It’s the little things

by | Jul 11, 2012 | More business, Recommendations, Tales, Tips & Tricks

You may have heard me waxing lyrical about the importance of doing these that make doing business with you memorable. Little things that make people say “Wow!” Here’s a case in point.

Recently I was to present a seminar in Sydney and my client had arranged for a corporate cab to pick me up at the airport. I was so impressed from the moment I met my driver that I recorded all the little things that made me say “Wow!”

  1. He was well uniformed, hair brushed, clean shaven; shoes polished… you never get a second chance at a first impression!
  2. He introduced himself by name, shook my hand using my name and welcomed me to Sydney.
  3. He opened the boot and carefully put my cases in.
  4. He opened the car door, adjusted the seat and, with a gesture, invited me to take my seat.
  5. The door was closed, gently but firmly
  6. I was asked whether there any particular route I wished to take and told of the toll cost
  7. The radio wasn’t blaring but he immediately switched to the stereo at right volume with Louis Armstrong’s “What a wonderful world” as the first selection
  8. That prompted me to agree… it was!
  9. He drove carefully and was considerate of other road users
  10. He did the reverse of the above upon arrival at the destination (opened doors, got luggage out, etc)
  11. He completed the credit card slip and handed me a GOLD PEN with which to sign it.
  12. He thanked me by name, handed me his card, said to call him anytime for service from him or any friends he could recommend,
  13. And finally, shook hands and drove sedately away.

Obviously to deliver service like this meant he had carefully analysed everything he did, and considered everything that passengers like and dislike, so he could thoughtfully assemble a system (scripts and checklist) which, when followed, enabled him to deliver memorable service. Then it became “the way we do things around here”. In other words he locked it in and did it very time… memorable service became a habit!

That’s something you and your team might like to look at in your business. How do you analyse a simple aspect of your business and then re-engineer it to make people say “Wow!”?

And, remember, it’s just the little things!