As stay-at-home rolls off, life rolls on

In this last installment of self-administered customer service, I turn to flowers. After all, Mother’s Day is the planting signal through much of the country.

As with so many other things during the pandemic, I did my usual planting—which always inspires and delights me—with a small twist. I had purchased some artificial desert-type plants a couple months ago to put temporary color on my lanai. When I planted the real stuff, I added them to fill out the pots. Real and artificial together…interesting combination.

It put a smile on my face, so I consider the experiment a success. I even included some once-live flowers and artificial foliage into the mix. Interesting overall effect.

Small victories…small joys…big overall positive impact on our lives. Finding this fulfillment has been a lifesaver over the last 45+ days, which in some ways have felt like much longer.

Regardless of what happens next, let’s continue to use this “self-administered” customer service to fuel positive experiences in a world thick with toxicity—both nature and human generated.

I’m certainly going to seek out and practice new ways of living my daily life.

Given that it looks like swimming pools won’t open for awhile, I’m going to continue my power walking with ankle weights and home-based weight workouts. Swimming had become my go-to, but I quickly determined that my bathtub really won’t fill the bill!

I will continue to take great joy in seeing so many people out walking and being so friendly. For the most part, COVID-19 has brought out their welcoming nature, although it’s hard to determine the state of their smiles through masks.

I will continue to get creative with my cooking and food prep. My next challenge is to develop a full spread of nutritious noshes for a happy, happy hour get-together with my tribe after a month and a half of virtuality.

I will continue the search for new friends in both personal and business realms. This forced alteration of our normal habits has made me realize that, much like personal growth, making new friends and maintaining those relationships is a never-ending process. New perspectives, insights and sharing are always welcome.

Finally, I will continue to hone my skills as a friend to others. The more the pandemic has caused fear and uncertainty to flourish, the more I’ve seen the need to tune into the pain of others—and just be there to listen and provide input if asked.

As we move forward into the next phase, let’s keep finding ways to wonder and enjoy miles of smiles—in ourselves and others!

Self-administered customer service is especially important right now. Try finding and appreciating people, places and things that give you joy and “customer satisfaction.” They’re all around and plentiful. This is truly an opportunity to explore and expand horizons. Give it a try.

Mark Lusky

Do you have customer service snafus or stellar experiences to share? If so, feel free to comment on this post or email your thoughts to mark@marklusky.com.