I want to share a true story about one of my favorite companies, Talbots, and how they recently went the extra mile for my mom. As you may have read either on my blog or on Facebook, we learned last month that my 82 year old mom’s cancer has returned and it is incurable. After three years in remission since fighting a valiant battle against Stage IV throat cancer, it was the news that we dreaded to hear.
We have spent the last few weeks settling into the news and establishing her as a patient with Houston Hospice. The best advice I received was “Don’t wait!” to sign up for hospice – get her into the program early on. Now she has a nurse that visits with her regularly, helps to monitor her medications and her comfort level and we have a plan in place for the coming months as the disease progresses. For now, she’s still living independently and even driving short distances and she has a few good hours each day to get out and about.
As you can imagine, it’s been an emotional time. I’m getting to witness my mom’s journey at the end of her life in a way that I was unable to with my father who died unexpectedly and in a hospital back in 1994. His death was complicated and shocking and left a lot of unanswered questions. This journey with my mom feels much more intentional, compassionate, loving and complete.
So here’s the fun, heartwarming story in the middle of all of this:
On June 15th, I posted this note on my Facebook page:
This doesn’t look like a woman dying, does it? This is a woman LIVING! In between difficult conversations about her health, hospice resources, estate planning, funeral arrangements, etc. we are finding time for some FUN! Mom and I used to shop all day, then it was “shop and lunch” and now it’s just shop for 45 minutes … but TALBOTS will always be “our” place! ❤
On June 18th, The Talbots Facebook Team commented on my post and said:
Hi Elizabeth. Thank you so much for sharing this moment with us. At your convenience could you kindly send an email to facebook@talbots.com? We would like to send a personal response.
So of course I wrote them and they responded by saying they were touched by my story and wanted to send my mom a gift. So here was my Facebook post on June 28th:
Dear TALBOTS… I LOVE YOU… And so does my mom!!! I’ve been a customer for 30 years and now I’m a customer for LIFE!! …. So, friends, you may remember the post that I wrote two weeks ago about mom and I shopping together soon after she entered hospice care. Well, the Talbots Facebook Team saw the post and asked me to write to them. So I did, and I shared our story, and they sent mom a $100 gift card!!! Isn’t that the best??? When I gave it to her, she said “Wow. Wow…. WOW!!!” What an incredibly kind and generous gesture on their part!!! We continue to struggle with how to make sense of the new reality that her cancer is back and she is slowly dying and going on a short shopping outing (again!) today helps us to hang onto “normal” for just a little bit longer. Thank you TALBOTS! ❤
So here’s the thing… Mom and I have been lifelong Talbots shoppers. I remember going there with her in high school for casual clothes, in college for dressy clothes, in graduate school to buy my first interview suit (It was lilac!) and to choose an outfit for our engagement party (a cardigan sweater set with a colorful a-line skirt). It has been a part of the fabric of our lives for 30+ years. Talbots already knew we were loyal and committed shoppers when they read my post.
But they chose to go the extra mile. They reached out to me, invited me to connect with them and offered my mother a small but meaningful gift to help us make just a few more fun shopping memories together. And because of that small act of kindness, and the joy on my mom’s face when she received such an unexpected surprise, I will undoubtedly be a Talbots shopper for life.
With all of the heaviness in the world around us these days, it is good to be reminded that there are still excellent companies – and the people who work for them – who care deeply about their customers… and go the extra mile to show it!
Revitalizing Action: Ask yourself “How can I go the extra mile?” You can apply this question to your clients, employees and colleagues, your friends or family members, your neighbors and people you volunteer with. Are you really listening, getting in touch with and being fully present with these people in your life? Are you acknowledging them and appreciating them and seeing them for who they really are?
Simple things can make a big difference:
- writing a handwritten note to acknowledge a gift (instead of a text or email)
- leaving flowers on the doorstep of a neighbor going through a difficult time
- sending a book to someone on a subject that is relevant in their life (a new business book for an entrepreneur, a book about grief for someone who recently lost a loved one, etc)
- sending a gift card as an extra thank you to someone who referred some business to you
- picking up the phone to just say “I’m thinking about you” just because
- composing an email to your child’s teacher when your kiddo comes home raving about an activity they did at school
If you are already “going the extra mile” or have plans to do something new, I’d love to hear about it via email or over on my blog!
Here’s to going the extra mile!
Elizabeth