From heroes to villains, royalty to presidents, you can read about just about anyone in the press. Journalists are always hungry to highlight the noteworthy. The more famous, or better still infamous, the more column inches someone will get.
This week, I’m happy to shine the spotlight on someone you’ll never have heard of unless you happen to know him personally. I’m proud to introduce Thomas Larsen, who works behind the counter at Panera Bread on Showplace Drive in Naperville.
While this may sound like a joke, Larsen has come to my attention because of his exemplary customer service. Rising above the bread counter like the yeast in a bagel, he remembers everyone’s name and is genuinely interested in anyone who walks up to his cash register.
Sometimes it’s nice to highlight the ordinary person going about his daily life. As a writer, I believe everyone has a story, although this is the first time I have interviewed anyone I knew virtually nothing about before taking out my notebook. Having made up my mind to feature him, what would I do if he was as dull as a bowl of oatmeal or dense as a whole grain loaf?
Larsen turns up for work every day at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., depending on his shift. When he’s done, he moves on to the nearby Music and Dance Suites, where he teaches guitar to children. He’s also an independent distributor for Young Living Essential Oils.
As an Eagle Scout, he’s perfect as the assistant scout master for Troop 106 in Naperville. He has a huge passion for film making and music, performing in a duo called Wonderlove with his girlfriend, Ally. Together they play a variety of instruments.
He’s already performed at the House of Blues in Chicago and he’s only 19 — and that was four years ago. He’d like to make music his career.
Larsen, who lives in Aurora, was taught at home through high school by his mom. Her parents were from The Netherlands, and he visits there from time to time, most recently when his grandfather passed away.
“It’s my personal belief that everyone should be treated as a special person. I like to treat people the way I would like to be treated,” Larsen told me. “If I can put a smile on someone’s face, it makes them feel welcome here. If you aren’t genuine, people will lose that experience.”
Larsen is driven by teamwork, something he learned as a Boy Scout. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from them,” he said. “It’s about becoming your own person and respecting your elders; codes for life that elevate you as a person.”
He was offered his job at Panera on the spot when he came for an interview just over a year ago.
“I enjoy teamwork. We have some good interactions and it’s easy to make friends,” he said. “After a month, I was training others. Initially working here took me out of my comfort zone … but it’s interesting being on the other side of a business I used to frequent regularly.”
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Larsen makes it sound like there’s never a dull moment, which could be because of his enthusiasm or stories like this:
“One time we noticed that someone was coming in every day to steal orders from our rapid pick-up shelf,” he recalled. “We set up some decoy bags filled with bottles of water and rotten apples to trap him. When he came in, the district manager, who happened to be here at the time, chased after him. He didn’t catch him, but we haven’t seen the thief since!”
Larsen says he treats new customers exactly the same as those he has come to know.
“I do make a point of remembering their names because you never know if they might become regulars,” he said. “I’d hate to be the one who stops someone coming back because I didn’t treat them right.”
He believes Panera’s high standards make it a good company to work for.
“I think we have a higher standard of food than McDonald’s or Taco Bell, and the service you receive depends on how you are trained,” he said.
The store’s general manager, Melissa West, has high praise for Larsen.
“The customers love him because he is so friendly,” she told me. “I wish I could clone him. He is really great, he’s like the gold standard.”
As thrilled as I was that Larsen remembered my name, I do find it grating when assistants in certain clothing stores insist on writing your incorrectly-spelled name on a little whiteboard outside your fitting room. I realize they are only following orders and they want to keep track of who is in there, but if I wanted them to know my name, I’d hand them a business card when I walked into the store.
It’s a kind of faux friendliness that should be reserved for real estate agents and dentists. When they tell me to have a nice day, I’m fully aware they couldn’t care less if I do or not, and when they walk past at great speed muttering “how are you” under their breath, I definitely know they don’t.
I believe my cynicism is due to the fact that in England, it’s considered impolite to attract the attention of strangers. I think customer service is improving there, but traditionally we are all so suspicious of one another, I’d be shocked if anyone in a store was able to help me with anything, and anyway, I’d hate to bother them.
I wouldn’t exactly call Panera the place where “everybody knows your name,” but I can vouch for the fact that at least one person does. Generally, I find customer service far better here than I do in England, but the key is to make it so genuine it becomes extraordinary. With that thought in mind, perhaps Larsen isn’t as ordinary as I thought.
Hilary Decent is a freelance writer who moved to Naperville from England a decade ago.