The phrase “under promise over delivery” has become a popular business principle, as it’s better not to promise your customer something you can’t deliver than to under promise and surprise your customer with good service. So how can this not be good?
Well, there is some truth to “under promise over delivery”, but this principle does not apply to all possible scenarios. For example, if a repeat customer gets used to work being done (or items being ordered) earlier than promised, they might think that you could deliver sooner in the future or that not all the work was done after all. necessary. The net result is that your customer’s expectation will eventually change to over-expectation. This will put more pressure on your delivery, and may result in a situation where there is a conflict of hope. And that’s not good for anyone.
An alternative would be to try to promise on the spot. Ideally this could work, but despite the fact that this is very difficult to do in some business models, this puts more pressure on service levels in your company and can lead to higher stress levels, especially if you are codependent on external resources. third parties (for example, suppliers, subcontractors). If you fail to deliver on time, you may have a dissatisfied customer.
– A much better strategy is to try make no promises at allor to make more “tentative” or “relative” promises.
For example, “I’ll do my best to deliver on Monday” or “It usually takes two business days” or “If my supplier delivers on time, it should be here tomorrow.”
In my experience, the following additional business principles are good to keep in mind:
– Honesty. Tell your client the truth in all circumstances. In this way you equalize expectations and take pressure off yourself. If something goes wrong, then your side is clean (and you can sleep at night).
– Transparency. Give your customers enough details so they can understand how the process works or what procedures are followed to provide the service. Customers want to know what they are paying for.
– Consistency. Explain your company’s procedure to your customers. Please try to maintain these procedures and try to treat all customers equally. Loyal customers may have a higher priority, but this principle can fit into a larger picture of a consistent procedure. Making too many exceptions can put more pressure on your business or create uneven expectations. This will also help you know when to say “no” without being rude or compromising your level of service.
