What does it mean to be exceptional?

Sometimes we use certain words so much that they become less powerful, their meaning starts to become diluted or we just plain forget what they mean.

Marketers and sales professionals have been trotting out words like ‘best’, ‘greatest’ and ‘exceptional’ as though they are all just so many synonyms, interchangeable words used as clumsy linguistic levers to pry a sale out of consumers sorely disaffected by endless marketing-speak.

But what does exceptional really mean?

ex•cep•tion•al /?k?s?p??nl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation

1. forming an exception or rare instance; unusual; extraordinary: The warm weather was exceptional for January.
2. unusually excellent; superior: an exceptional violinist.

Dictionary definitions are the traditional place to start when you’re looking for meaning, but they aren’t always the easiest way to get to understanding.

So I’m going to offer you an example of what I think is exceptional. You can decide for yourself whether you think I’m on the right track. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what it means to be exceptional and to read examples you may have that demonstrate the meaning of the word.

Single Origin and exceptional customer service

I have been buying my morning coffee from Single Origin on Reservoir Street in Surry Hills, Sydney, for the last three months, and I’m continually surprised and delighted by my regular visits. So what are Single Origin getting so right when it comes to customer service?

Though it’s a little reductive to distill the Single Origin experience into bullet points, it does help us to understand that exceptional customer service isn’t magical, but rather can be achieved through hard work invested in some key areas:

• Knowledge
• Passion
• Conversation
• Personalisation
• Accommodation
• Humour
• Surprise

Knowledge, passion and conversation

To deal with the first three points all at once, the talented staff at Single Origin know their stuff and they’re happy to share their passion for all aspects of coffee – if that’s what you want

You see, their knowledge of the coffee planting, growing, cultivating, harvesting, roasting, grinding and making processes isn’t in service of a canny marketing ploy. They don’t just trot out coffee factoids to amaze, they wait to see whether you share a tiny slice of their passion, to see whether you’re a caffeine co-conspirator.

If you just like their coffee and you want one to go, that’s cool. If you’re curious about the provenance of that velvety crema, there is the collective sum total of well over 10,000 hours of dedication just a question away.

Gavin and the rest of the crew at Single Origin know coffee, they’re passionately involved in the industry and they understand how and when to communicate their passion and to which customers.

Personalisation and accommodation

My order is always remembered, and the team always remember that I care about the origin of my S.O.B. and love to hear about the coffee’s path to my palate. Despite the fact that they serve hundreds and hundreds of coffees every day, without fail I am spoken to first as a human being and second as a customer.

And it’s not just me – every day personal attention is paid individually to hundreds of customers. It’s this amazing grasp of the fundamental importance of the misleadingly-named ‘soft skill set‘ that is truly exceptional.

By accommodation I’m referring to the way the Single Origin staff go out of their way to fit me and other customers into their crowded space, and more than that, to make us all feel comfortable and welcome.

When it rains, umbrellas are on hand, and if it’s chilly there are blankets and the occasional glass of home-made mulled wine. When extra people arrive, the staff always find some way to fit everyone around the existing tables, something like feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes.

As it turns out, the staff make you feel so accommodated, I’ve hardly ever really noticed the accommodation -a fact that only became clear when I started to think about the refit the cafe is undergoing over the festive break.

Humour and surprise

There are countless anecdotes I could relate, but instead check out the video I shot at Single Origin on Friday 19th December. It perfectly sums up why Single Origin merits the word exceptional.

Final day of serving coffee before the Christmas period? Let’s celebrate by getting a gypsy band to play outside the cafe from 7am-10am and have a breakfast party.

Single Origin Gypsy Friday from Scott Drummond on Vimeo.

Genius. Many thanks to everyone who tolerated me running around with the video camera all morning.

And remember, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what it means to be exceptional and to read examples you may have that demonstrate the meaning of the word.

Here’s two other great posts I came across and enjoyed about the importance of customer service that you might also enjoy:

• Seven steps to remarkable customer service by Joel Spolsky
• Here’s a hint – don’t whisper by Chris Brogan