JS Tip 611: Exceed the Customers’ Expectations

From yesterday’s Washington Post: 

FDA says Pfizer coronavirus vaccine contains extra doses, expanding nation’s supply

Six or seven doses instead of the expected five. That’s nice. (Don’t know if that was planned, but that’s nice.) 

Good customer service is “service that exceeds the customers’ expectations.” Some more examples:  

The toner-cartridge people who put a small packet of jelly beans in each toner-cartridge box. You open the box. There’s your new toner cartridge. And there are the jelly beans. You think, “Wow. That’s nice.” 

The vendor who adds a trivia piece to the bottom of invoices. How to tell Huey, Dewey, and Louie apart.* Or what were the names of screen cowboys’ horses. Or who were the seven “Three Stooges.” A client responds, “Thanks for the laugh! I never had an invoice that made me smile before!”

Kris Kringle who speaks Dutch to the little orphan girl in the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street. The adoptive mother explains, “I told her you wouldn't be able to speak to her, but when she saw you in the parade yesterday, she said you were ‘Sinterklaas,’ and you could talk to her. I didn't know what to do.” Kris turns to the little girl and says, “Hallo! Ik ben blij dat je gekomen bent!”

So . . . what might you do to exceed expectations?

We love this stuff. 

*The nephews are color-coded. 

Huey wears a red shirt and cap. (The memory hook: Red is a bright “hue.”) 

Dewey wears a blue shirt and cap. (Dew is water and water is blue.) 

Louie wears a green shirt and cap. (Okay. This is a stretch, but he’s the only one left. “Louie” starts with “L.” “Leaves” starts with “L.” Leaves are green. BAM!)