Gratitude can be a gift that keeps on giving

The intriguing signs on trucks and vans often make highway driving an adventure. Recently, I saw this one: Rajin and Daughters Remodeling. I chuckled at the proprietor’s inventiveness and his willingness to tweak tradition. Then I saw the company slogan. It read: “Your business is our blessing.” That really captivated me.

I learned quickly that trying to write a phone number and slogan while following a van at 55 mph is a bad idea, but the next day I called Rajindre Bhoelai, a Minneapolis craftsman and the owner of Rajin and Daughters Remodeling. He reacted to my query about his company’s imaginative name with an enthusiastic chuckle, “Why not? Why does it always have to be sons?”

Bhoelai was even more excited about the real reason for my call. He was pleased to explain his passion and commitment to his company slogan. “I absolutely believe every piece of business I get is a blessing from God. It is a blessing for me, my family and my employees. I receive that blessing with open arms.”

The company only has four workers, but Bhoelai is intent on permeating his small team with the values represented by the slogan. “My people understand what I want our company to be. We serve our customers with integrity. If we promise something, we deliver.” Bhoelai says he is trying “to create an environment where we can work in harmony and each of us can be at peace with our mind and soul.”

A 10-minute conversation with Bhoelai leaves no doubt about his gratitude for the business his customers bestow on him. My guess is that Bhoelai’s attitude infuses his customers with joy and gratitude, too.

From the moment I saw that sign on the truck, until well after my talk with Bhoelai. I couldn’t help but compare his attitude to the one we encounter so often. “Divine favor” and “anything that gives happiness” are two of the dictionary definitions for the word blessing. Most of my encounters are with clerks and managers who view me, and their other customers, as much less than a “source of happiness.”

So many people serving the public seem put out that we are even there. We are greeted with grunts. They are offended when we ask questions and they blame management, fellow employees or the mysterious production plant when our needs are not met. The exceptions surprise us.

I do business six months of the year with a service company in Arizona. That company is prompt, friendly and professional. I repeatedly walk away feeling valued. I sing their praises constantly. When I go back to Minneapolis, I dread doing business with the local companies in the same field. They are rude, they take me for granted and could care less about my complaints. I feel more like burden than a blessing.

I’ve written often about the value of a mission statement for businesses and individuals. This one, “Your business is our blessing,” may be the best I’ve ever read. It is simple but compelling. Imagine how transforming it could be for your organization if every employee really appreciated that every customer is a source of happiness and a blessing. Interactions between customers and employees would be more sincere and heartfelt. Employees would feel a distinct sense of “duty” to customers and a greater sense of “relationship” would develop. Customers would start to feel important and they’d want to return.

Perhaps surprisingly, the happier the customers are, the happier are the employees and the owners. Everybody wins with Rajindre Bhoelai’s attitude that “your business is our blessing.”

Tip for your search: Try Rajindre Bhoelai’s approach for just one day. View every contact you make in the workplace as a “blessing.” Be grateful for the person, the interaction, and for the benefit that person brings you materially and spiritually. You may enjoy it so much you decide to do it the next day and the every day after.

Recommended resource: “Bringing Your Soul to Work” by Cheryl Peppers and Alan Briskin (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2000)