I will continue the story that I started from my last post at a later date. Meanwhile, as most of you know, I live in a paradise called San Diego, California. Paradise however is under siege while I write this post. The attacker is mother nature in the form of fire. In the 70's, the band Steely Dan performed a song with the lyrics, "Here come those Santa Anna winds again...". Although the lyrics sound poetic and even mystical in their reference, those of you outside of California may not be aware that the winds referred to in the song are hot winds that start in the deserts of California and Arizona and whip back through SoCal raising temperatures (as much as 30 degrees) and drying the low lying chaparral as well as trees, structures, and our skin. So much so that San Diego residents pray for rain to come quickly each time the winds revisit us.
This week is the anniversary of what is known in San Diego simply as "The Firestorm". In that October week in 2003, residents in our paradise experienced the evacuation of 50,000 homes and the loss of lives (both human and animals), destruction of property (from ranch houses to exquisite mansions) and the bruising of the spirit of thousands of individuals, a spirit which has only recently been regained.
This past Saturday, the Steely Dan line was repeated in the minds of many of us who remember that week in 2003; as the winds started and the temperatures rose. Yesterday, the dry terrain exploded again in a new firestorm, this one much worse than what we had experience four years before. As I write this entry, 513,000 homes have been evacuated resulting in the displacement of some 600,000 people. Evacuation centers have been set up across the county in schools, churches, colleges, fairgrounds and the football complex (Qualcomm Stadium) where our beloved San Diego Chargers are scheduled to play the Houston Texans in a game this Sunday. Ironically, 47 of our football heroes and their families have been evacuated from their own homes mostly in the Poway area north of San Diego. You can probably imagine that Poway is one of the most affluent areas in San Diego county. Because of the very poor air quality we are experiencing, it is unlikely the game will be played Sunday, at least here in San Diego.
Yesterday, my fiancee, Duchess, and I gathered some blankets, pillows, bottled water, pet food, and any other items we thought people could use. We packed up our SUV and headed to Qualcomm Stadium to deliver our offerings. What we saw was the greatest example of internal customer service (serving each other), we had ever witnessed. Hundreds of other people drove their vehicles into the parking area and got in line to drop off donations where thousands of displaced San Diegans were parked or stationed. In a very orderly manner (drastically different from a typical game-day crowd), the amazing volunteers dutifully directed traffic, guided us to appropriate drop-off areas, and gave encouraging words of thanks. Because of their highly organized efforts, these and other volunteers, we were able to get us in and out in 15 minutes.
After dropping off our donations to the appropriate tables, Duchess and I returned to our car. Both of us paused to take a last look around and then we looked at each other and began to cry. I said, "For all those cynics in the world that doubt the basic goodness of people, they should come to Qualcomm Stadium today." Duchess agreed and reinterated that the sometimes hidden compasion of human beings seems to display itself whenever others are in need. San Diegans are no exception.
How does all this relate to customer service? Is not serving each other the highest form of customer service? Are we not put on this earth to be of service to others? I believe we should all be more than just occupants of this earth organization, we must be participants. Participants care about their actions, care about others, and care about the quality of the service they perform. Whether you are an employee of a corporation, a member of a church, or just an individual participating in the journey of spaceship earth, we should care about each other by doing the best we can at servicing others in our communities, organizations, and our families. We all need each other.
Steely Dan made great music, but I would rather people adopt a line from another song performed by my other favorite group - The Beatles, when they said,
"And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."
God bless San Diego.
D.C.
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