Lagniappe

I checked Merriam-Webster online and found this definition of lagniappe: "a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure." In other words, it is little something extra or unexpected. 

When was the last time your organization provided some lagniappe to your external or internal community? It doesn't have to be a big thing - for your external community/users, perhaps it is just a piece of candy at an unexpected moment. One library I know at the end of the academic year gave everyone who left the library a flower! 

For the internal community/co-workers/colleagues, the surprise of donuts or bagels is always appreciated. (I am still in the oral stage and stuck on food!)

The idea is the important thing. We all appreciate the something extra and unexpected when we receive it; why shouldn't we enjoy it just as much when we provide it. 

Lagniappe - it's a Good Thing.

4/4/11: Today I had lunch with my dad and a friend of his. At the end of the meal - a tasty Chicago hot dog - a gentleman approached our table, looked at my dad and said, paraphrasing that when his Uncle Manny used to take him to Santa Cruz, Uncle Manny always got a chocolate dipped ice cream cone and you sir remind me of my Uncle Manny, so here you go, and handed my dad a chocolate dipped ice cream cone! Well, we were thrilled, and to make the moment better, the gentleman, who it tuned out is part owner of the establishment, offered my dad's friend and me our own ice cream. We declined - a little hot dog goes a long way - but the gesture and the thought were so uplifting that my dad and I talked about it all the way home.

Again I say, Lagniappe is a Good Thing!