Today, while chilling out in the room of an urgent care center, I was able to witness the importance of customer updates first hand. After getting my blood drawn, I waited on that crinkly, white bed for a good 10-15 minutes, before the nurse came in to tell me that the testing would take about 45 more minutes and that I could either wait for the results, or go home. He says that he's going to ask the doctor what he wants me to do and will be back with the answer in a minute or two. 45 minutes later he walks in, apologizes for not telling me sooner and tells me the doctor wanted me to wait.
It's all fine and dandy that he wanted me to wait, but it would have been nice to know that 45 minutes ago, when he said he was going to tell me. My trust in him took a nose-dive after that.
Whether the time it takes to provide your product of service takes only seconds or takes months, become mindful of it. Having an accurate perception of your timeline allows you to provide true to life promises to your clients. The nurse had this down pat, but it was the next part that he failed at: updating.
Unexpected setbacks can occasionally pop up and wreak havoc on deadlines. The best thing you can do in these situations, in addition to working your butt off to keep things on schedule, is to communicate with your customer. It is better to inform them as soon as possible, to adjust their expectations, than to let them find out later. when you don't deliver on time, and completely shatter their expectations. Even if the nurse had come in to tell me that he had forgotten, half way through the waiting period, I would have been happy to know he didn't completely blow me off. But instead, he made no attempt to right his wrong, and waited until the last minute to let me know.
It's also good to remember that updates aren't reserved just for bad news; it is completely okay, and desirable, to let a customer know that things are on track to happen when expected. A simple, "I’m still on schedule to finish by the end of the month," will suffice. Doing this maintains the customer-provider relationship and can even create a dialogue. Perhaps the client has something they want to discuss and they didn't know when to bring it up. Maybe they just want to mention something they really like about your business. Any chance for conversation should be welcomed with open arms, especially if it helps to keep expectations on track.
And, Mr. Nurse, if you're reading this, you were fabulously friendly and I completely appreciated that, but you really must work on your notification skills.
Source: Want to be successful? Learn to manage expectations.
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