With all the snow we have had this year, the guy who regularly plows my driveway is having increasing difficulty finding a place to push it. The piles he normally creates are getting higher and higher. Since the piles will only go up so high before the snow rolls down, the piles are spreading out at the base and taking up more area. Every snowfall, he plows the driveway, pushes the snow as he has always done, and leaves.
In addition to this space challenge, the wind has been whipping snow back over my driveway and building two to three foot drifts that are level with the mounds of plowed snow on the sides. Since the regular plow guy can be challenging to reach quickly, I have been shoveling as much of the drift as necessary for the car to pass through. Last week I encountered the deepest drift yet. This is ridiculous to shovel, I thought.
I called the guy who had stopped to help me out a couple years ago when I was shoveling the end of the driveway. I explained the drift and then asked, “Could you come over tomorrow and plow the drift for me?”
“I’ll be there around noon,” he replied.
After he plowed the drift the next day, he widened the end of the driveway. Then he drove up the hill to my garage, and I walked out to pay him. “Your driveway is plowed very narrowly,” he commented. “I’m going to widen it out for you. I’ll push some of this snow across the frontage road and get it out of your way. I already widened the end of the driveway in a way that I hope will lessen the drifting.”
“Thanks!” I said, never dreaming what I would find when he was done.
When I walked my dogs later that afternoon, I was amazed at the results of his efforts. He had started at the top of the hill by the garage and widened that area more than I had thought possible. Then he had gone down the driveway and widened it considerably. He had pushed some of the snow across the frontage road into the ditch. At the end of the driveway, he had staggered the piles so that they were not in a straight line.
I was so impressed with his work that I called him immediately and thanked him profusely for his efforts and excellent performance.
This is a good example of how a job can be done with the customer in mind or not. The guy who usually plows my driveway just did what he has always done. He didn’t attempt to find additional places to put the excess snow. He didn’t notice the residual drifted snow that I had not shoveled. He didn’t make an effort to widen the driveway. He didn’t think about what he could do to help me. He moved the main snow out of the driveway, and that was it.
On the other hand, the second guy looked at my driveway from my point of view. He addressed the snow removal as if he was the one who had to use the driveway everyday. He found unused places to put the excess snow. He thought of new ways to stagger the snow piles in hopes of reducing the drifting. He helped me have a clearer path through my driveway.
While both guys plowed snow, their performances were vastly different. How a job is performed means everything to the customer. Did that performance satisfy the customer? Did the performance achieve what the customer needed? Did the performance address potential problems so they did not happen to the customer?
Performance is a critical part of marketing. If the customer is not happy with the performance, he may not return. He may complain, not just to the businessperson but also to others. He certainly will not recommend the business to others. Performance determines marketing’s success.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is How has performance made a difference for your company? E-mail me your answer.
In addition to this space challenge, the wind has been whipping snow back over my driveway and building two to three foot drifts that are level with the mounds of plowed snow on the sides. Since the regular plow guy can be challenging to reach quickly, I have been shoveling as much of the drift as necessary for the car to pass through. Last week I encountered the deepest drift yet. This is ridiculous to shovel, I thought.
I called the guy who had stopped to help me out a couple years ago when I was shoveling the end of the driveway. I explained the drift and then asked, “Could you come over tomorrow and plow the drift for me?”
“I’ll be there around noon,” he replied.
After he plowed the drift the next day, he widened the end of the driveway. Then he drove up the hill to my garage, and I walked out to pay him. “Your driveway is plowed very narrowly,” he commented. “I’m going to widen it out for you. I’ll push some of this snow across the frontage road and get it out of your way. I already widened the end of the driveway in a way that I hope will lessen the drifting.”
“Thanks!” I said, never dreaming what I would find when he was done.
When I walked my dogs later that afternoon, I was amazed at the results of his efforts. He had started at the top of the hill by the garage and widened that area more than I had thought possible. Then he had gone down the driveway and widened it considerably. He had pushed some of the snow across the frontage road into the ditch. At the end of the driveway, he had staggered the piles so that they were not in a straight line.
I was so impressed with his work that I called him immediately and thanked him profusely for his efforts and excellent performance.
This is a good example of how a job can be done with the customer in mind or not. The guy who usually plows my driveway just did what he has always done. He didn’t attempt to find additional places to put the excess snow. He didn’t notice the residual drifted snow that I had not shoveled. He didn’t make an effort to widen the driveway. He didn’t think about what he could do to help me. He moved the main snow out of the driveway, and that was it.
On the other hand, the second guy looked at my driveway from my point of view. He addressed the snow removal as if he was the one who had to use the driveway everyday. He found unused places to put the excess snow. He thought of new ways to stagger the snow piles in hopes of reducing the drifting. He helped me have a clearer path through my driveway.
While both guys plowed snow, their performances were vastly different. How a job is performed means everything to the customer. Did that performance satisfy the customer? Did the performance achieve what the customer needed? Did the performance address potential problems so they did not happen to the customer?
Performance is a critical part of marketing. If the customer is not happy with the performance, he may not return. He may complain, not just to the businessperson but also to others. He certainly will not recommend the business to others. Performance determines marketing’s success.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is How has performance made a difference for your company? E-mail me your answer.
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