I fired the moving company! And, it’s not that I’m impossible to please, really! But, I have learned that in business, as well as my personal life, to “say what I mean & mean what I say”. These are my expectations of others as well. And, if you tell me that you will be at my home to load the truck at 11:00 am & don’t arrive, then I expect a phone call explaining the delay, at the very least. Needless to say, that is not what happened here, and it just went downhill from there. After much confusion and miscommunication, I also learned that my worldly possessions were not even scheduled to be transported to what will be my new home. Fortunately, I had contact with a wonderful lady who understands and delivers true customer service. This lady went above and beyond in order to ensure that my experience became a positive one instead of the flip side of that coin. Things do happen, but just make it right in the end, that’s my philosophy…and, she did!

I worked with Ritz Carlton spas for many years–part of the philosophy of that company is: NEVER LOSE A GUEST. It became very clear to me, while working there, the importance of never allowing  a guest to leave the spa until he/she is totally satisfied. Negative feedback from a guest can escalate to the point that the spa develops a less than sparkling reputation. We’ve all played the childhood game, Gossip, where we whisper something in a person’s ear, then it gets repeated around the circle until the last person verbalizes what he/she heard. It doesn’t even resemble what the original person said, does it?  So, it is with negative experiences. But, even though it may be a perception issue, it still can and does have damaging effects on a business.

I will become a loyal client based, as much, on customer service as for the actual product–I believe it is paramount today and that it alone can be the breaking point of a business, if it isn’t delivered.

Moving is stressful—life is stressful! If we could all just make a commitment to ourselves to “say what I mean & mean what I say”, we could alleviate some stress for ourselves and everyone else involved. As for me, I will be driving that truck,  with all of my worldly possessions, thank you very much!