Now, an ugly tale about a situation where someone bridged the gap well.
Back in the 90s, we built a custom home – architect and all. When we interviewed the builder, who came with good references, he set expectations for us from the outset. He said “All the references had projects that went pretty well. But I should tell you, every 10 or 20 projects we have one that seems to the homeowner like a complete disaster. It will feel like everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. It turns out fine in the end. Most times we can control those things, but sometimes we can’t. Between the weather, people, suppliers, subcontractors, and everyone else that’s involved – there’s a lot of moving parts and opportunity for things to go wrong. What you need to know is that I will take care of these things if that happens.”
At the time, I appreciated the warning, but didn’t think much about it. We never think the gap is going to get us.
Unfortunately, that’s what happened. We had maybe eight or ten things go wrong that seemed like a disaster at the time. Halfway through framing, the builder said “The way the architect designed this staircase… it didn’t go anywhere. The only way to build it so you could walk upstairs was to make some adjustments.” He simply took care of it.
A concrete truck got stuck in the backyard, slid down the slope of our lot and jammed itself against a tree on the neighbor’s lot (which fortunately didn’t have a house on it yet). They had to call another concrete truck to pull first one out. Meanwhile, the concrete was getting hotter and hotter, meaning it was going difficult to spread once it was poured.
Filling the expectations gap
That night I stop by the house after work and find guys in the dark working hard trying to spread the concrete before it sets. I can tell by how hard they’re working that it’s already decided to set and they’re doing their best to make it work. They ended up having to pour another small layer to smooth everything out. Other things happened, but it didn’t matter because a) he set the expectation and b) he took care of it. While the problems were annoying, the builder did what he said he’d do. He filled the expectations gap.
Years later I ran into a real estate agent who had a similar expectation gap filler. She had a checklist for the refrigerator when she listed your house. She said “Here’s a list of things that may go wrong between now and the time your home sale closes. Some are normal, some are crazy. If they happen, I will let you know and I will take care of it.”
She set the expectation and filled the gap appropriately. That’s really all customers want. When they hire you to do a custom job, they want it taken care of. Whether the work is selling your house, building software, or a tax return, customers simply want a professional to finish the job and handle whatever problems arise.
Your turn
The good news is that this is a fairly easy situation to improve. You already know all the things that can go wrong. You’ve dealt with 99% of them. Why not document them? Present them to your customers in a way that turns them into a way to show you’ve got experience and expertise on your side. Make sure they know what your response will be.
Don’t fear putting them in writing – not so much as a guarantee, but as a “We’ve got your back.”
You might be worried that your competitors will copy what you do in this area. The rare one might, but most won’t. It’s surprising how many things you can do for your customers right out in the open where your competitors can see them – and they’ll simply watch. Some will attempt them and find them too much work. Don’t worry about your competitors. Worry about your customers.
So… how are you filling the expectations gap for your customers? How can you bridge that gap and give your customers more confidence that they’ll be well cared for?
Mark Riffey is an investor and advisor to small business owners. Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on LinkedIn or Twitter, or email him at [email protected].