My son had a baby the other day (actually it was his wife who had the baby, he just did the cheerleader thing.)  That night his wife called him to say they had received flowers and a teddy bear from someone she didn’t know.  It turns out it was from a company my son had worked for ever so briefly a few years ago.  They had apparently heard through the grapevine he’d had a baby and wanted to do something nice, so they started calling hospitals in the area until they found his wife and sent the package.

So my question is this:  how do you think he felt about that?  Of course.  He was impressed.  For $50 - $75 they have made an impression on him he will never forget.  As we talked about it, he related the story of when he was working for them and they were all out to dinner.  The CEO saw one of his employees at another table in the same restaurant and went over to say hi.  As my son’s party was finishing dinner and the waitress brought the bill, the CEO said to her, “See that table over there.  I want you to add their bill to this one and also put a $200 gift certificate with it.  Tell them thanks for everything.”  With that, he handed her his credit card.

So again, how do you think that employee felt?  Not only did his boss buy dinner for him and his wife, he bought the next three or four.  For a mere $250, the CEO had created another one of those exeriences that employee will talk about for years, and for a few dollars he created some serious loyalty.  Do you think that employee is thinking about leaving any time soon?  Do you think his wife is biting him in the backside all the time to find another job?  I promise you that guy’s not going anywhere.  Neither would I, neither would you.  When that guy comes home after a bad day, his wife is encouraging him to stick it out.  Not only does the CEO have the loyalty of the employee, he has the wife on his side too!

Now, the CEO could have given him a $0.12 raise and spent the same amount of money.  Which got more bang?  He could have given the employee $1 per hour raise and not gotten the same bang.  Why?  Because one says, “Here’s a little (perhaps very little) more money.”  The other says, “Hey, I like you.  I value you as an employee and as a friend.  I care for you enough I want to do something nice for you and your wife.  I’d like to give you more money in your salary, but I really can’t afford to right now.  But until I can, I want you to know you are a valued member of our work family.”  Who doesn’t want to be valued and appreciated?

Like all the principles I teach, this can apply to people you know socially, at work, at church, or wherever.  Picking up the tab for someone’s dinner costs you $50 (or whatever.)  What could you do to show them you truly value their friendship, etc., that would cost less?  I’ve said repeatedly that saying it doesn’t make it so.  Also, asking, “Is there anything I can do for you?” doesn’t help either.  Just doing something nice like buying someone dinner is the fastest way to sincerely build loyalty.  Give it a try.