The Lethbridge Journal – Week

I left early for Medicine Hat one week ago, Thursday. I teach a class on Thursday night. One of my class members heads a service department for Davis Pontiac and I needed to purchase tires. Yes, I believe in shopping locally, but after all, he is one of my clients! I called ahead and was assured that I didn’t need an appointment. Sure enough, I was immediately attended to and asked to return in about half an hour. When I returned I didn’t see my car in the parking lot and assumed that it wasn’t ready. No problem! I wasn’t in a hurry. A few minutes later I saw one of the attendants driving a car looking a lot like mine into the dealership’s touchless car wash. A closer look confirmed that it was my car! What a pleasant surprise! My new tires had already been installed. The shop was doing what any good business does – exceeding my expectations.

How would I rate my experience? I would certainly give Dale and his staff an “A” for both quality of work and customer service. The price was good; the service was even better. Before leaving the shop, I asked the guys to put my snow tires in my trunk. The next day, I popped the trunk to remove the snow tires and put them in my garage. Once again I was surprised. Each tire was nicely wrapped in its own plastic bag. Removing them from the trunk was a cinch. I didn’t even have to get my hands dirty!

Dale and his team at Davis clearly understand a secret of good business: Determine to meet customer’s expectations and then do a little more. Doing extra need not be expensive. I doubt that the plastic tire bags cost the dealer very much. Yet they made an impression.

What would happen if we embraced this “Just a little more” philosophy of life?

• Instead of simply doing the minimum requirements to pass a course, students would ask themselves, “What is my teacher/professor expecting of me in this course/assignment?” Students would then determine to go beyond. What a shock and delight this would be for educators!
• What would happen in marriages if spouses were determined to exceed expectations in meeting the needs and desires of their partners? If such an attitude took hold in our culture, I have no doubt that incidence of marital break-up would decline.
• In past weeks, we have considered habits of highly effective bosses. Imagine if bosses took time to consider the expectations of their workers and determined to do just a little more.
• Wouldn’t it be amazing if employees were determined not to simply do what is necessary to earn a pay check, but to please their employers by going beyond the expected?

Instead of simply meeting expectations, surprise your customers! Go above and beyond – do just a little more. In today’s competitive climate, meeting customer expectations is essential to the survival of your business. Exceeding customer expectations is essential to growing your business.