“Are you meeting your customer’s expectations?”

Businesses that serve their customers with clear expectations that they fulfill find they are building long-term relationships.  Conversely, not meeting the expectations of customers creates dissatisfaction and problems no business needs as they seek to build their brand.

In the latest Consumerist blog, Laura Northrup writes of Google’s plight: We’ve posted before about how Google’s idea of offering product support is to maintain some customer forums and peek in every once in a while. That’s understandable for free tools like Gmail and standard Google Voice, but customers who have paid Google for services expect more. For example, many of the customers who have paid to port their phone numbers to Google Voice so far this month have received an e-mail confirming that their port went through…then discover that people who call them are getting a message that the number has been disconnected. (http://consumerist.com/2013/02/04/shockingly-customers-who-buy-google-products-expect-some-customer-service/)

Northrup goes on to say that Google responded to the complaints and rectified the situation.  Her source for the material wonders if they needed to be shamed into action.  Whatever the case, it was an unnecessary problem of their own making.  Expectation wisdom: make sure the customer knows clearly what to expect, then deliver it.  That’s the basis of trust, and a long-term relationship.

Burke did not meet the expectations!

 Newsflash:  Brian Burke is out as GM and President of the Leafs!  That may come as a surprise to some, but it’s a fact and the fall-out has begun.

So the questions begin:  Why now?  The new CBA is agreed to, and the shortened season has not even started, and the boss is done?  What’s the back story?

We may be waiting for the details, and they may come, or they may not.  But one thing is certain.  Mr. Burke failed to live up to the hype of his hiring, and in over three years, the Leafs have failed to make the playoffs.  That’s the bottom line, pure and simple.  The Leafs have spun their wheels, and will probably also spin them this year (no predictions, please.)  But let’s be clear about one thing:  There were expectations, Burke knew what they were, he knew he did not meet them, and when the board of MLSE came calling this morning, he probably said, “What kept ya?”  Bye-bye,  Brian.  Next….

“Winners, or losers? It depends on your expectations.”

Many Canadians are up in arms about our junior team’s loss to the US team in the semi-finals in Ufa, Russia.  Sure, we beat them before, so we expected to win.  Instead, we got hammered 5-1. We must be losers, right?

Is that realistic?  Should we expect to win?

Only if we it’s rigged, my friends.  And in sports, we know that has happened once or twice.  Otherwise, the best one can do is HOPE to win.

Hope is a level of expectation.  We do our best, give it the best shot, and see where we come out.  If someone is better, or gets a few good breaks and bounces, well, there you are.  In a one-game situation, that is really all you can do.

We’ve watched the finals of many sports, and it comes down to one game. Both teams have the caps and t-shirts printed up, the bubbly chilling in their locker rooms.  Should both teams expect to win?  Of course not!  But they hope to.

So chill fellow Canadians.  And hope – yes HOPE – we fare better next year.

(Here’s a good article in this morning’s Globe and Mail by Eric Duhatschek for further reading: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/duhatschek-single-result-is-no-referendum-on-the-state-of-hockey-in-canada/article6891392/)

© Brian F. Reynolds  BFRspace 2012

“What do you expect? The question you need to ask!” is now available in paperback for $20 (Can) from Scarlet Cord Press (www.scarletcordpress.com).

“The year-end review, and a look ahead…”

Well, the stats are in for this blog in 2012. It was a quiet year, since I  didn’t actively blog for most of the year.  We had 2400 views, from  94 countries   (#1 was U.S., with Canada  and India right behind.)

The top visited blogs were:
• Stop Living Up to Expectations (July 2011)
• What do we truly value? (Aug 2011)
• What do we expect in Canada? (July 2011)
• Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Dec 2012)

Major links came from Facebook and a few web search sites.

So what’s coming in 2013?
• I will fold both website and blog into a single site, and change the name to a more generic one.
• Much more consistent blogging.  All suggestions for topics are welcome!
• Planning on publishing on-line workbooks.
• My wife Sandy is working on a business seminar based on this that is really exciting. Her expertise in adult education and leadership development will take this beyond where I could go.
• Some other surprises….so stay tuned!

I hope you continue following my blog in 2013.  It’s easy to subscribe, simply sign up to follow the blog and it will be e-mailed to you every time a new one is publisehed.  Please keep up the comments - they help me know what interests you. Happy New Year!

© Brian F. Reynolds BFRspace 2012
“What do you expect? The question you need to ask!” is now available in paperback for $20 (Can) from Scarlet Cord Press (www.scarletcordpress.com).

“Did you get what you expected?”

Here I am on Boxing Day, relaxing and reflecting on Christmas and using the gifts received from family and friends. Did you receive what you expected?

Were there surprises for you? “I can’t believe you got that for me, how did you know? You are so thoughtful, thanks so much!” Were you disappointed? “Did she think I’d wear that? I bet that was a regift….no one would buy me that!”

Christmas is a time when our expectations are either exceeded, met or missed.

Remember, what you and I expect is not the same as what others think we expect, unless we tell them. And that may take away some of the fun for you (unless you really need that toaster-oven.)

Did I get what I expected? If you mean specific gifts, largely not, because I wasn’t told to expect anything specific (except one thing my dear wife won that has not been delivered yet. Patience, Brian.) But I had a great Christmas of sharing love and gifts and fun with family, and nice presents from each one. So, yes, in that sense I got what I expected, and I am most grateful for it.

I hope you are grateful, too. Whether you got what you expected, or not.

© Brian F. Reynolds BFRspace 2012
“What do you expect? The question you need to ask!” is now available in paperback for $20 (Can) from Scarlet Cord Press (www.scarletcordpress.com).

 

“Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”

The magnificent hymn-writer, Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, is said to have penned 7,500 hymns. Amazing! The hymn, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”, is mostly brought out at Christmas as a First Advent hymn. The hymnals I referenced seem to all put it in that category.

But I think the wording indicates it is an expectation song of Christ’s Second Advent.
See for yourself:

Come, Thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

After a week where the expectation of the end of the world for those trusting in the Mayan calendar proved fruitless, my Christian antidote is this: celebrate the Incarnation (Jesus’ first advent), and anticipate the return of Christ, though we do not know when.

That’s how I’m spending my Christmas.

And a Merry Christmas to you, as well.

© Brian F. Reynolds BFRspace 2012
“What do you expect? The question you need to ask!” is now available in paperback for $20 (Can) from Scarlet Cord Press (www.scarletcordpress.com).

Dec 24 2012 Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Did you expect the world to end?

So, December 21 came and went without a hitch.  No end of the world, as some think the Mayan calendar predicted.  Of course, some experts assured us that their calendar is really cyclical, so all that was supposed to happen is that the previous cycle would end, and a new one begins.  Maybe it did, I have no way of knowing.  Do you?

This brings us to the subject of why we expect certain things to happen.  There are a few possibilities:  We expect something because someone tells us, some authority or someone we believe.  That seems to be the case here.  We may also expect something because we really want it to happen. Those with heavy debt seemed the most predisposed to have the world end yesterday, or so it appeared. We may expect something because it has happened before or is common.  That is certainly not the case here.

The truth is, no one I know really expected the world to end.  That is either because I don’t have many Mayan friends (and who does, really?)  Or else it is because the Mayan calendar is not the authority we listen to in these things.  When it comes to expecting the end of the world, most of us want a little more certainty for our expectations.