Earlier this month the Oxford English Dictionary announced that its 2021 Word of the Year was ‘vax.’ Granted, the pandemic has continued to loom large over our culture, disrupting our politics and upending our economy.
The Oxford report didn’t mention any of the other contenders, but I’ll bet that one of them was ‘supply chain.’ By now it seems that nearly everyone has gotten better acquainted with the concept and how it affects our lives in ways large and small.
About ten years ago, presidential candidate Mitt Romney stirred up some controversy with his remark that ‘corporations are people.’ When I think of the supply chain I think of people too.
As a UPS driver I’m the final link in the supply chain. I’m one of the ‘last-mile‘ people. I take ‘units of work’ off my package car and deliver them to customers at their homes or workplaces.
I didn’t make what I’m bringing them. In most cases I didn’t even put it on my car. I just park as near to the customer that I can, and then walk their delivery to them or leave it where they’ll easily find it.
Still, most of the time when I interact with customers, they offer a hearty ‘thank you!’ Not just around Thanksgiving, but all year long.
In those cases where the delivery is particularly onerous – say, lots of heavy boxes, a long or arduous walk, or treacherous conditions – I claim that appreciation for myself. I accept it as rightfully mine.
But most of the time, when I say ‘you’re welcome,’ I’m saying it not just for me but for all the other people in the supply chain.
The people in mines and quarries and forests.
The people on farms and ranches and fisheries.
The people on factory assembly lines and in fulfillment or distribution warehouses.
The people on rail freight lines and cargo ships and tractor-trailers.
Indeed, all the people who make all the things that we buy, and all the people who bring those products to market.
The supply chain is people. Lots and lots and lots of people. The ‘last-mile’ is wherever the customer is, but the chain encompasses the globe.
Most of these people are invisible to us. They’re too remote and too numerous to be anything more than an abstraction. They don’t have to be. Author Kelsey Timmerman has made his career giving names and stories to the people he’s met in his travels exploring the global supply chain.
In the ‘thank you’s of my customers I can sense an authentic yearning to feel more connected to that long chain. And so, on behalf of all those people, I tell them ‘you’re welcome!’
2 replies on “Here’s what I think about when customers say ‘Thank you’”
Thank you, Martin, to you and to the entire chain! Great article!
This kind of perspective makes being a human on the planet far more enjoyable than when I am only aware of my own impact. When we visited a friend Who farms on the great plains of northern Montana, I was asked to offer a blessing on the food and he reminded me to say thanks to all of the farmers who grew and raised it. It was a welcome correction. Thanks so much for adding to this appreciation Martin.