Alexander McCall Smith, the Scottish author of the acclaimed “Number One Ladies Detective Agency” series, set in Botswana, is one of my favorite novelists. In his latest work, from his Isabel Dalhousie series, entitled The Lost Art of Gratitude, he relates that Isabel, the Edinburgh-based editor of a philosophical journal, has received a letter from the company that prints the journal.

“They had bought a supply of superior Finnish paper, they revealed, and would keep some of this for Isabel if she wished; a sample was enclosed. The offer reminded her of her obliging butcher, who, from time to time would pull something out from under the counter and say that he’d been keeping it for her, some delicious cut that he thought she would particularly appreciate.  Small acts of commercial friendship, binding together customer and provider.”

These days, “small acts of commercial friendship” are especially appreciated by customers. And especially savvy on the part of providers, most of whom need to explore every way possible to win the loyalty of customers who have less disposable income, and usually more choices, than ever before.

I like it when Shenequa, my Starbucks barista, sees me approaching the store and fills a cup with my “usual”, a tall Pike Place, and then asks me how my family (every member of which she knows by name) is doing.

Likewise, I appreciate it when I stay at one of the chain of Kimpton Hotels, and they automatically provide me with feather pillows and a room near the elevator. Sure, they got that info from an online profile that I filled out, and so it’s different from Shenequa’s personal gesture, but it’s no less appreciated.

I enjoy reading comments from the customers of a bank for which we manage a customer satisfaction survey. It’s not uncommon to read something like “I love this bank. My banker called me last week to tell me about a special CD offer you had. He remembered me saying, months ago, that I wanted something short term with higher interest. It wasn’t a lot of money, so I was surprised he remembered. I won’t forget that.”

In an increasingly impersonal world, these small, but important acts are distinctive, and memorable, whether they originate from a highly sophisticated customer relationship management system, or the attentiveness of a caring employee or business owner.

What could you do, today, to demonstrate your “commercial friendship”, to bind you and a valued customer closer together?

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Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/rehadden) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.

As a rule we don’t use this forum to promote the services of a particular individual or organization, and I wouldn’t be making the exception this time but for the very real potential benefit to our readers. Before reading further, understand that we get no compensation whatsoever from this mention.

I heard from an old friend Thursday. He was a tennis partner and co-worker from my ADP days, and one of the few people to stand up with me when I married Mrs. Starbucks, which qualifies him on both counts (being old AND a friend). After catching up, he told me about his company, CFO Resources and what they do. Their primary service is to help employers improve cash flow and shareholder returns by reducing federal/state income tax liability.

They do this via a user-friendly process to help employers capture Work Opportunity Tax Credits (“WOTC”) associated with their normal hiring activity.  Employers are entitled to federal income tax credits if they hire and retain individuals from targeted groups as defined by DOL and the IRS. In a nutshell, his firm processes the paperwork, files it on the employer’s behalf, monitors the process, and only gets paid as a function of the employer getting a credit.

I’m told that the credits can range from $300 to $9000 per individual. Unless you’ve got money to throw away, it would be a good idea to investigate Work Opportunity Tax Credits, and unless you just happen to enjoy dealing directly with government bureaucracies, you may want to contact Ken Brice at CFOResources. (KenBrice@CFOResources.com)

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A thought leader in the arena of leadership and employee engagement, Bill Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps individuals and organizations improve business outcomes by having a focused, engaged, capably led workforce. For more information about Bill, his partner Richard Hadden, and their work, please visit their website at www.contentedcows.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ContentedCows

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that my good friend and business partner, Bill Catlette, and I don’t agree on everything. That’s part of what’s allowed our partnership to endure for going on 14 years.

As relates to yesterday’s post, One Button, Under Scrutiny at Home Depot, Bill, whose pedigree in HR goes back 35 years, pointed out, constructively, that in this case, HD really had no choice but to tell Trevor he couldn’t wear his button (although there’s still the problem with the tacit approval of it for more than a year before that, but that only support’s Bill’s point.)

Quoting Bill, “HD’s position is likely based on a ‘no solicitation policy’ that was enacted specifically to keep employees from wearing pro-union buttons/pins during a representation election campaign. The sad reality from a legal perspective is that, if you let people wear a ‘1 Nation Under God’ button, you lose the ability to prevent them from wearing a ‘Vote Teamsters’ button.”

Bill’s right, especially the “sad reality” part. It’s kind of like the story of Zachary Christie, the 6-year-old Newark, Delaware student who was nearly suspended for 45 days for innocently bringing a Boy Scout camping implement to school. Only after a public hue and cry about the absurdity of the district’s zero-tolerance policy did administrators decide that a more reasoned approach was probably more helpful.

You and I can’t do much to change big corporate or government policies, and in some cases, these policies are the unfortunately necessary by-product of the times we’re living in. But – we can sure do something about our own policies, rules, judgments, and decisions. My November resolution is to put a little more thought into the application of some of my own rules – at home and at work – in other words, to do a better job of exercising judgment and discretion, rather than just blindly applying the rules. Want to join me?

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Richard Hadden (twitter at http://twitter.com/rehadden) is a leadership speaker, author, and consultant who helps organizations improve their business results by creating a great place to work. He and Bill are the authors of the new book Contented Cows MOOve Faster, as well as the acclaimed business classic Contented Cows Give Better Milk. Learn more about them and their work at ContentedCows.com.