How far will you go to keep a promise - to deliver a product, meet a deadline or live up to your brand? We could all learn from Val's Cleaners in my South Minneapolis neighborhood, which last week delivered a memorable demonstration of delivering as promised: The day before a business trip I dropped off a same-day item; I was leaving at 5:00 the next morning and they assured me it would be ready that afternoon. It wasn't ready when promised - no big deal, and I began chalking it up as one more run-of-the-mill disappointing customer service experience. What was a big deal was Val the owner calling me later in the day asking if he could deliver the completed order to my home - which he did! Needless to say, Val secured my customer loyalty for some time to come; it would take a lot for me to even begin looking for another cleaner.
We live in a world of promises - promises made, promises kept and promises broken. Some promises are explicit: to re-pay a loan as promised, deliver a report as we agreed to or meet someone at the designated time. Some are more implicit: fast and courteous service from a fast-food franchise, transportation carriers' published schedules, a law enforcement agency's pledge "to protect and serve," doctors "doing no harm" and banks keeping our money safe, for example. An organization's mission statement is a kind of promise, as are its posted values. A strong brand is largely a product of consistently fulfilling the brand's promise. The degree that we keep these promises - large and small - affects our credibility, perceived trustworthiness, the quality of our relationships and our bottom line. Here are some practices that will pay dividends:
