One Napkin

I stopped for lunch on my way to coach a recent youth soccer game. I won't drag them here, but you know place. Once upon a time, it - brand not franchise - hosted my first real job and my first real side hustle, but those are stories for another time.

Restaurants like these demand consistency. In this spirit, I have to assume most of the interactive subtleties with customers have been anticipated, and expectations set. On this visit, I'm hoping I witnessed a deviation from the norm.

I asked for ‘one napkin.’ I had just paid nearly $12 dollars for a sandwich with chips and drink. I’ve eaten these sandwiches before and while they are not inherently messy, I can be.

The cashier, whom I took for somebody in a leadership role due his disparity from the others working there, as well as the fact that he seemed to be telling everybody else what to do, glared back at me with disdain as he delivered the message “in the bag”, and yet I still I asked for ‘one napkin.’ “Here…” he begrudgingly said as he stripped away ‘one napkin’ from a large industrial stack of flimsy paper napkins.

Off I went with my sack and my napkin, more than a little confused. I found myself examining my biases and wondered if I was ignorant to the costs involved in offering extra napkins. My research involved two steps: Anecdotal research suggested that most restaurants of comparable class provide napkin dispensers so that customers can help themselves, I then entertained myself with the Amazon app and industrial napkins. I found the very best [and by “best” I mean high volume, fast food restaurant quality, single use] from usual commercial suspects like Dixie and Tork.

Faced with the compelling data that napkins industrial napkin offerings don't offer unit prices, I nearly forget I was participating in a small, but worthy grievance. Snapping back to it - Office Space punch-line be damned - I wondered why any cashier, manager, franchise owners would risk even a single $12 sandwich sale for one napkin valued at less than a vintage Spanish peseta.

Being healthy sometimes means you have to make investments.

A salesperson takes beat on price to build a relationship. A manager apologizes to a customer who was clearly in the wrong. A rep smiles when everything in the fabric of their being wants to do anything but. It might also mean kindly, graciously producing yet another napkin.

Many of us are aware that when nearly all of the major, commercial US air carriers instantiated baggage fees in the months after 9/11 to supplement falling revenues, Southwest Airlines did not. Wall St. suggested that SWA made a big mistake while SWA

executives suggested the bigger mistake would have been to detour from delivering on their purpose on helping their customers to be more free to move about the country. That is putting your money where your mouth is, aka investing in Health, in a big, big way. And the payoff in terms of customer commitment to SWA has been just as big.

While all teams and organizations might not have the resources to ignore revenue streams like SWA did, many still generate good feels with things like upgrades, free shipping, or complimentary desserts while others damage relationships with mean mugs and sass over an extra napkin. This shouldn’t be an assessment of generosity or kindness, but rather the keenness of a leader's understanding the value of the experience that comes with conducting each business.

UPDATE: As of May 2025, SWA charges baggage fees in an industry where such practices have become standard... to the endless chagrin of Gen X and prior generations.

A healthy leader will always understand her or his role in the enablement and provisions of the conditions for the experience in which the business takes place. Leaders must help their teams to need to understand potential customer interactions and be fluent in their ability to navigate those interactions. Leaders also empower the insights of advisors to lift the experience of those upon whom the business relies for its conduct.

Here are four things to consider in terms of readiness for the provision of a customer experience….

• Start with purpose. Be clear about the purpose - think 'why' and not 'what' - of your business and position those who might deliver an experience to reflect that purpose.

• Discussion how you do it. Create a forum where scenarios can be reviewed and discussed, and expectations set and revised about sensible interactions.

• Be kind. Provide for a “kindness lens” where employees and team members feel empowered to choose the “kinder” option when faced with a tough decision. A smile is a powerful resource.

• Be transparent. While leaders don’t need to share everything related to finances, share enough to help employees and team members to understand what flexibility they have.

Leaders investing the time and energy in the experience that teams provide to customers cannot help but be a good thing. So the next time somebody who orders a $12 sandwich meal - especially if your corporate revenues exceed $10B - double down on the napkins... and the smiles.