You Can’t Foul Up Delivery and Sustain Margins

I just moved into a new house with two wood burning fireplaces and I decided to purchase gas logs for them. The salesperson I bought them from was confused and made a few fundamental mistakes – one of which I didn’t discover until delivery-time rolled around…it turns out that he order the wrong set.

Because of his error, the installation was delayed by 7 days – or so I thought. I literally just got a call from the installer who told me that the correct piece was on back order for another 7 days. The original installation date was, therefore, pushed back by several weeks. In fact, as I write this I still don’t have one of the log sets installed!

I don’t care what I paid – it was too much. You’ve got to get it right…the first time. Your customer has certain expectations and it’s your job to meet – or exceed – them. The #1 way to maintain a premium price is to provide customers with on-time delivery. Our research clearly backs that up. What do you think?

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Service without asking…I’m impressed

In today’s all too often “no service” world, it’s tough enough to get attention when you ask for it, no less when you haven’t raised the issue. Perhaps that’s why I was so pleasantly surprised at what happened to me last week at a local restaurant.

Two days before Thanksgiving, I picked my college-attending son up at the airport and we headed for our favorite sports bar/restaurant to relax and enjoy some family time. In the waiting area, there are at least a half-dozen televisions, usually tuned to a wide range of sporting events. In addition, inside the restaurant seating area, there are more televisions, also dialed into sports programming.

As the waitress seated us, I could see into the lobby and on one of the TVs, perhaps 40 feet away, was an exciting ice hockey game featuring my favorite team, the New York Rangers, and the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes.

After ordering our drinks, I noticed New York had scored a goal, so I got up from my chair and walked into the waiting area to watch the replay. When I returned to my seat, the manager was talking to my son, and the TV nearest our table was now showing the hockey game. As I sat down, the manager told me he noticed me leave my table to catch the replay in the lobby. He said he figured I was especially interested in the hockey game, so he decided to change the station near my table so I could enjoy the contest while we ate dinner. No doubt about it, I was impressed.

How are you when it comes to servicing your customers? Do you wait for them to ask for your help, or do you voluntarily come to their aid, even before they’ve asked? In today’s highly competitive marketplace, every edge to give yourself could be the difference in gaining (and maintaining) market share.

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A Culture of Pride

I recently returned from working in Singapore with a client in the chemical dye industry. I was there for a week in early November, and I was struck by two things: first, the cleanliness of the city. It was absolutely spotless. I couldn't find trash in the street, parks, buildings or anywhere. Everyone puts trash in the trash receptacles. What a concept!

The second thing that struck me was the service attitude of the Singaporean people. It's an attitude of delivering exceptional service way beyond expectations. For example, I took a cab from the client's office to the hotel. The cab driver missed a turn and had to go around the block, so he knocked a dollar off the fare. Again, what a concept!

All I could think about is how each scenario would be played out in the United States. You don't need me to explain the difference to you, right? The bottom line is it's all about ATTITUDE and PRIDE.

The attitude of the people in Singapore is exceptional, and they take pride in their job-whether it's as a trash collector (by the way, their trash trucks look brand-new and even their cover-alls are clean), a waiter, cab driver, concierge or manager. It's a culture of pride and respect.

As sales professionals we talk about "differentiation" and "positioning." Whenever anyone tells me in the future about an experience of exceptional service or cleanliness, I will immediately think of Singapore because it will have my top-of-mind awareness. What do you do as a sales professional to position you as "top-of-mind" when your clients think about your product or service? Do you give exceptional service, or are you "too busy" to go the extra mile for your clients?

I recently had a client tell me that it was "refreshing" to have a sales rep who "does what they say they will do." I was shocked! It's sad that just doing what I promise will position me ahead of my competition, but at the same time, what an opportunity for me, huh? It's all about attitude and pride. What makes you exceptional and top of mind to your clients "you are, aren't you?"