Story: The Customer Experiences Sadness & Delight
Last week, Friday, it’s 10:00 and I am working from home. Andy’s not arrived yet. I’m wondering if he is OK or if he has forgotten. Neither of these thoughts occurs as a pleasant experience. Then I hear myself speaking: “It’s Andy, most likely he’s simply running late – its who he is. Relax. He’ll probably be here in the next 30 minutes.” I relax, and get back to work.
The doorbell rings. I open the door and see Andy standing there with his smile. I notice that I am happy to see him. I tell him that I am pleased/happy to see him. And invite him into my home whilst asking if he wants a drink. Andy says “A tea would be nice!” I ask him how he likes it and get busy making that tea. The tea is brewing as Andy likes his tea strong; both of us are standing up in the kitchen.
Andy says “Sorry about contacting you amidst your cancer. What’s the news?” I thank him for the discreet ways (email, SMS) that he kept in touch and reminded me that the vents had arrived and he was ready to install them when it worked for me. I tell him that sorting out the condensation problem in the loft (the job to be done from my perspective) continues to be something matters and I am happy that he is here to do that for me. Then I answer his question around my cancer.
After listening patiently Andy shares his (relevant) experiences. His health, the blood tests he has to undergo, the medicines he has to take, and the way this has impacted his existence. He also talks about his late mother and her cancer journey. We talk a while. Then I excuse myself as nature calls. Andy gets busy with that which needs doing in the loft.
A little while later Andy comes down and finds me working on my laptop. And says something like “Sorry for disturbing you and I’ve finished”. We get talking again. In the process he tells me that he noticed that the insulation in the loft is minimal. He tells me that his house had been in a similar situation and that he had managed to get a grant for extra insulation. He gives me the name of a website. I thank him.
We move into the kitchen and he sets about writing me an invoice. I notice that the labour charge is a fraction of that which Andy had quoted. I point this out.
Andy says in a matter of fact “It was a lot easier than I thought. It only took half an hour. So that’s the labour charge.”
I say let me pay you now and set about logging into my mobile banking app. Turns out that I no longer have Andrew Laney Carpentry and Maintenance set up. So I ask for Andy’s bank details. He gives me his bank card and make the attempt to pay him. Problem: there is fault in the mobile banking app that does not allow me enter his full name (somebody has not done good enough UX testing on the banking app).
I say, “Let me take a photo of your bank card. That way I’ll have your details and can punch them into the website using the laptop. I will text you once I make the payment. Please text me back to confirm that you have received the payment.”
The outside door is open and Andy is in the midst of stepping out. I say “Thank you Andy. Give my regards to John when you next see him. And remember that I work from home on Fridays. If you’re in the area then come around for a tea. You’re welcome.” Andy tells me that is in the area from time to time, on a Friday, and will take me up on my offer. I shake his hand and we part company.
I get present to my state of being – noticing that I find myself experiencing both sadness and delight.
Who/What Is The Cause of Customer Sadness & Delight?
I look into my sadness and delight. What is going on here? Why the sadness? What is the cause of delight?
Sadness. I notice it is the kind of sadness I experience when parting company with a friend. Interesting, at some deeper level than my conscious/rational mind, Andy is showing up for me as a friend. Makes sense, he is friendly and we do have history together in the sense that some months back he did some work on my home. He was recommended by the fitter that i was using for a major refurbishment – I wrote a conversation on that here.
The delight. Why am I delighted? What is the source of the delight? I notice that there are several dimensions:
- The job to be done (fix condensation problem in loft) occurs as done and is no longer on my mind – I had been carrying this problem for over a year;
- I enjoyed my interactions/conversations with Andy – genuine human to human relating had occurred where I found myself with a richer picture of Andy including knowing stuff that I would never have guessed unless he had shared it with me e.g. his military service, his mother’s cancer etc;
- The whole thing had turned out to be less troublesome and less costly than I had thought it would be; and
- Andy had done right by me all along validating my decision to put my problem (job to be done) in Andy’s hands and trust him.
Which might explain why it is that immediately after Andy left I logged into my Mac, paid him electronically, and texted him to tell him that I had done so, and asked him to confirm that he had got the payment. Doing otherwise, did not occur as an option – not even delaying it to the afternoon.
How Has Andy Laney Done Right By Me?
Looking into my experience of delight, it struck me that the defining factor in my experiencing delight is the thought-feeling “Andy’s done right by me; I made the right decision to trust this man!” So I got busy looking into that – to see finer detail of doing right by me is made up of in this instance. Here’s what shows up for me:
- I shared the problem with Andy and I proposed the solution – that of replacing some of the roof tiles with vented roof tiles;
- Andy looked into the matter and came up with a much cheaper/easier solution that of using internal vented tiles;
- My focus/priority to switched from this job to be done to dealing with cancer – and in the process I neglected this job to be done;
- Andy had kept in touch discreetly and minimally via non-intrusive means – mostly email about the job e.g. “The vents have arrived,” and SMS to ask about my cancer;
- Andy had seen the job through and been honest/straight all the way to the end – he could easily have played around for 2 to 3 hours, made the job look more complex, and charged me that which he quoted or more as I would have paid; and
- Andy had also been on my side (helpful) to the end – by pointing out that I do need to improve the insulation in the loft (work that he does not do) and telling me where I could get a government funded grant to cover all/most of the cost.
What Was The Real Gift That Andy Laney Left Me With?
Looking deeper still it hits me that Andy Laney gave me a gift. What gift? A gift that really matters to me! What gift? Evidence/experience of folks (in the world of business) who are decent/good. Folks for whom money is not the measure of all things. Folks who embody a certain kind of old fashioned human dignity. And show up/operate with a sense of dignity/honour. Folks for whom cheating customers does not occur as an option – even to consider this seriously would be to sully one’s self-esteem. Thank you Andy for this gift.
I thank you for the listening. I wish you the very best. Until the next time…
