Commitment

Recently I rented a car out of state, but when I got to the rental car counter at the airport, the representative told me he was out of cars. I told him I not only had a reservation as a VIP client, but that I paid for the car in advance. The representative said he was very sorry but there was nothing he could do. I then went to another rental car counter – now teeming with people – and tried to wait as patiently as I could when I saw my rep waving me back to his counter. He had (miraculously?) found a car for me. I was delighted, if not curious, but it didn’t matter. I got my car at 10pm that night, and that was all that mattered.

This experience, though disturbing, reminded me of how important our commitments are in business. Imagine your customers’ frustrations when you can’t deliver on something that was promised. Or what about when you tell your staff they’ll get a promotion or a bonus and then retract it for no apparent reason.

We need to take our commitments seriously. When we cancel things at the last minute, miss deadlines, make excuses, or fail to come through for people, we let them down and we most certainly let ourselves down. We diminish our business even more than we inconvenience or upset our customers when we can’t live up to our commitments.

So the next time you break a commitment, think about how people might eventually forgive you, but will likely not forget what you did. Then think about how that affects your integrity and your reputation.

Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about….

Business Tips:

• It’s a leader’s role to use resources in such a way as to benefit customers and ultimately benefit the business and its employees.
• As a leader, when you can get people to appreciate their own vested interest in the business, performance will be enhanced.
• Word of mouth referrals are the best form of advertising. They cost nothing, but provide powerful testimonials that are priceless.

Life Tips:

• Truly mature people live by their commitments, not by their feelings, which can be as varied as the wind.
• We lose the will to win when we become so overwhelmed that we no longer believe the goal we had originally is achievable.
• One of the keys to enduring success is the ability to stay positive even during the most stressful and challenging circumstances.

Here is another article related to customer service….

Did You Impress Them?

Tags: Advice, Business, Business Development, Client, Commitment, Customer, Customer Service, Customers, Deliver, Developing Leaders, Excuses, Forgive, Integrity, Knowledge, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Skills, Management, Managers, Motivation, Patience, People, People Leaders, Promise, Reality, Relationships, Reputation, Responsibility, Sales, Success, The Mind of a Leader