We live in an era of instant gratification. People want what they want, and they want it now. ASAP has become our standard deadline as a society, and when it comes to serving customers, it should be your deadline as well.
The old saying “Speed kills” may be true for drugs and driving, but it’s the opposite in business. In our impatient, fast-paced world, if you can develop a reputation for getting things done faster than your competitors, you will have a huge advantage.
Not long ago, I got home from a business trip on a Saturday evening and turned on my computer. Instead of the usual desktop screen, I was greeted by a scary error message that may as well have been written in a foreign language. I decided to go to bed and try again in the morning, hoping that time heals computers as it does other wounds. On Sunday morning, I tried again. Same gobbledygook message. I needed help badly, because I had to work on something that was archived only on that computer.
So I used my smartphone to search for repair services in my area that might be open on a Sunday morning. Google rolled out a long list of websites, each one promising computer repair miracles. I phoned the first two and got messages telling me to leave my number and they would call me back. They didn’t say when. The next two said they worked Monday through Friday and wished me a good weekend, without even the option to leave a message. I was not having a good weekend. A couple of hours later, having received no callbacks, I returned to Google, where I spotted an ad that offered service 24/7. I called the number, and to my astonishment a human being answered the phone. His name was Graham. I described my problem as best I could, and Graham told me to bring my computer over to his home. When I got there, he said he could probably fix it within twenty-four hours.
At four p.m. that day, Graham called. “Your computer is ready,” he said. “It’s working just fine now.” That’s when I realized how good early feels when it really matters.
Graham is not only technically skilled, he’s a smart businessman. He’s made ASAP his deadline, and he knows that it’s far better to underpromise and over-deliver than vice versa. This strategy can be applied to virtually any business. Work in retail? If you think the back-ordered item will arrive on Wednesday, tell the customer Thursday, then call to say it came in early. Run an auto shop? Tell the customer her car will be ready at five p.m. and call her at two to say you got it done for her early. Work in finance, insurance, or banking? Set the voice mail system on your phone line to say the hold time is five minutes, then pick up in two. As I learned from this computer repair experience, few things feel better than the pleasant surprise of being served faster than you expected to be.
Today, ASAP is more highly valued than ever. So sit down with your team ASAP and think up new systems and processes for getting the job done faster, sooner, earlier. That should be your motto, just as “Faster, higher, stronger” is to Olympic athletes. Trust me, when it comes to service, speed matters.