Meeting Expectations

When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised with the purchase of a product or service? If you’re like most people, you had to give it some thought. Every merchant likes to echo the phrase “our goal is to exceed your expectations”. But the actual product or service almost always fall short of reasonable expectations. Please indulge me with a few examples.

My 13 month old A/C unit quit working several weeks ago. The A/C company that I bought it from came out the same day I reported the problem. That was a very pleasant surprise. The defective part was still under warranty, so I didn’t have to pay for the replacement. That met my expectations. The A/C company charged me $110 for the 30 minute service visit. That seemed slightly excessive, but I paid on the spot with no complaint, just appreciation that my A/C was working again. Overall, I would say that the A/C company met my expectations. Didn’t exceed them, just met them.

I purchased an investment property recently and had the utilities connected. I got my first water bill and was charged two $45 connect fees. One for water and one for sewer. I called the water company and asked how they could charge me to connect the sewer. It was already connected. Sewers don’t have cutoffs or meters, so what were they connecting. They said it was to set up the account. But it is only one account. Both charges come under the same account number on the same bill. The aggressive customer service person just said that was the way it was and there was nothing I could do about it. The water company fell quite short of my expectations.

My engine light on my vehicle came on recently. I dropped it off at my mechanic for a diagnosis. He tore into it and couldn’t find anything wrong. So he reset the light. I went to the cashier to pay, expecting to pay a diagnostic fee. She said that they didn’t find anything wrong, so there was no charge. Finally, someone exceeded my expectations. They will continue to get my business and referrals.

What a joy when you feel that you are treated with respect and treated fairly. It is so rare these days that when it happens, it just sticks with you. As a real estate agent, I do my best every day to exceed my clients’ expectations. I can’t say that I have succeeded 100% of the time. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. In working with my clients, I never really know exactly what their expectations are. But I suspect that their expectations range from low to high. But the only way that I can meet my personal goal to exceed everyone’s expectations is to assume that each and every client has the very highest of expectations of me. So I set the bar for my performance on the top rung, and try to clear it consistently.

If you want a great experience on your next real estate transaction, give me a call. I will do my best to make you a satisfied client.