I’m just going to say it: there is no perfect way to serve people. There simply isn’t a flawless set of customer service tricks, hacks, or policies that will make you and your organization beloved by everyone, everywhere.

The way we serve people at Date-Line Digital Printing is based on our desire to make the people we serve feel cared for and to offer them an honest, empathetic, human interaction instead of a flawless, synthetic transaction. We eschew formality, we joke, and we laugh because that’s who we are, but that doesn’t mean you and your organization should do what we do.

The authenticity of your service matters much more than the specific style because the way you go about serving others is part of the story you are telling the world about your values, and the values of your organization. Your unique organizational values will attract some people and repel others, but that’s okay. Trying to be all things to all people is a fool’s errand that will prevent you from doing your very best work.

Taking unusually good care of people is a commitment to do the messy, unpredictable, and deeply personal work of engaging your humanity to help someone else.

The way you go about that work is entirely up to you.