Do you actually provide quality customer service? I can almost hear you saying it: “you bet!”
And why wouldn’t you provide quality customer service, right? It makes no sense.
You are correct, it does not make sense, but it still happens, right? Why?
I recently discovered a story by Stanley Bing in his book Throwing the Elephant, which in my opinion suggests one reason why people sometimes fail to deliver quality customer service. Here is a little taste:

“Imagine, if you will, that there is a man, or possibly o woman, if you prefer, and he or she is driving a car down the highway. The road ahead is clear, and it is a good car, in good condition, although probably overpriced by 20 percent because it is German. Suddenly, the air bag deploys!

Several considerations now present themselves. In truth, the road ahead remains pristine and beautifully navigable. It is a good road, and safe to those who can see its twists and turns. The car remains an excellent vehicle, with perhaps a slight tendency to oversteer in the turns that is the mark of all European touring cars, but that’s a matter of taste.

And yet, the driver cannot see! He is in mortal danger because this gigantic, puffy bag is in front of him. He cannot see around it! He cannot see over or under it! All he can see is the bag, which was placed there for his safety  in accidents but which now serves no purpose but to obscure his view.

This bag is your self. It was needed when when you were young and prone to accidents. But now it obscures the road ahead of you and makes it impossible for you to navigate the path that destiny intended for you. Get rid of it! You can do it! An not by a step-by-step careful process, either. Now. Just drop the whole ego thing. Once it’s gone, anything is possible. The road ahead will be clear.
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My 2¢: When you encounter a challenging situation with your customers, simply ask yourself: what is my motivation? Don’t be surprised if that airbag disappears in an instant. “Once it’s gone, anything is possible.”