August 16, 2011
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
Nobody is perfect, and having a plan to deal with your imperfections is just as important as improving your performance. That lesson has been deftly illustrated by my local grocer.
I do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods Market. One of the things I love about that store is their return policy. Right up on the wall it says, “If you are not satisfied for any reason, just return it for a full refund.”
And they make it easy.
You go right up to an easy-to-find customer service counter, where someone will happily listen to your problem and give you your money back, no questions asked, even if you don’t have a receipt. I return about $100 worth of stuff every year, an insignificant amount given what I spend there annually.
Granted, the grocery is openly admitting to being imperfect and occasionally selling defective merchandise, but it doesn’t seem to hurt its business.
When I was a professional bass player, I had no such thing as a “dissatisfied customer policy.” I did not see a need for it. After all, I always played the bass extremely well, and I always met or exceeded my fellow bass players’ expectations for correct playing. I never created a forum for audience feedback because I told myself it was not necessary. But deep down, the real reason was because I was terrified of it.
I did my job perfectly so no one would criticize me.
The trouble is, when you are doing your job perfectly according to some arbitrary standard, there is no place for criticism. You could be doing something your customers don’t like and never realize it.
Display article as PDF for printing.
Would you like to send this article to a friend?
Remember, if you have a question or comment, send it to .
