My sister was a high school beauty queen. Not only did she have many trophies from winning beauty contests, but she was also our high school homecoming queen. It carried a special responsibility when it came to putting on makeup each morning before going to school.
My dad transported my sister, brother, and me to school thirteen miles away and very near his office. Her "responsibility" to be beautiful was destined to collide with his need to be punctual at work after dropping us off at school. He valued discipline and took his responsibilities seriously; she was a teenager!
Many a morning my dad, brother and I waited in our garage while she "primped," as my dad called it. He would blow the horn over and over to no avail. Did I mention, my sister was a teenager? One morning he finally reached his emotional limit on being late for work solely because she "needed" to get her hair and makeup perfect. We drove off without her. My mother later brought her to school. She was never late again.
My dad was a lot like customers today. "On time" has become a crucial component in the value-proposition that customers assume from service providers. Amazon has taught us to expect office hours to be around the clock; FedEx and Zappos have taught us to presume delivery on time, "or it's on the house." Our "time's up" orientation has elevated our standards to a point we now have a low tolerance for wait. And, if there is any delay, we expect to be pleasantly distracted or entertained like standing in line at a Disney World attraction. When contact center operators inform us, "Your call is very important to us; your wait time is 30 minutes," we cringe at the too obvious irony.
Late signals to customers their expectations are unimportant to the service provider. It telegraphs their indifference to customers' influence and reveals a complete disregard for their reach and power on social media. It also tells customers the enterprise suffers from a lack of discipline. "The while we keep a man waiting," goes the old French saying, "he reflects on our shortcomings." Frequent lateness makes customers consider alternatives.
Make On-Time a Distinction
Domino's landed on the map due to one business feature—an on-time guarantee. A pizza that took longer than thirty minutes from order to delivery was free. Then, it was a $3 discount when Domino's learned far too many customers were not exercising the guarantee for a slightly late pizza. There was no mention of the quality of their pizza or the economy of their price. It was all about time; few people enjoy cold pizza. Federal Express (now FedEx) used "when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight" as their tagline in their quest for market share.
The key to making on-time a competitive differentiator is in part about flawless execution. Remember: the core of any promise is its trust-building feature. It requires putting in the processes that fuel efficiency and nurturing a culture that respects punctuality. Both Dominos and FedEx created benchmarks with metrics that emitted internal alarms if a promise was at risk of being broken. As legendary comedian Flip Wilson was fond of saying in the character of Geraldine, "Never let your mouth write a check your body can't cash."
Negotiate Time with Those You Serve
The Achilles heel of promise-keeping is an assumption. When the repair person promises to be at your house "in the afternoon," you are more likely to be thinking one o'clock, not five o'clock. And, much past two o'clock, and you are likely in the "zone of displeasure." Vagueness is guaranteed to trigger disappointment. The antidote is making a time-based promise very explicit. Notice how much airlines are in the conversation when the topic of poor customer service is being discussed. Their definition of on-time arrival is "within 15 minutes of the posted time." Imagine if a fighter jet pilot used the same squashy meaning when delivering a payload.
Make sure there is a meeting of the minds about what on-time means to your customers. Watch out of weasel words like "quick," "rapid," or "fast." Such language invites a "compared to what" retort in the minds of your customers. Be crystal clear about what you can do and what you cannot do. Make sure "we can't" really means "not doable" rather than "we prefer not to." And, always ensure your customers experience you bringing a "yes" attitude, especially if "no" is a necessity.
Provide Early Warnings with Planned Renegotiation
After promises are made, sometimes unplanned events render a broken promise inevitable. Always make sure your customers are the first to know that conditions have altered your capacity to do exactly what you said you would do. Provide facts that help clarify the change. Over-communicate. Broken promises are not like a fine wine—delay makes the circumstances worse, not better.
Long before a promise-breaking hiccup, plan what actions will be taken if it does occur. Get your customers involved in problem-solving around a plan for recovery. Nurture a partnership laced with "what would you like to see happen next" and "what are your thoughts about how we make the best of this unplanned situation." People will care if they share. Inclusion bolsters commitment to a new solution and helps dull the sting of disappointment.
Fashionably late might be an arrogant practice tolerated in some party-going circles. But, there is nothing fashionable about being late in the world of commerce. Time is a valued treasure to today's customers. And, when a service provider keeps customers waiting too long or too often, they will finally "drive off" in search of another service provider more respectful of their expectations and requirements.
