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Digg it UP - We Got It Wrong: Never Under Promise & Over Deliver
So many entrepreneurs that I talk to about customer service tell me that they have great customers service and their customers love them. Yet, when I ask the customers this they often give me a different critique.Are you sure you know that your customers love you? And even if they do what about all those customers who no longer patronize your business do they love you too or did they leave and are never to come back for indeed a different reason. Perhaps a complaint; why do I ask? Well I think that Customer Service is Simple; a Silly Strategy.You see customer service is not easy nor is it free. To develop good customer service you may need the help of a professional customer service audit. Which may include a future secret shopper program, surveys and a complete over view of your business to find out where yo
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client reme
Crude oil prices softened a bit in October but remained firm around US$61-63 per barrel. They have fallen by almost US$10 per barrel from the peak of US$70.85 hit in end-August. The fall has come as a boon for many fuel consuming industries and textiles in particular. The entire synthetic fibre industry, almost depend on petroleum products for raw material inputs. In October, WTI Spot, averaged US$62.4 per barrel and was 17% higher than last year. During the first 10 months of 2005, oil prices were higher by 38% averaging US$56.1 per barrel.Late October saw crude prices falling on news report claiming weakening of demand and higher inventories in the USA. However, the supplies were still tight following the rampaging of the Mexico Gulf by hurricanes in August and September. The strike at Shell’s Pernis refinery in F
And you feel such a chump - how did I ever fall for that - the logic just isn't there - I must have been a fool. Let me explain.
"Under Promise & Over Deliver"
You know the old saying "Under Promise & Over Deliver"? - well, here's the idea behind it.
Buyers these days are ever more ready to complain when something isn't to their liking (yes, even in the UK!) Customers are prepared to walk if you don't deliver when you said you would. Clients are mobile and promiscuous and will change supplier if they can get better service.
So in order to meet these demands, for the last 20 years or so, we've all been applying the mantra "Under Promise & Over Deliver" - for example, tell them the job that'll take 10 days will take 12 and then wow them when you deliver ahead of schedule.
Now, in theory this sounds great - your client can't fail to be impressed at your over delivery! Or can they?
Big Mistake
Now, think about it for a little longer. Mr client comes along and you promise to deliver the project by 2pm on Tuesday, even though you know you can get it finished by Friday. Hey, that gives you the weekend to reflect, Monday morning to add the polish and you can deliver it on Monday afternoon. A great under-promised and over-delivered job! But what actually happens?
The client is delighted - you delivered a day early. But then Mr Client has a few fleeting thoughts; did this mean it wasn't such a complicated project as you'd said? Or could you have actually got it finished by Friday? Perhaps you've over charged him?
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client remem
If you haven't been in the job market recently . . . you're in for a SHOCK!First, the good news. There are extraordinary high-paying opportunities unlike anything ever seen before in the history of this country . . . even in this shaky job market! And job search is EASY and FAST if you know your way around today's job marketplace!However, if you're under the impression these remarkable jobs will drop in your lap just because. . . you're ambitious. . . or you have a lot going for you. . . or you put together a slick resume. . . or you're willing to wait patiently for the phone to ringthen you might as well take a long, long vacation -- it will do about as much good.You see, there are remarkable changes going on in the job search marketplace. This is an extraordinary
"Under Promise & Over Deliver"
You know the old saying "Under Promise & Over Deliver"? - well, here's the idea behind it.
Buyers these days are ever more ready to complain when something isn't to their liking (yes, even in the UK!) Customers are prepared to walk if you don't deliver when you said you would. Clients are mobile and promiscuous and will change supplier if they can get better service.
So in order to meet these demands, for the last 20 years or so, we've all been applying the mantra "Under Promise & Over Deliver" - for example, tell them the job that'll take 10 days will take 12 and then wow them when you deliver ahead of schedule.
Now, in theory this sounds great - your client can't fail to be impressed at your over delivery! Or can they?
Big Mistake
Now, think about it for a little longer. Mr client comes along and you promise to deliver the project by 2pm on Tuesday, even though you know you can get it finished by Friday. Hey, that gives you the weekend to reflect, Monday morning to add the polish and you can deliver it on Monday afternoon. A great under-promised and over-delivered job! But what actually happens?
The client is delighted - you delivered a day early. But then Mr Client has a few fleeting thoughts; did this mean it wasn't such a complicated project as you'd said? Or could you have actually got it finished by Friday? Perhaps you've over charged him?
