Posted on April 7, 2026 by Danny Snow
How often do you come across an employee out there in the world that you wish you could hire away to work for you?
Or maybe it's one of your own employees. The kind you wish you could clone and build an entire company around.
I met one of those employees on a recent trip to upstate New York.
I was in town to speak at a technology conference and decided to stop by Syracuse University to walk around campus and check out the football stadium. Since it was a school day, I was trying to find a place to park where I wouldn't get towed or ticketed.
And multiple people actually told me, "You need to go to this other garage and see this guy Cantrell. He'll take care of you."
So sure enough, I pull up… and Cantrell is working the garage.
Immediately, he's friendly, welcoming, smiling. I told him I just wanted to walk around campus, check out the stadium, and I was going to wear my Florida State beanie while I did it.
He laughed and said, "No, I'm going to get you a Syracuse hat. Come back when you're done walking around and I'll have one for you."
Now I assumed he was just joking.
So I walked around campus, went over to the stadium and when I came back…
Sure enough…
He had a Syracuse hat waiting for me.
And then we started talking.
What I thought would be a quick two-minute conversation turned into 30 minutes. It honestly felt like we were just best friends sitting there talking sports, family, life, etc.
I would have stayed there longer if I could have, but I had a long drive ahead of me and eventually had to leave.
But while we were talking, cars kept pulling into the garage.
And what really stood out to me was watching the drivers' faces. You could see their expressions change as soon as they saw him.
Big smiles. Quick conversations. Friendly energy.
It was very clear this guy was well known and very well loved.
And the fact that other people had already told me I had to go see him made it even more obvious.
Now, I'm in and out of parking garages pretty regularly, and honestly, I've never seen somebody with the spirit and energy that Cantrell had.
Most of the time, those interactions are purely transactional.
Take the money. Open the gate. Give the pass. Next car.
That's it.
Very little connection. Very little engagement. No experience at all.
But Cantrell completely flipped that.
He turned a transaction into a customer experience moment. He turned a parking garage into a welcome experience.
And when you think about it, this role is incredibly important.
Very often, this is the first employee someone encounters when coming to your business. And many times, it's the last employee they see when they leave.
So, imagine starting and ending your experience with someone like that.
Someone smiling. Someone welcoming. Someone genuinely happy to see you. Someone excited to be there.
That energy is contagious.
And while you can't spend 30 minutes talking with every person that comes through. But this was such a powerful reminder of what's possible when we focus on the human component of the customer experience.
This was someone who understood the power of a smile. The power of energy. The power of connection.
And if I were in a position to hire someone, I would hire him in an instant.
So, what can we learn from Cantrell?
Here are five powerful lessons about customer service and customer experience that every leader needs to understand.
We often think about customer experience in terms of sales teams, customer service departments, or client-facing roles. But the reality is that every single touchpoint matters; especially the ones we overlook.
Parking attendants. Receptionists. Security guards. Maintenance staff.
These are often the first and last people your customers encounter. They set the tone for the entire experience and leave the lasting impression when someone walks away.
Here's the challenge for you as a leader: Walk through your customer's journey from start to finish. Who are the employees in those "transactional" roles? Are they trained only on the mechanics of their job, or are they empowered to create memorable moments?
The best customer experience strategies don't just focus on the obvious touchpoints. They recognize that every interaction is an opportunity to build connection, trust, and loyalty.
I watched person after person pull into that garage, and every single one of them left with a smile on their face.
That wasn't an accident.
Cantrell brought positive energy to every interaction. And that energy was absolutely contagious.
Think about your own team. When someone walks in with enthusiasm, warmth, and genuine care, it elevates everyone around them. When someone brings negativity, frustration, or indifference, that spreads just as quickly.
As a leader, you need to ask yourself: What energy are you bringing? What energy is your team bringing?
And here's the harder question: Are you hiring people who naturally bring that positive energy, or are you trying to force it into people who simply don't have it?
Employee engagement and customer satisfaction are directly connected. You cannot deliver exceptional customer service with a team that's disengaged, burned out, or just going through the motions.
I was at a conference about technology, automation, and AI. The presentations were excellent. The innovations were impressive.
But my most memorable experience? My interaction with Cantrell.
That tells you something important.
No matter how much we automate, no matter how sophisticated our systems become, human connection is still what people remember.
Yes, technology can improve efficiency. It can streamline processes. It can even enhance certain aspects of the customer experience.
But it cannot replace warmth. It cannot replace authenticity. It cannot replace the feeling of being genuinely seen and valued.
The best customer experience training programs understand this balance. They leverage technology where it makes sense, but they never lose sight of the human element that creates truly memorable moments.
Here's what's remarkable: People were telling me I needed to go see Cantrell before I even got there.
He had become synonymous with that parking garage. He had become part of the Syracuse University experience for visitors.
One person. One role. One employee.
And he was shaping how people felt about that entire campus.
Now think about your business. Do you have employees like that? The ones customers ask for by name? The ones who create such positive experiences that people tell others about them?
And here's the flip side: Do you have employees who are damaging your brand with every interaction?
One negative experience can undo months of marketing, branding, and customer experience initiatives. One disengaged employee can cost you customers you'll never even know you lost.
That's why hiring for customer service roles is so critical. You're choosing someone who will represent your brand, shape perceptions, and directly impact whether customers come back or walk away.
If I could hire Cantrell tomorrow, I would.
Because he has something you absolutely cannot teach.
He has warmth. He has authenticity. He has genuine care for people. He has energy that lifts others up.
You can teach almost anyone the mechanics of a job. You can teach them your systems, your processes, your products, your services.
But you cannot teach someone to care. You cannot teach kindness. You cannot teach enthusiasm.
You either have it… or you don't.
Here's what this means for your hiring practices: Stop prioritizing resumes over character. Stop choosing experience over attitude. Stop settling for people who can do the job but don't bring the energy your customers deserve.
When you're hiring for customer-facing roles, ask yourself these questions:
The best customer service training in the world cannot fix a bad attitude. But a great attitude can be developed into exceptional skill with the right coaching and support.
If I could build an entire company full of people like Cantrell, that would be a very, very successful company.
Because at the end of the day, customer experience is about people.
People who care. People who connect. People who turn ordinary moments into memorable experiences.
That's what Cantrell did in a parking garage.
And that's what your team can do too; if you hire for it, nurture it, and never take it for granted.
Want to learn more about creating exceptional customer experiences? Visit www.snowassociates.com for additional resources, training programs, and insights.