Promises, Promises

As a sales consultant, I had always been taught to under-promise and over-deliver.  Were you?  In the past, I never questioned whether this practice was the right thing to do.  But what I have since found is that this type of promise was more about me than the customer.  And, it also said something about my willingness to go the extra customer service mile.  So let’s set the record straight.  In my humble opinion, under-promising and over-delivering isn’t the best route to take with your customers.  Instead of under-promising and over-delivering, take the approach of presenting the facts as best you can without inflation or exaggeration.

What does it say about your customer service if you know that it takes on average 5 days to get an order but that you tell your customer it will take 8-10 days?  I recently had an experience where a vendor said it would take twice as long to get a product than it actually took.  I admit it I was a pleasantly surprised when I received it in 5 days.  But when the sales rep told me it would take 8-10 days for delivery, I was annoyed about the wait time.  It was something I knew shouldn’t take that long and I suspected my sales rep was under-promising.  The sales rep could have avoided the whole “annoyance thing” by just stating the facts.

Customer relationships matter.  Let’s put the focus back on your customer.  Instead of saying it will take 8-10 days, although you know on average customer orders are received in 5 days, consider saying this:

“I appreciate your order and I know that you want to receive it as soon as possible.  I find that orders are typically delivered in about 5-6 days and very rarely does it take longer.  I will track your order and let you know if it is going to take longer.  If you have any questions about your order, feel free to call me.”

This accomplishes several things:

1) You acknowledge that they want their order as soon as possible.
2) You are honest about how long it takes to the best of your ability.
3) You let them know it rarely takes longer.
4) You are willing to track their order and give them updates along the way.

Okay.  I feel much better now that I have set the record straight.  No more hiding behind under-promising and over-delivering.  Do the right thing and provide the type of customer service you would want.

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