Under Promise & Over Perform: The Art of Managing Customer Expectations

I'll always feel warmly about Conrad's restaurant, in Glendale, California.

On the morning of the Northridge earthquake, Conrad's was the only restaurant in town that opened for business, and stayed open until the last customer went home. (For the record, I had a jumbo burger with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, fries, and two chocolate shakes with lots of whipped cream and extra cherries on top.)

The line of hungry patrons shoe-laced down the block, but instead of being grumpy, everyone was smiling, happy to be alive, and bursting with their own quake stories to share with the strangers all around them.

What was truly extraordinary was the fact that Conrad's did the ordinary, under exceptional circumstances. It opened for business-as-usual.

Undoubtedly, it had a skeleton crew, because freeways were damaged and closed, and some workers couldn't make it in for their shifts. But enough servers and hosts were there for us, and this very fact exceeded, I'm sure, most people's expectations.

Which of course, proves a point: You don't have to provide "legendary" or "heroic" or otherwise spectacular service to succeed. You merely have to exceed people's expectations as a way to consistently create customer satisfaction.

The problem is most companies do the opposite. They crow about how capable they are at providing top service, citing surveys that they have sponsored and often manipulated to appear better than they really are.

"Your call is important to us" is repeated incessantly on hold. Some service reps are even trained to ask one of the dumbest questions imaginable: "How can I provide you with exceptional service, today?"

In reality, most of us would be thrilled to replace this self-serving rhetoric with the basics. We really want service folks to:

Be there for us when we need them.

Be competent and well trained.

Be quick to address our problems and to solve them.

Be upbeat, and grateful for the opportunity to have our patronage, and

Be done!

To elevate our customers' hopes, and then dash them, is utterly self-defeating. It reminds me of what I used to hear as a kid-athlete. It's ok to boast, but you better be really, really good, in every single contest. Otherwise, the first time you screw-up, you'll be razzed, relentlessly.

Moral: Be modest. Nice and humble does it every time.

If you're modest, and simply competent, you'll be appreciated and you'll win customer loyalty.

That's the secret to Conrad's decades-long success.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books. He is the author of the Nightingale-Conant audio program, The Law Of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable. Gary teaches Entrepreneurship and Consulting at UCLA Extension, and he is President of Customersatisfaction.com and The Goodman Organization. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com.

---

Under Promise & Over Perform: The Art of Managing Customer Expectations

I'll always feel warmly about Conrad's restaurant, in Glendale, California.On... Read More

How To Build a Profitable Business

It's never too soon to start saying thanks to your... Read More

6 Reasons Why Complaining Customers are Golden

With Some Tips on How to RespondTt has probably happened... Read More

Dont Forget your Existing Clients

Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the... Read More

What To Do When Youve Blown It

It's bound to happen sooner or later ? yes, even... Read More

How to Retain Your Customers the Dish Network Way

Customer retention is vital to a business. If you cannot... Read More

The 3 Rs of Customer Service

What I am about to tell you may seem very... Read More

Whatever Happened To Customer Service?

Do you remember the last time you went into a... Read More

Wholesale Buyers Versus Retail Customers

Are wholesale buyers and retail customers really different? Frankly, there... Read More

Stellar Customer Service in 10 Simple Steps

If you're like me, you've had plenty of experience with... Read More

Is Your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System Doomed To Fail?

"Right, People. Let's blast out that mail campaign we've been... Read More

The death of customer servie

The other day a reporter call to interview me on... Read More

Customer Service For Huge Profits

Customer service is the most vital asset for Business either... Read More

Poor Customer Service - Are Your Customers Driving Away Other Customers

Every customer you have is a word-of-mouth advertiser for you.... Read More

Courting Customers - From First Date to Marriage

Landing a new client is like courting a potential spouse.... Read More

The Sellers Creed

I will not make sales. I will make Customers.I will... Read More

What Every Employee Should Know About How to See Customers Problems from Their Creative Side

Customer Service is a blessing and a curse; a blessing... Read More

Oil Change Customer from Hell or Hoax; You Decide

Evacuation, "E-Vac" Oil System for Oil ChangingHow do most mobile... Read More

Transforming Disgruntled Customers into Your Biggest Advocates

"I am writing to complain about the widget I bought... Read More

Listen to Suggestions

If you are up to your ears in a stressful... Read More

The Great American Customer Service Unawareness Campaign

Q: I'm so sick of you so-called business experts always... Read More

Passing the After-Sales Test

Some time ago a major UK food retailer decided to... Read More

A New Way To Handle Complaints, Or Is It?

What a lot of money we have been wasting on... Read More

CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty

'A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by... Read More

Managing Your Business When One Client Takes Alot of Your Time

How often has your schedule been thrown out of whack... Read More

Client Appreciation - It Means Everything!

Want to know the secret for keeping your clients forever?... Read More

Mastering Challenging Service Situations

During the course of everyday business, many of you encounter... Read More

Accountability

The Call Center world is an intense pressure-driven environment continually... Read More

Modern Call Center Solutions - Keeping in Touch is the Key

Call center solutions solve a range of age-old problems. As... Read More

Small Business Customer Service Can Work Against You

Is the special treatment you designed specifically to keep customers... Read More

You MUST Sweat the Small Stuff

It's The Little Things That Make or Break a Small... Read More

Setting Up a Customer of the Week Program for a Mobile Car Wash

In a mobile detail or mobile car wash business you... Read More

Treating the Customer Dissatisfaction Epidemic: How to Go Beyond Simply Masking the Symptoms

Corporations in every sector are spending more than ever before... Read More