27 Sep The curious case of shoes in the snow
John (not his real name) was the image of a successful consultant. Neat hair, pale blue shirt under a dark blue suit. A mutual friend had introduced us and over good coffee, we shared a bit about what we do.
It was all going pretty well, then John proudly said, “I always encourage the people I work with to do more than they promise.”
He meant it as a good thing. And understandably, was a bit taken aback when I replied, “So you’re okay with them breaking their promises?”
I say understandably because doing more than you’ve said you would, going above and beyond, is an idea so baked into business lore, that challenging it usually causes people to look a bit like a confused dog.
Let’s rewind a bit to my definition – the brand is a result of the promises you keep. The emphasis here is on keep. So why do I assert that doing more than you promised isn’t keeping them?
Because it’s not. A promise is an agreement of intending. I say to you; I intend to do x for y. And you agree you want me to do x for y. Nowhere in that agreement does it say I’ll do x for y and maybe a bit more but perhaps not. And you haven’t agreed to get a bit more but maybe not.
The idea that doing more is a good thing is rife with underlying arrogance. It assumes I know what you want and need better than you do. That it will be welcome and fit with whatever promises you have made on the back of our agreement.
I can hear you asking, “who doesn’t like getting a little something extra.” And you’re right. In theory, we all do. But what if that something extra causes a problem?
Consider the case of the shoes in the snow. One winter, Jane ordered a pair of shoes from a well-known online retailer renown for doing a bit extra to make customers happy. Heading out of town for a couple of days, she deliberately chose standard shipping during checkout so the shoes wouldn’t arrive while she was away.
Enter the broken promise. Because the company in all their wisdom and exuberance knew better. If a few days were good, then overnight would be great. So, they upgraded her shipping.
And what do you think happened? Remember Jane was out of town. No one was home to answer the door, and her shoes sat in the snow on her doorstep while she was away. So, not delightful after all.
Of course, it could easily have been okay. Jane might have been home and thrilled to bits to have her shoes a few days early. The company didn’t know she wouldn’t be there. And that’s the point – they didn’t know. Their intention was in the right place. They wanted to make her happy. It wasn’t done with malice – the desire to go above and beyond never is.
But, and pay careful attention here, it was driven more by their need to be the good guys, to impress, than with considerations for what Jane wanted. She told them what she wanted – standard shipping.
A better approach might have asked if she wanted the upgrade. Asked Jane if she wanted to revise the promise.
Maybe a short note from customer service. “Hi Jane, we noticed you chose standard shipping. We’d love to get those shoes on your feet even sooner. Would you like an upgrade you to overnight shipping on us?”
Then she could have replied, “Gosh that sounds lovely, but I’m headed out of town, so standard shipping is much better this time.”
I shared this story with John. Steadfast in his position, he maintained they were doing the right thing by doing more. That his customers always loved appreciated it. I’m sure that was true, sometimes. Just as likely, other times, shoes sit on the doorstep in the snow.
Next time you’re tempted to go above and beyond, maybe stop and think about the promise you made, about the agreement, And if you still want to add a little extra, also take the time to check-in and change the agreement.
Because the only person who can agree to change a promise is the promisee, but more on that in my next article.
Thanks for reading