Keynote: The day a Squirrel Taught Me Customer Service

The Day a Squirrel Taught Me Customer Service

What if one of the most meaningful lessons about customer service came from a stuffed squirrel in a preschool classroom?

In this engaging and story-driven session, Robin Landals-Hill shares the unexpected story of Listening Lenny, a classroom squirrel who helped children feel heard during a time when teachers could not always respond immediately. What began as a simple strategy quickly revealed a powerful truth: people do not always need an immediate answer, but they do need to know they have been seen, heard, and remembered.

Through humour, personal stories, and practical examples, this session explores customer service as more than a transaction or workplace expectation. It is a way of showing up in every interaction. Participants will consider how easily frustration, defensiveness, and impatience can turn a difficult moment into a harmful experience, and how calmness, consistency, empathy, and human connection can help move the story forward.

The 20-minute keynote offers an inspiring and memorable message about the role each of us plays in someone else’s experience. The 60-minute expanded version takes the conversation through reflection, discussion, and practical activities that help participants apply the ideas to leadership, education, business, human services, and everyday life.

Participants will leave with a renewed understanding that great service is not always about solving the problem. Sometimes, it is about making sure no one feels invisible while they wait for the answer.