February 6, 2011
Today’s Bit of Advice…
“Don’t Live Down to Expectations”
In case you think I create all this wisdom and advice myself, I don’t. I’m more of a vehicle for transmission of advice from one place to another. Today’s bit of advice came to me through a daily motivational email I receive. The full quote, by Wendy Wasserstein is “Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.”
I love that quote.
It would be so easy in life to just meet the expectations of your family, your friends, your boss, your neighbors. But, in just meeting the expectations and going no further, life would also be a little boring and predictable.
For example… we have a neighbor who loves to see our lawn mowed in neat stripes running perpendicular to the road way. We don’t mind mowing that way so that’s how we do it. Most of the time. Every once in a while, though, my husband gets a bit crazy and mows diagonally! He used to even do circles! We know that a neat and tidy lawn is an expectation in a nice neighborhood like ours, but it is fun to mix it up now and then and get people looking twice to figure out what is different.
My children expect me to serve them the same foods for breakfast every day according to our meal schedule (Am I really the only mom with a breakfast schedule??). Usually I meet their expectations. But, every once in a while I shake up the morning and make real French toast instead of frozen French toast sticks. Recently I purchased toaster strudels. You would have thought I was serving gold on a platter. My children were beyond excited and had a wonderful experience at breakfast. By going beyond the expectation, I created a special moment.
Our families have expectations of us as well. In fact, most families have lots of expectations of each other. Taking the time to rise above the expectations and doing something special leaves a lasting impression and is a quiet, unspoken way to demonstrate love for one another. Think of a time when you went above and beyond to do something for a family member and the appreciation you received.
I chose this bit of advice today because it was very timely. We decided to enter the 21st century this past week with the purchase of a 40” flat screen TV. Our old (huge and heavy) TV was much smaller and this new TV is a joy to watch. We knew that we would upgrade our cable to HD at some point to really maximize our TV display but were in no rush to make an appointment. A few days after installing the television, however, our cable box stopped providing us with certain channels. We might not have noticed it for a few days but one of the missing channels was FOX – no FOX means no American Idol and no 10pm newscast.
I went online at 10:30pm to the Time Warner Cable website for advice on a DIY fix. They didn’t have a fix for me so I went to the online customer support link. Within a few seconds, a customer service rep was in an online chat with me. He asked me for a brief description of the problem, which I gave, them immediately said “I apologize for the inconvenience caused”. We went through a variety of steps to try to fix the problem but were not successful. Again, he apologized for the inconvenience and said he would set up a service call. I figured we’d have someone come out in the next week or two to look at the problem. Instead, he said “I will send someone out on 2/6 between 1-3pm”. Not only was that only two days we would be waiting for service, it was also a Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday.
I questioned the service rep asking “Super Bowl Sunday?”. “Yes”, he replied. It wasn’t like my whole TV was dead; I just couldn’t watch American Idol and the news. They were willing to send someone out on Super Bowl Sunday to fix my small problem? I gave the okay for the service then went out on a limb and asked if the repair person could bring an HD box to replace the existing (malfunctioning box). “Sure” was the answer. Our call then ended with “Is there anything else that I can assist you with today?” and “It has been a pleasure assisting you.”
So today, after church, we came home and ate lunch. Our service man came at 1:30 and repaired a bad piece of cable before installing the new HD box. He covered his wet boots with little shower caps (well, that was what they looked like) to keep our floors clean. He was friendly and personable – and very competent. The problem was repaired, the new box installed, and then he was on his way.
We have expectations of customer service issues. When I buy something and it is broken, I expect the store to give me a new one. When my food at the restaurant is not correctly cooked or served, I expect them to fix the meal. When a utility isn’t functioning, I expect the company to fix it. Those are my expectations and I “expect” them to be met.
With this issue and Time Warner Cable, I didn’t have to wait until morning to communicate with the company. The customer service rep apologized twice for our inconvenience. He arranged a service appointment himself and set it up for quick service. We were given an upgraded box without question. We got free service help on Super Bowl Sunday (and with no additional weekend/holiday charge).
Time Warner didn’t live down to expectations that they simply fix the problem on their schedule. They went out and did something remarkable. Their customer service (in every experience I have had with them) has simply been above and beyond. When I am asked by others if I like my Time Warner Cable, I find it very easy to say yes.
Don’t live down to expectations. What will you do today to go out and do something remarkable?
Hope you enjoyed the read.
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