Six months ago, I walked into the radiologist’s office and had the most remarkable check-in experience.
I was fourth in line, waiting for my turn, when I noticed the reception steward – a man I later learned is named MJ. As he enthusiastically greeted each person ahead of me, he sent them off with little mantras like:
💖 “I hope you have the best day ever.”
💖 “You are set up for success.”
💖 “We are all in this together.”
💖 “You’ve got to say it and then believe it.”
I was so enthralled that I opened my iPhone in the waiting room and logged his quotes into my notes app, imagining I’d use MJ in a future sales lesson.
Fast forward six months. I’m back for my 9:20 appointment. I walk up to the desk, and MJ looks up at me and says,
“You are Margaret, right? I felt your energy when you walked in.” I don’t know if you ever had someone expect you like that, but I beamed from the inside out.
He asked me how my day was. And when I asked about his, he grinned, held up a Dunkin’ cup, and said it was the first day of pumpkin spice. His desk was already decorated with mini pumpkins and garland. We agreed to being ready for the change of the season. 🍂
That tiny moment, that small narrative he shared, bonded us again. It was so much more memorable than the standard, “My day is good too.”
Later, I told Joan, the radiology tech, how impressed I was with him. She smiled and said, “That is genuinely who he is. He’s one of my favorite people on earth.”
There are a million lessons we can all take from MJ:
🫶🏼 The power of remembering someone’s name and energy.
🫶🏼 The difference between a generic response and a real connection opportunity.
🫶🏼 How consistent care, shown in small ways, builds trust.
MJ was a real life example in my day that one of the greatest gifts we can give is making someone feel expected.
I want you to think about a repeat client coming back for a tasting, a second tour, or their final visit – when you’ve clocked their details, remembered their favorite drink, their child’s name, or the story they told on the first call, it transforms the experience.
It says, “We were waiting for you. You belong here.”
That level of care doesn’t just make them feel welcomed. It makes them feel remembered, and that is where true loyalty is built.
I was writing these in my notes app as I waited for the radiologist, inspired to immediately log the gift of hospitality. And then something even more remarkable happened.
When I walked over to MJ’s desk with my rebooking paper for six months later, he leaned in closer to me and said,
“Margaret, I have to tell you something. When you left last time, I knew you. And when I looked, your cell phone number was already in my phone.”
“IT IS!” I exclaimed, already knowing what that meant.
“You toured and booked me and my husband for our wedding. And I want to tell you that everything you promised us happened on our day. It was magnificent: the dessert wall opening and all.”
I beamed. “MJ, first, I am thrilled you had the best day you could imagine. But I also have to tell you that I have thought of you since the last time I saw you.”
I shared with him how I had typed his mantras into my notes months ago, knowing I would someday turn his client care into a sales lesson. I told him how I had been writing this very newsletter but unsure of how to end it.
And now, I had the perfect ending.
He looked at me and said, “Margaret, I usually tell patients as they leave that I hope I never see them again. But I’m really looking forward to seeing you in six months.”
And there it was.
Because that’s the gift of being remembered. It lingers. It bonds. It makes you want to come back.
✨ Here’s my wish for you this week: May you leave behind the kind of impression that makes people smile when they see you again and look forward to the moment you are again in their story.
You can do it. I know you can.
