"My Pleasure"

Endless roads.  Hour after hour we drove.  A college women's basketball team and myself.

"Are we there yet"? 

"How much longer"? 

The questions are endless. 

Then the big-one ... The question to end all questions ... The grand-daddy of them all ...

"COACH, WHERE ARE WE EATING?"

What am I gonna do?  What do I say?  All of my years of experience and training now must come into play.  I try to remember what they like and don't like.  Where did we eat last time?  Yikes.  My head is spinning.  Then I see it.  The girls see it.  The day has been saved.  A billboard with cows.  Chick-fil-A is at the next exit!  Good food, a playground and service with a smile.  More importantly, they love it as much as their coach.

First of all, I am not sponsored by Chick-fil-A.  I am not like Bobby Knight when he coached at Texas Tech and wore a coaching vest with an O'Reily's Auto Parts logo on his chest.  No logo for me.  I just want to point out a business that has chosen to do things the right way.  I have taken teams to hundreds of restaurants in my coaching career, so I fancy myself a bit of an eating expert.  Chick-fil-A may not have a dollar menu but they are consistently the fastest at taking our orders and getting us our food while always doing it with a smile and making us feel special no matter how crowded the store might be.

In reading founder Truett Cathy's books, I discovered his major business principles:

• Climb w/care & confidence
• Create a "Loyalty Effect"
• Never lose a customer
• Put principles & people ahead of profits
• Closed on Sundays

Demonstrating that his philosophies are not just limited to his business, Mr. Cathy, through his WinShape Foundation, operates foster homes, sponsors highly attended summer camps and  provides college scholarships for restaurant employees.  They also have free cheerios to go along with a nifty disposable place mat that sticks to the table.  My two-year old, Jaylen, loves the fact that he can eat off the table on these place mats. He also likes the free toys, play ground and ice cream cones.

It might be their "pleasure" to refill my sweet tea, but I am truly pleased that someone out there puts people first.  They are closed on Sundays to allow their employees a day of rest and a chance to spend it with family.  Do you do things right or just worry about the bottom line?

 Jamy Bechler is a certified John Maxwell leadership coach, speaker and trainer.  You can contact him at Jamy@CoachBechler.com.  You can also subscribe to his leadership newsletter by clicking here.