For managers to get the results they want, they must make expectations clear.
It’s easier for all when managers do this from the start the way Joe Hakan did at The Dean Dome and at The Siena Hotel. But the manager can’t stop there. She must follow up, coach, reinforce, remind and recognize. That’s because people forget. It’s not that they weren’t listening. It’s just that there is so much to remember. So many distractions and demands.
In this week’s Quick List: 10 Ways to Make Expectations Clear , #9 is: Use visual reminders like posters, signs, checklists, daily reports, buttons, charts. Performance Acura in Chapel Hill serves as an example of this.
So does The Eden Roc Hotel. When long time Business Class reader, A.C Robbins of Prudential Carolinas Realty, stayed there a few years ago, he called me soon after his return. He wanted to tell me about their service – the best he had ever experienced!
He proceeded to tell me about a conversation he had with the bellman one day. The two of them were in the elevator and Ace noticed a button on his lapel (see below).
When asked what “E.Y.E.” stood for the bellman proudly said, “Exceeding Your Expectations”.
Ace responded by telling the bellman that he had certainly accomplished that.
During the rest of his stay, Ace noted that each person who worked at The Eden Roc wore one of these buttons. He asked a woman at the front desk if there was a way for him to take one home with him. She said she would find one for him. Later that evening, she found Ace and his wife at dinner and told them she had found a button and was having it delivered to his room. Sure enough, when they returned to their room a couple of hours later there was the button along with a nice bottle of wine, corkscrew and two glasses. Ace said, “Needless to say, she exceeded our expectations.”
This E.Y.E. button. It was nothing fancy. Very simple actually. But powerful.
- Reminding the employee to exceed expectations each time he dressed for work or looked in the mirror.
- Reminding the employee each time she was asked to explain that E.Y.E. stood for Exceeding Your Expectations.
- Reinforcing the message and providing recognition each time the customer reacted appreciatively by saying something like, “You certainly have done that for me.”
A lot of “mileage” from a little button. Seems like the message rubbed off on it too.
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Additional resources to help you make expectations clear. Why? For improved productivity, higher morale – and BETTER Results:
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