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Philip Dormer Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield and an English writer, once said, “Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it.”

Here we are — almost August. Time flies when you’re having fun! At a recent business dinner, my tablemates were talking about how fast this summer has flown by. Some have been busy making a summer filled with lasting memories to get them through the bleak days of winter in the frozen tundra. Some have used their summer “beating the bushes” for new business for the coming fourth quarter. Everyone at the table agreed that they need to find a way to get more out of the hours available for work and play. These busy people agreed that the busier and more involved they get, the harder it is to get a grasp on their time.

Walt Disney said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” That sentence is the baseline for enthusiasm in customer service.

For years, I have been an observer of customer service — everywhere I shop and everywhere I go. I’ve been to businesses where I’m sure that employees think that customer service is a “department” that doesn’t belong to them, and to businesses where the enthusiasm for making customers happy is visible the minute you enter the door. The bottom line is that a company’s bottom line depends on customer service that is full of attitude and enthusiasm.