I love that this video has gone viral, not only because it’s a display of pure joy and appreciation for another human being, but because it’s a fine example of my favorite business mantra: Do What You Love in the Service of People Who Love What You Do.
Mukhtar, a Copenhagen bus driver, was treated to the ultimate surprise birthday celebration when a couple of passengers and then a whole “street mob” sang the Danish birthday song to him.
All of that you’ll easily gather by watching the video.
What you may not know, is that this whole thing was orchestrated not by his family, but by his employer, Arriva, as part of their campaign called “Better Bus Trip,” the idea being to “promote public transport and focus on the drivers’ contributions to making the journey pleasant for passengers.”
And the theme of this campaign of which Mukhtar is now so famously and virally a part?
Love.
All told, Arriva celebrated the birthdays of 21 drivers. They also installed “love seats” on several of the buses where you would sit if you wanted to let fellow passengers know that you’re single. Or if you just had “extra smiles to give to the rest of the bus.”
Arriva is a huge company that employs over 40,000 people in 12 European countries. Yet, I’d venture to say, most non-European readers of this blog have never heard of it. Until this love-video went viral. Or until now.
Once again, don’t tell me that love has no place in the world of work.
It is, in fact, damn good business:
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