Expectation is the root of all
heartache…..William Shakespeare
Expectations
are a funny thing. From the time we are
children, people expect us to do and be many things. In our workplace we are told to manage our
customer’s expectations. People we
expect things, or behaviors from, disappoint us sometimes.
Often we
believe we know what someone is expecting us to do or provide for them. We think we know what our customers want
based on what they state their needs or issues are and to be truthful, we
probably have seen similar scenarios and fill in the blanks ourselves. But do we really know what someone is
thinking? Aren’t one person’s
expectations different from another?
Doesn’t each person’s experience, personality and standards set their
level of expectations?
I am sure we
all purchased things before and have felt:
·
This
isn’t what I thought I was getting.
·
Why
is it taking so long? I thought it would
be done by now.
·
This
isn’t as robust as what I thought.
·
I
thought you were responsible for this; why am I paying for it?
In my world,
missing expectations can be very expensive.
Investing in a large material handling systems is no small
undertaking. Jobs can be lost and
professional futures ruined if capital investments are not managed wisely and
expectations for return on investment not met.
Of course we
can say we need to make sure details are clearly communicated in terms of what
you are buying, how much you are buying it for and when you need it. Approval drawings, equipment lists, pictures,
and operational descriptions are necessary to quote “Manage Expectations”. However, I submit, it is not enough.
It is not
sufficient to merely give a customer something they asked for. You have to know why they need it. What will it do for them above and beyond
storing, picking and distributing more widgets efficiently? Why is it important for the change to take
place both operationally and personally?
How they like do to buy things and most importantly, what level of
detail will they provide? Even detailed RFP/RFQs do not provide the necessary
information you need to meet expectations.
Spending time
with your customers and asking questions about the “why” in additional to the “what”
will help you meet your customer’s expectations.
For more
information from Greg, view his page at www.trifactor.com/greg
