Here’s a profound quote from my fellow customer experience expert Dennis Snow: “A job can be as miserable or as fun as you make it.” This simple statement carries tremendous weight in how we approach our professional lives and ultimately impacts the customer experience.
The truth is, your attitude is the single most powerful factor in your job satisfaction. No matter what role you play in an organization, how you choose to show up each day dramatically affects not only your experience but also the experience of everyone around you—especially your customers.
Children Notice What Adults Often Miss
What fascinates me is how perceptive children are about this reality. My four-year-old regularly comments on service professionals we encounter, asking questions like, “Mom, is she your friend?” or observing, “I think he’s having a bad day.” Children haven’t yet learned to ignore the subtle cues that reveal whether someone is enjoying their work or merely going through the motions.
This innocent observation highlights something critical: customers can tell when you’re not having fun. They may not articulate it as directly as a child might, but they feel it in every interaction.
The Choice is Yours
What makes Dennis Snow’s quote so powerful is the element of choice it emphasizes. Your job satisfaction isn’t solely determined by:
- Your salary or benefits package
- The company’s culture or policies
- Your boss or coworkers
- The specific tasks you perform
While these factors certainly influence your work experience, they don’t dictate it. The ultimate power lies in how you choose to approach your responsibilities each day.
The Customer Experience Connection
In my years of studying customer experience, I’ve found that employee attitude is one of the strongest predictors of customer satisfaction. When employees approach their work with enthusiasm and purpose, customers receive better service. It’s that simple.
Consider these impacts of a positive attitude:
- Problems get solved more creatively and efficiently
- Customers feel valued rather than processed
- The entire interaction becomes more human and less transactional
- Both parties leave the exchange feeling better than when they started
On the flip side, when employees are visibly miserable, that negativity transfers directly to the customer experience. No amount of scripting, training, or policy can overcome the damage caused by an employee who has mentally checked out.
Making Your Job Fun
Finding enjoyment in your work doesn’t mean you need to love every aspect of your job. It means finding purpose in what you do and bringing your best self to each task. For customer-facing roles, this might mean challenging yourself to make each interaction a little better than the last or finding creative ways to solve problems.
A job can be as miserable or as fun as you make it.
I’ve seen countless examples of people in supposedly “boring” jobs who transform their roles through their attitudes. The airline attendant who turns the safety briefing into an engaging performance. The cashier who remembers customers’ names and preferences. The call center agent who approaches each conversation as an opportunity to brighten someone’s day.
These people aren’t working different jobs—they’re working differently at their jobs.
The next time you find yourself dreading a task or feeling stuck in a rut, remember Dennis Snow’s wise words. Your attitude is your choice, and that choice affects everyone around you—especially your customers. Make your job fun, not miserable, and watch how quickly that decision transforms both your experience and the experience of those you serve.
