Disappointment

I hesitated to even post this as it is certainly not earth shaking, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it represents what happens to all of us when we have a bad business experience. First, a little background on what led up to this post. My Grandson Jack is 23 months old, and I adore him. In fact, it is flat embarrassing to see how he can wrap his 6 foot 5 inch 240-Pound “Papa” around his chubby little finger. Of course this has resulted in having my two sons whine about how I never spoiled them like I spoil Jack, so I have to put up with that also. From the git-go, I wanted Jack to learn how to appreciate and enjoy the simpler things in life. High on that list for me are vanilla milkshakes, as I still remember how much I loved them as a kid, and I really wanted Jack to be able to find out how good an ice cold extra thick vanilla milkshake tasted.

Well, today was the day, and I told Jack that “Papa” was taking him to the ice cream store. I ordered a large milk shake to go, and as we watched the young girl make it, I noticed she was using a lot of milk, and I was afraid it might not be thick enough. I probably should have said something, but I assumed she knew more about making milk shakes than I did. Well she did not, and sure enough, when we got home, I discovered the shake was extremely thin, and did not taste very good at all. Jack did not know the difference however, as he drank it down quickly and ended up with a vanilla milkshake mustache and grin to show for it, but I sure did.

I had looked forward to this day for months, and I was very disappointed for Jack as I felt he had missed out big-time. In fact, I resolved that I would never go to that store again, and I will not. I mean is this not silly on my part or what? With all of the problems in the world today, here is some old “Papa” dude having a hissy fit over the thickness of a freaking milk shake. Why not just let it go and move on? Well the reality is, that is how I felt, and how you feel overrides what you think.

I also recognized that your customers feel the very same way when someone or something in your company disappoints them, and the problem is you will probably never even know it. Most of the time they will just not call you again; they will just end up going away. They will also spend a lot of time telling other people how they feel about you and your company in a negative light, just as I am doing now. That is why I feel it is so important to have ongoing training and coaching of your employees, as you just cannot afford to have your customer’s disappointed.

Just my thoughts,

Gene B