As I sit down to write this week’s article, I am reminded of an A. Lou Vickery quote that said “Nothing average ever stood as a monument of progress. When progress is looking for a partner, it doesn’t turn to those who believe they are only average. It turns instead to those who are forever searching and striving to become the best they possibly can. If we seek the average level, we cannot hope to achieve a high level of success. Our only hope is to avoid being a failure.”

How many of you get overly excited about a score of ten out of twenty? A score of ten out of twenty is mediocre or average. It’s just okay or fine. I don’t know about you, but I use the word “okay” or “fine” to mask a negative emotion. If I am asked “How was it?” and I respond “okay” it means that it was just average or horrible, but I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

If I am asked “How are you?” and I respond “fine.” It means something is wrong.

Customer Service Expert, Shep Hyken said, “another word for mediocrity is average. In other words, not good or not bad. Just okay. Just satisfactory. And, satisfactory is not good enough to create loyalty. If you ask your friend how dinner was at a restaurant and the response is, “It was okay (in other words, satisfactory),” you will probably want to spend your money elsewhere.

Satisfactory or average is mediocre.

The customer experience you offer should never be average; you should never give customers just the bare minimum. Creating moments of magic, said Hyken, is about being just a little better than average all the time – simply by achieving 3.3 instead of three on a scale of 1-5. If you wouldn’t be satisfied with a score of ten out of twenty, don’t expect your customers to be satisfied when you give them a ten out of twenty service.

Many companies are still in business not because of the service they provide but because of (i) limited options, (ii) convenience of location, (iii) affordability. It should be noted that not because people patronize your business means they are satisfied with the service you provide, in some cases you may be best of the worst.

Recently I visited a waterfront restaurant that I patronize because of the convenience of its location. Almost every time I visit, I am motivated to write either about moments of misery or moments of mediocrity. On this occasion, my daughter and I were there for dinner. The place was reasonably busy, and it was clear front the onset that they were understaffed for the evening.

The manager who was manning the cash register stepped away to assist with the clearing of tables, so after standing for a while waiting to be seated, we decided to seat ourselves.

About twenty minutes after finding a table we were still waiting for someone to take our order and I decided to go back inside to place the order. I stood behind a customer who was being assisted and patiently waited to be asked “May I help you? However, when the waiter finished dealing with the customer in front of me, she walked away. I waited until someone else came, I announced where we were seated and said I would like to place an order please. I was handed a menu. I said, I already know what we want, only to be told, I will come to you.

Eventually someone came to our table and took our order. When our drinks were served, they were nicely decorated with an umbrella and a toothpick with a grape and a piece of pineapple, only that the grapes were spoiled. When dinner was served, the server brought one table mat and proceeded to put it in the middle of us to share to accommodate twelve pieces of dinner ware.
When requested an additional table mat, she responded, “all yo can’t come up a little closer, me foot hurting me.” I felt sorry for the lady who seemed to be limping, but thought to myself that she was announcing her ill health to the wrong people.

I must reiterate that the sole purpose for writing about my experiences is to effect change.

Shep Hyken said, “The goal is, manage every Moment of Truth and create an above average (Moment of Magic) experience…You don’t have to deliver an over-the-top or above-and-beyond experience. You just have to be above average – all of the time. The best companies know that their customer service must be above average, consistent, and predictable. That’s what makes
the great companies amazing.”

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