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client reme
The saturation of sites deliberately built for adsense revenue worldwide is increasing at a rapid rate due to the unbelievable power adsense has to earn the average person a worthwhile second and sometimes primary income. A new addition to the adsense earning idea that is still in its infancy is creating sites that indicate how much different adsense ad clicks are worth, and then display them on the site in large lists, along with the adsense ads next to them. The amount of different keywords on the site ensures the site will be seen by searchers and drive sufficient traffic, and the adverts are clicked in the hope of more information. Thus, the publisher of the site does nothing more than create keyword lists, using appropriate software, see what their value is worth and then post them onto a w
Now, in theory this sounds great - your client can't fail to be impressed at your over delivery! Or can they?
Big Mistake
Now, think about it for a little longer. Mr client comes along and you promise to deliver the project by 2pm on Tuesday, even though you know you can get it finished by Friday. Hey, that gives you the weekend to reflect, Monday morning to add the polish and you can deliver it on Monday afternoon. A great under-promised and over-delivered job! But what actually happens?
The client is delighted - you delivered a day early. But then Mr Client has a few fleeting thoughts; did this mean it wasn't such a complicated project as you'd said? Or could you have actually got it finished by Friday? Perhaps you've over charged him?
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client reme
TABLE OF CONTENTS1. The Security Consultant's Perspective...2. The Insider Threat...3. Threats by the Outsiders…4. The Terrorist Threat...5. Protective Measures...1) Security Consultant's Perspective...Traditional techniques at combating Workplace Violence pits the disgruntled employee against the system and the potential victims in a waiting game. It seems that the “Inside Threat” is reduced to monitoring the known potential, the “Ticking Bomb”, while the unknown threats go unmonitored. Threats by "Outsiders" are just as common and equally violent. Complicating this challenge, we now must grapple with the threat of terrorism (political and domestic) in our workplaces. I am reminded of a quote by James Baldwin from his book, "The Price of the Ticket". "No one can possibly kn
The client is delighted - you delivered a day early. But then Mr Client has a few fleeting thoughts; did this mean it wasn't such a complicated project as you'd said? Or could you have actually got it finished by Friday? Perhaps you've over charged him?
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client reme
A very common mistake made by start-up companies, and indeed smaller businesses in general, is to not take customer service seriously. Too often, managers think all it entails is answering the phone promptly and being polite to customers – and how often do companies fail to do even that!In fact, customer service can soon become more important to a start-up than sales and marketing, helping it retain customers (selling to existing customers is much cheaper than finding fresh ones) and maximise its income from them. Good customer service can also help gain new customers, as word spreads about how great a particular company is to do business with. Managers should, therefore, have a strategy for customer service which goes well beyond simply being polite on the telephone.So if you are starting a new company, how
Because he's happy you did what you said and within the time scale, he pushes his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, the client now learns to "expect" (that's his job) the service you created in your fantastic under promised way. So, he gives you another project. You give him a timescale and price, again under-promising so you can confidently over deliver with a big smile on your face. The client remembers his thoughts from the last project and asks you to "try a bit harder" on the timescale. You do, because hey, you like the guy. He was really grateful last time.
And so, the next time Mr Client asks you to do something he expects it to be done as fast and efficient and for the same price as before - now he won't be impressed by your over-delivery - this is just his expectation.
And sadly, when you deliver on time and in budget, Mr Client wonders why it took so long. He wonders if he pushed a little harder he could get your price down or your timescale shortened. And he pushes, and he pushes...
You've taught your client that you can do it faster than you've told him. The doubts are there. He wonders if you've lied to him! The shame of it!
And what happens if something goes wrong - if you can't deliver in the real timescale - or the price escalates? Or someone lets you down, or the goalposts change?
The Issues
Now, the issues are a little more wide ranging than the example above.
Some of our clients are even saying that these days in order to get a chance of winning work they have to make big promises (and then work out how to deliver on them ;-)
Quite often the client needs to do her bit to make the project run well - and she'll have her own clients and other things to do!
Increasingly, you're not working on a project in isolation, there may be other suppliers in the equation
This can all lead to dissatisfaction for everyone involved.
So, What's The Answer
Well, taking everything into account, you still need to make promises to your customers, but the answer is in the details. The answer lies in understanding what's important to the client and working with the client to make sure that you can deliver on that. Then over deliver on something you have complete control over.
I
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