Are You Missing Expectations?

The annual Million Dollar Consulting Hall of Fame meeting in New York is one of my favourite events of the year with Alan Weiss. On the Monday before the event, I had requested an Uber to bring me to the airport so I could fly to New York City.

The drive to the airport was fairly uneventful. We arrived at a very busy departures area and I instructed the driver to stop anywhere that was convenient for him and explained that I was happy to walk to my airline for check-in.

The driver pulled over to the side and stopped his vehicle and said: “Okay, is this good?”

I responded yes, and that I needed my luggage.

He responded, “It’s unlocked” and stayed sitting in the driver’s seat.

I got out of the car, opened the trunk, grabbed my suitcase and walked off. It is the first time in my entire life that a taxi, Uber or car service driver I’ve used has not retrieved my luggage from the back of the vehicle and handed it to me at the airport.

It left me wondering whether or not the driver realized that it is an expectation most travellers have when they hire someone to bring them to the airport.

Expectations matter.

Your customer’s expectations matter greatly and if you’re unable to anticipate what they are, and deliver on those expectations, chances are you are forfeiting repeat business, larger sales, tips, and or referrals.

As a business owner, it’s important that you ask your clients what expectations they have of your product or service.

This question is really important as it ensures that you can live up to, or manage someone’s expectations.

Do you know what your client’s expectations are?

Do you know when they expect you to be available?

Do you know how quickly they expect you to respond to them?

Do you know in general terms what they want from you, and more importantly, are you delivering?

Common sense to you is not common sense to someone else.

This Uber driver thought that Toronto was the capital of Canada, and acted like he didn’t believe me when I tried to tell him that this was the capital of Ontario and that Ottawa was the capital of Canada.

You can’t make the assumption that what someone is thinking and knows to be true is the same as what you think and believe to be true. That goes for expectations too.

Many years ago, a manager of mine told me to inspect what you expect.  As a business owner, it’s important you inspect what your customer is expecting regularly.

Leave me a comment and let me know what industry your business is in, and what one expectation is that applies to you and your product or service.