Is the Glass Half Empty, Half Full, Or…

A departure from the typical customer service tip, here is a motivational story…

Recently I ran into an old friend, Michael Packman, who I grew up with. We were talking about our kids and he told me a great story about his daughter, Amanda.

When Amanda was younger, Michael had the idea to ask her a question to see if she was an optimist or a pessimist. So, he set a half-filled glass of water in front of her and asked:

“Is the glass half-full or half-empty?”

Her response took him by surprise. Amanda said:

“That depends if you are drinking or pouring.”

Metaphorically speaking, the next time you have a “half-filled glass of water,” what will be the answer to the question?  Is it half-empty, half-full – or is there another answer?   Sometimes the less obvious answer is a better one, or at least another alternative.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert,  professional  speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken
(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken