What Makes Great Customer Service? - (Insights from the Yoga Mat)

Let's face it - if a Yoga biz can't have you leaving happy, who can? ©

Straight off the mat in a popular yogi/yogini hub in Sydney, comes this story about service from our wise friends at BodyMindLife.  It struck a chord with us. What does great Customer Service mean to you. Add your comments below and share with the Underground!

"Service.

When it's good, we hardly notice it but when it's bad, it contains the potential to turn a pleasant outing or a simple business inquiry into a source of extreme frustration.  There's nothing like waiting too long for lunch at your favourite café or dealing with an unhelpful customer service representative to elevate your blood pressure. Yet when we are served well, we may not even notice let alone express our gratitude.

Whilst our paycheck may not come from waiting tables or answering angry calls from disgruntled customers, everyone who lives in a community is, at least to some degree, called upon to serve others. Service is a bonding agent, a way for individuals to express their shared vision of what it means to live well together. It's also a way to care for others who may not be able to look out for themselves.

Oftentimes we act upon this tacit vow only because we think the favour will be returned one day. But what if it wasn't? What if every act of service we performed from today forward was simply a gift to the universe and the other sentient beings which inhabit it?

Seva is the Sanskrit word for selfless service or, in a more modern context, volunteer work. Seva can take many forms including physical labour (sweeping a floor), mental work (sharing a special talent with others), and material support (philanthropy). Seva is as much about attitude as action. To truly perform seva, we must ask ourselves: "What can I do to uplift, honour, and contribute to this family, community, or humanity as a whole?

In yogic circles, seva typically has another component. Briefly stated, many yogins view seva as a devotional practice – a way to acknowledge, serve, and perhaps even worship the divinity that pervades the cosmos. By lending a helping hand to another human being, therefore, we worship the light and love that permeates existence.

What's your seva?" 

See the full story here.