Here's something to consider- in football, once you've reached the endzone- you're done. You don't get extra points for your dance or for running past the zone and jumping into the stands. Although it would be really cool if you did.
Can you imagine a game where you could get extra points just for having a really cool endzone dance? Instead of Madden, we'd get a judge from Dancing with the Stars to do the color. I'll bet Emmitt Smith would come out of retirement. It'd be awesome.
Of course it would change the whole dynamic of the game. Players couldn't just be fast or strong- they'd have to be able to get down like MJ in Thriller. Paula Abdoul would have a new spot on the sidelines as an assistant coach. We'd no longer have practices, but rehearsals. And the team could do their own half time show. It could get out of hand quickly.
Of course you don't get points for dancing in the endzone, you just get a penalty. Because there's no need for all that. Once you've scored- you've scored.
Customer service is much the same way. You don't always need to do a dance to get points; and sometimes you're just wasting time trying. Customer service is about meeting expectations- not exceeding them. And exceed them the wrong way or too often and you'll end up either changing the game permanently or getting penalized. It can do more harm than good.
So many places talk about "exceeding customer expectations," but customers don't need that. If they did, they'd just have higher expectations. Once you've hit the endzone, stop. You've got the points. Just keep focusing on getting there again and again. That's how you win.
Case in point:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqycHsURkk