美文欣賞：A Million Dollar Lesson 價值百萬美元的一課

考研英語來源：文都教育 2017-03-24　

A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson on customer satisfaction and expectation.

一位出租車司機給我上了一堂價值百萬美元的課——關于顧客的滿意度與期望值。

Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart his kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.

講成功學的老師給公司的高層和員工做一次這樣的培訓要收上幾千美元，而我只花了12美元的出租車費。

I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up.

我飛來達拉斯只是為了拜訪一位客戶。時間就是生命，我計劃拜訪他之后急速返回機場。一輛一塵不染的出租車停了下來。

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver's seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me was for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

司機迅速下車為我打開客座車門，等我舒服地坐好后才把車門關上。在駕駛座上坐定之后，他告訴我，放在我旁邊的那份疊得整齊的《華爾街日報》是供我翻閱的。然后，他又將幾盒磁帶遞給我，問我喜歡什么樣的音樂。

Well! I looked around for "Candid Camera!" Wouldn't you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell

噢!我環顧四周，看偷拍相機藏在哪里!如果你遇到這樣的情形，恐怕你也會這樣做!我簡直不敢相信有這等服務!我趁機說：“看得出你為自己的工作感到非常自豪，這其中一定有故事吧。”

You bet, he replied, "I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be. ”

“沒錯，”他回答道，“我以前曾在一家大公司上班，但是無論怎么努力也達不到別人的要求，我厭倦了這種生活。于是，我決定為我的人生開創屬于自己的一片新天地，在那里我能做到最好，并為此感到自豪。

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day's work and done it well. I evaluated my personal assets and... wham! I became a cab driver.

“我知道成不了火箭專家，但我喜歡開車，喜歡為他人服務，喜歡完成了一天的工作并且干得出色的那種感覺。我算了下我手頭的資產。。。嗯，然后，我開上了出租車。”

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be great in my business, I have to exceed the customer's expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being 'great' better than just getting by on 'average'.

“有一件事我深信不疑，想在這個行當中做得好，只要滿足乘客的期望就行了。而要想干得很好，我就必須超出顧客的期望!我不滿足于僅僅以一般服務打發日子，我喜歡顧客對我優質服務的贊譽和因此得到的回報。