1. Service: it’s an Attitude
By David Waldorf
Superior Service. That’s a pretty tall slogan to stand up to, since it means that our service to
others has to be a cut above everyone else, has to be superior to anyone else. Ironically, such a
high standard starts with a concept so small it can be summed up in one word: Attitude. What
attitude do I have when I go to work? If I am only thinking about getting my job done I may be
a good employee, but that’s hardly going the extra mile required by the word superior. Instead I
should be thinking, “how can I serve our customers today? How can I go beyond the
requirements of my job to ensure that all the needs of the customer are met?”
Being superior is not about just doing my job. It’s not even about giving my best effort; it’s
about giving the best effort. It’s about serving, going beyond the requirements, doing more than
what is expected. The definition of “one who serves” is a word that we don’t like to use much:
it’s servant. Fundamentally we tend to think that being a servant is somehow demeaning, but if
we want to offer service of any kind to others we are by definition their servants, and we should
try to do the best job possible.
In a company the size of Digi-Key it takes more than just one or two people to provide Superior
Service. It takes an attitude shared by all employees, an attitude that governs our actions and
influences the decisions we make every day. It takes each of us striving to serve every customer
in every situation we encounter. It takes the attitude of a servant.