I’m declaring that today is Kenrick Appreciation Day. What’s a Kenrick, you ask? Have you ever met someone who loves their job so much, they can make any profession look appealing? The type of person that has you wanting to quit your job and start apple picking, or pool cleaning or teaching because they make that job look like the best job ever?
That person is The Kenrick of their job.
Mr Smaggle and I coined this term when we went on a holiday to New Zealand in 2009. We hired this amazing camper van (that we named Van Damme) from New Zealand Frontiers and the guy who owned the business (and still does) was called Kenrick.
He loved his camper vans. Each one was completely decked out with matching plates, cutlery, cushions and upholstery. They each had an instruction manual with tips that were specifically relevant for that particular vehicle, despite the fact that most of the vans were the same. It took him 2 hours to show us around because he’d custom fit all these little extras and he didn’t want us to miss things like the velcro straps that kept the plates in place while we were driving. He handed over the keys tenderly like he was giving us a new-born kitten and watched wistfully as we drove away in his baby.
Since then, whenever we meet someone who has an unbridled enthusiasm for their job we call them the Kenrick of said job.
The Kenrick of Acoustics once came to our apartment and marched around with his testing equipment, very solemnly and very seriously recording his findings in a giant leather book. I met the Kenrick of Tyres who showed me a giant hand-made catalog and selected a ‘beautiful, mid-range set of tires’ for my car. I’ve also met the Kenrick of Filter Coffee, The Kenrick of Curly Hair, The Kenrick of Sewing Machine Bobbins, The Kenrick of The Dewey Decimal System, The Kenrick of Exam Supervision and The Kenrick of House Plants.
Kenricks are pretty rare but when you find one, it’s delightful. They’ll catch you by surprise. We’ve come to accept mediocrity as a normal part of life which is pretty disappointing. As long as someone does the bare minimum of what’s required, most of the time, we’re satisfied. This is why Kenricks are so special. Kenricks always under-promise and over-deliver, a trait that is in very short supply these days. A Kenrick will never let you down. Kenricks aren’t ladder climbers, they just genuinely and earnestly love what they do and they want your experience with their work to be amazing.
If you ever stumble across a Kenrick, be sure to thank them. Kenricks love to help people and they thrive on encouragement so make sure you let them know that you appreciate their time and expertise. Happy Kenricks make the world go around.
And to the original Kenrick – thank you! We’ve told everyone how awesome you and your vans are. Thanks for being the original Kenrick – setting the bar for good service since we met you back in 2009. You rock.