The Object of Rotary says that we are in the business of encouraging and fostering the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster the development of acquaintances as an opportunity for service. It doesn’t say that this important idea is assigned to district governors, club presidents or committee chairs. As Rotarians we are all a part of the Customer Service Team (CST) and we share the responsibility for creating a high level of internal customer satisfaction.
So if you are a part of that special group that exist in almost every Rotary club, the ‘been there – done that’ group, then you have a special challenge. There is nothing wrong with sitting at the same table with the same group of friends at every meeting. I am appealing to you to reach out to those who don’t join your little group every week.
The solution can be found in two simple actions. The first would be for the people in your group taking turns at migrating to another table on an occasional basis to develop a few new friendships among those who joined Rotary after you created your own little comfort zone. The second action would be to purposefully seek out someone who has never joined your group with an invitation to be a special guest at your exclusive table.
Keep in mind that many who joined Rotary did so with the hopes of developing your acquaintance, fellowship and even friendship. They will drift away from membership and never find the satisfaction of joining the ‘been there – done that’ group unless you reach out and offer an opportunity to join your table. Likewise, those who joined to expand their network will soon leave if they never have the opportunity of getting to know you. The added benefit is you may discover a new provider of some valuable service.
The greatest loss could be among those who join Rotary with a desire to be of service, to accomplish big goal and to find a high level of self-satisfaction. If these people grow discouraged and give up on their dreams it would be a loss to more than just you and them; it would be a loss to our external customer. You have the experience to be the mentor, the encourager, the person who fosters their desires to do big things.
These ideas are a little like our International Youth Exchange program, but they depend on you making the effort to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people. This is a service project we can all make a commitment to accomplishing if we join the Customer Service Team.