Customer Service Lessons From a Seattle Fish Market

What a Seattle Fish Market Taught Us About Great Customer Service

Ensuring your customers feel genuinely looked after and your people enjoy coming to work is the foundation of a successful business. These two elements are more closely connected than you might think. And the answer to both can be found in an unlikely place: a fish market in Seattle, USA.

The Pike Place Fish Market story

This is a real story, and it is a good one.

Back in 1986, John Yokoyama owned a fish market at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Business was not particularly exciting, staff morale needed a lift, and there was nothing especially remarkable about buying fish there.

John wanted to change things. With some help from a business consultant, he and his team started looking at their business differently.

During discussions about what they wanted to achieve, someone came up with an audacious idea:

"Let's become world famous!"

It was a big ambition for a fish market, but instead of dismissing it, the team embraced it.

They began thinking about how they could make buying fish an experience people would remember. They started throwing fish across the counter, entertaining customers, joking with visitors and turning what could have been an ordinary shopping trip into something genuinely enjoyable.

People started coming just to watch the fishmongers in action. The market became a major tourist attraction, attracting worldwide attention.

But the real transformation was not about throwing fish. It was about changing the way people approached their work, treated each other and looked after their customers.

Years later, filmmaker John Christensen recognised something special about the market and its people. He saw that the lessons behind their success could apply to almost any workplace. This led to the creation of the FISH! Philosophy, which has since helped businesses around the world rethink their workplace culture and customer service.

How FISH! came to Loyal I.T.

Loyal I.T. director, Julie Goodwin, introduced the FISH! Philosophy to our business very early on.

It now sits alongside our Code of Honour and helps guide how we work with our team, our clients and our community.

For our clients, that means more than simply answering the phone or fixing a technical problem. It means dealing with people who are present, positive and genuinely interested in helping.

It is about treating people as people, not just another support ticket.

Four Simple Habits Worth Stealing

The FISH! Philosophy is built around four simple principles. They are easy to understand, but putting them into practice consistently can make a real difference to your workplace and your customer relationships.

1. Choose Your Attitude

You choose the attitude you bring to work every day.

Try it yourself: Before a difficult call or a busy day, pause and decide how you want to show up. It takes ten seconds, but it can change the tone of everything that follows.

2. Play

Bring energy, creativity and fun into what you do.

Try it yourself: Celebrate a win this week, however small. Morning tea, a shout-out in the team meeting or a funny story to start the day all count. Work does not have to be serious all the time to be done seriously well.

3. Make Their Day

Look for opportunities to make someone else's day better.

Try it yourself: Each day, do one small, unexpected thing for a customer or colleague. A genuine thank-you message, an extra bit of help or simply recognising someone's effort can make a difference.

4. Be There

Give people your attention and be genuinely present when interacting with them.

Try it yourself: In your next conversation, put the phone face down, close the laptop and listen until the other person has finished. You might be surprised by how much more you pick up.

The Bigger Lesson

You do not necessarily have to change what you do to change how successful and enjoyable your workplace becomes. You can start by changing how you do it.

The fishmongers still sold fish. The work was still cold, repetitive and physically demanding. But they changed their attitude, their relationships with each other and the experience they created for their customers.

They discovered that the way you do your work can be just as important as the work itself.

And that is a lesson worth remembering in any business.

Keeping the Habits Alive

Of course, knowing about these four principles and actually living them are two different things.

At Loyal I.T., our team meets each week to share real examples of how they have put the four habits into practice. It is a chance to recognise good work, learn from each other and keep our values front of mind.

If you would like to introduce something similar in your own business, a short weekly team conversation is a great place to start.

We would love to hear how you go.

You can find out more about the FISH! Philosophy online.

And if you would like to know more about how we put these principles into practice at Loyal I.T., or need help with your I.T., give us a call on 02 4337 0700 or email reception@loyalit.com.au.