Ensure They Remember the Rose, Not The Thorns

Has this ever happened to you? If not, just imagine: You're in the grocery store and buying some pasta from the bulk foods section. You wrap up the bag, wait in line for the checker, and discover you forgot to write down the four-digit product code. So you ask everyone else to wait a minute while you make the trip back to the bulk foods section to get the number for the scanner, then walk all the way back to the cash register -- all the while asking yourself how come the store couldn't have a bulk food product list for each checker.

Well, multiply that frustration by 10 and you'll know my experience this weekend in Wenatchee National Forest. You see, a few years ago the US Forest Service began charging for use as a way of increasing their shrinking revenue.

Unfortunately, they have ignored customer convenience in the equation. I spent an HOUR driving back from the beautiful trailhead parking lot over mostly unpaved, extremely bumpy roads to the ranger station just to obtain the lousy $5 permit. The USFS did equip, amazingly enough, their ranger with the appropriate supplies to ticket anyone not displaying the pass.

How can you use this lesson in your business? Make it easy to do business with you. See the entire customer experience through their eyes. Identify and address the thorns they encounter, so they instead remember the rose. Otherwise, that's what shapes your brand and reputation.

You might even ask, in person or through a survey: what could we do to improve our service? (Only do this if you're brave, because you will get an earful -- and will then have to evaluate those suggestions and implement the feasible ones!)