This is a true story. A parishioner had an appointment with the pastor at noon. The woman arrived at the office at 11:55 a.m. The pastor was running a little late and showed up at 12:05 p.m.

Here’s what happened at noon. The parish secretary told the parishioner that she, the secretary, was going to lunch and the parishioner could not wait in the office alone. The parishioner would have to leave. As the pastor drove into the parking lot, he saw the parishioner driving away.

Now before you start judging the secretary, imagine what kind of system she must be working in to make that kind of behavior even thinkable. Most parishes do not have a secretary who would kick someone out of the office who had an appointment to be there. However, many parishes do have systems that ignore customer service.

We don’t think of parishioners as customers. For the most part, it is probably good that we don’t. We don’t want to go down the path of marketing faith in a way that competes with the entertainment industry. But in one sense, it would help us to think of parishes as service centers. What would happen if everyone on the parish staff and all the key volunteers thought of themselves as customer service agents? Every encounter with a parishioner or visitor would begin with the question, “How can I help you” or “How can I be of service?”

Is there some way you can tweak your parish system this week so it is more service oriented?