The Best Cab Driver in Chicago
This is Moon S. Choi. 
He’s the Best Cab Driver in Chicago as judged by the people that call in to a central number to issue praise/complaints. I had the good fortune to jump into his cab at McCormick Center while I was in Chicago at The Motivation Show. Here’s what I experienced with Mr. Choi…
The car itself was fine, but not spectacular – some sedan model from Hyundai – you wouldn’t pick it out as it drove down the street. As I got in the car, I blurted out my destination and he repeated it, tagging on “yes, thank you”. Then I settled in and began to notice my surroundings… My senses painted the picture in this order – classical music at just the right volume was playing on the radio, the inside of the car was immaculate (when I got out of the car at my destination, I noticed the handle of a small hand-held vacuum under the front seat), and there was a fresh bottle of water in the side of both back doors along with a pad of receipts. Then I noticed the piece of paper taped to the side of the back door.
Mr. Choi was clearly proud of his accomplishment.
I’d traveled to and from McCormick Center dozens of times and I’m very familiar with the route cabs take and the fare charged. Mr. Choi was taking a different route that turned out to be quicker and 25% less expensive according to his meter (it was actually a more scenic route as well, but I assume he took it simply because it was most expedient. Maybe he is just that good & threw the scenery in for fun…).
When I arrived at my destination, I paid Mr. Choi (more than I normally pay for that trip), told him I was honored to be driven by The Best Cab in Chicago, asked to take his picture and then made sure I had his cab number and the number for the place to call with comments. One more vote for Mr. Choi…
This excellent surprise from a perfunctory ride I’d taken many times before reminded of a few things that I often forget:
- The small amount of extra effort it takes to be excellent creates an incrementally larger gap between you and your competition.
- There are no “big things” and “small things” when it comes to perception. Everything matters.
- There is an economic benefit to being excellent.
- Being excellent makes people’s lives more pleasant.
If you’re ever in Chicago, I hope you have the good fortune to hop in Moon S Choi’s cab – it’s a great ride.
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