There were four of us at dinner. Three ordered "regular" coffee, the fourth requested "decaf." Every so often a server, carrying two pitchers, refilled the coffee cups and knowingly poured three cups from one pitcher and one from the other. He never asked who wanted which type of coffee.
As we were leaving, one of us asked the server how he knew which of us preferred "decaf." "Simple, the three of you drinking "regular" coffee have black cups with white saucers, we serve "decaf" in white cups with black saucers." Instead of thinking outside the box these people have been thinking outside the cup and saucer.
What an elegant, easy solution. The server doesn't have to interrupt conversation to find who is having which coffee, there is no mix-up or confusion, and everyone gets what they want. More importantly, it demonstrates how deeply the "customer satisfaction" thought process has gone in that particular establishment and it is a lesson for everyone who manages a business.
Imagine how many opportunities for little confusions that exist in delivering any product or service, from not greeting a customer properly to forgetting to return a credit card, and everything in-between. Management that really wants to deliver a superior customer service experience systematically looks at every possible opportunity for confusion or error and attempts to eliminate them as they are identified. In the case of the cup and saucer solution there was no cost expended to solve the problem, just a little time and creativity.
An owners or managers challenge is to identify a little confusion or opportunity for error in your business that can be overcome by thinking through the process and developing a low cost / no cost solution. Instead of thinking outside the box, let's call it "thinking outside the cup."
Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
The mind is an infinite wonder... Read More
Have you ever arrived at place in your career and wondered how you got there? Have you found yourself stuck, not liking your job, yet not seeing how you can change after investing 15 years at it... Read More
Some are seeking love in a bottle... Read More
We read in the press about the "War on Drugs" and the "Battle of the Bulge"... Read More
Set Yourself Up For Success!... Read More
It was a sunny Saturday in April 2003 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina... Read More
Imagination is the unreal, real state of mind, where all things are experienced as real... Read More