|
We have a wonderful cleaning lady from Mexico.
She and her daughter go through the house every week and leave it
in tip-top shape. They are
happy, polite, agreeable, and hard working.
Plus, they will do just about anything we ask without complaint. Clean an extra window? No
problem. Sweep the driveway?
Happy to do it! Wash the car? It’s
as good as done. They are
eager to please and, naturally, we recommend them without reservation.
They give good service, and they deserve it.
But…
Every hanging picture in the house is crooked when
they leave. I didn’t say
“some”. I didn’t say
“most”. Every single
one! We’ve tried to
tell them about it but their English isn’t very good.
We’ve tried showing them, but for some reason it just doesn’t
sink in. Maybe it has
something to do with all of the earthquakes in Mexico; I don’t know the
reason, but it is really annoying.
After they leave we walk around the house straightening pictures.
If it wasn’t for that, they would get a “10”.
Think about that for a moment.
They are dusting the frames and the glass.
They already have their hands on them… it would take barely any
effort at all to straighten one before they go on to the next, but for
some strange reason they don’t. And
by not doing so, they severely affect the quality of the service that they
provide.
Is there some small thing that you can do that
will dramatically affect the quality of the product or service that you
offer?
Here’s an example of a very small thing that I
experienced that had a huge impact on my perception of the value I
received. I went to a local
dinner house for a business dinner in the Atlanta area.
When the server arrived with our steaks, he placed them in front of
us and said “If you gentlemen don’t mind, I’ll just wait here a
moment so you can cut into your steaks to make sure that they are prepared
exactly the way you want them.”
I was blown away!
(It’s been over a year and I’m still taking about it!)
What a small thing to do. What
a big impression it made. I
don’t know if that was the restaurant’s policy or the server’s, but
that point of service didn’t cost them anything.
The food would have been the same had he not done it.
But it certainly left me with the feeling that they truly,
sincerely cared about our satisfaction.
And that is worth plenty.
No matter what your product or service, there must be
some way to improve its perceived value at little or no cost.
To get some ideas, start with others in your field.
What do they do that you could adapt to your situation?
Then look at businesses in other fields. Perhaps you can adapt the restaurant example above to your
own business by verifying your customer’s satisfaction very early in the
sales/delivery process.
After all, the last thing you want to do is leave
them with crooked pictures.
Would
you like to use this article in your own publication, e-zine, newsletter,
or website? Click
here
|
