{"id":12916,"date":"2009-05-13T19:13:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-14T00:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/BrandTwist.com\/?p=22"},"modified":"2018-10-18T20:15:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T20:15:00","slug":"do-no-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandtwist.com\/blog\/brand-experience\/do-no-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"Do No Harm?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Someone said to me recently (only half jokingly) that the definition of \u201cgreat service\u201d is when nothing goes wrong. <\/p>\n

I chuckled along at the time but then I though\u2026wait a minute\u2026 <\/p>\n

Have we really reached a point of such low expectations that the absence of a negative experience actually counts as a positive one? <\/p>\n

I hope not. <\/p>\n

Sure “do no harm” might be OK in certain situations, like surgery, where a good outcome is no complications. <\/p>\n

But when it comes to brands I think we need to set the bar a little higher. <\/p>\n

It made me think of an experience I had not that long ago with Enterprise
Rent-A-Car – where my very low expectations were unexpectedly and stunningly surpassed. <\/p>\n

I was returning my car in Florida near the airport. To save money, I had chosen the cheapest option where you return the car with a full tank. <\/p>\n

But I was running late and couldn\u2019t find a gas station en route to the car return. I was worried about missing my plane, so I decided to suck it up and return the car half full and pay the exorbitant car rental gas prices. <\/p>\n

During my return processing I complained to the Enterprise employee that all the gas stations seemed to be on the wrong side of a particularly hard to navigate divided highway. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t really expect him to doing anything. I was just blowing off steam. <\/p>\n

After all the contract option I had agreed to was \u201creturn full\u201d. It was all there in black and white and I was clearly at fault. <\/p>\n

To my surprise he offered to waive the extra gas charge. <\/p>\n

Then, without me asking, he gave me an extra discount waiving some other fee and decreasing my bill even further then I expected. <\/p>\n

He then made sure I had all my belongings and got me on to the shuttle bus and off to meet my plane on time. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know what to say. <\/p>\n

I stood there with my jaw dropped and continued with this puzzled expression all the way to the boarding gate. <\/p>\n

Not only did he not give me a hard time about the gas, he actually went on to delight me with an added benefit of unanticipated savings. <\/p>\n

That definitely wasn\u2019t the absence of a negative, it was a plus side experience. One I remember vividly and repeat often. <\/p>\n

When you are evaluating your own customer experiences, take a moment to make sure you are not falling in the mediocrity trap. <\/p>\n

Are you counting \u201cnothing going wrong\u201d as successful service? <\/p>\n

Or are you actually challenging yourself and your team to go to a plus side model, where the standard is surprise and delight? <\/p>\n

Take a moment to brainstorm service elements that would catch your customers off guard…in a positive way. <\/p>\n

Perhaps even the opposite of what a customer is expecting walking in to a situation. <\/p>\n

You might just find that the extra step is worth miles in terms of good will and creating fans, not just customers, for your brand.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my point of view. What\u2019s your twist? <\/p>\n

What brands do you think go the extra mile to surprise and delight?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Someone said to me recently (only half jokingly) that the definition of \u201cgreat service\u201d is when nothing goes wrong. I chuckled along at the time but then I though\u2026wait a minute\u2026 Have we really reached a point of such low expectations that the absence of a negative experience actually counts as a positive one? I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-brand-experience","category-customer-relations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t