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The Pattern

Make great service the new normal

I magine this scenario: You’re driving down the road, and you see someone parked off to the side. They have a flat tire. Nothing new here, you see this all the time, but for whatever reason, you decide to act this time and pull off to the side of the road just behind the car with the flat. A young woman is pulling the spare tire out of her trunk. You can sense her anxiety and discomfort, so you offer to jump in and help. She seems somewhat embarrassed but grateful for your willingness.

When the work is done, the driver graciously thanks you again as she opens the car door. You bid her good-bye with a little wave of your hand. Her car soon disappears out of sight. You observe how good you feel about what has just transpired, how this act of service makes you feel. You sense that the driver is incredibly grateful for your act of kindness however, by letting you help her, it was as if she was helping you! Providing a service to her made your day! You feel great and even more willing to do it again when the opportunity presents itself.

Pattern for Working Happily Ever After

Have you ever learned a good business strategy from a fairytale? The story of Cinderella offers some excellent advice if you know where to look.

Here’s the basic premise: Cinderella’s father dies when she is young, and she is forced to live a life of servitude with her jealous stepmother and vain stepsisters. For years they order Cinderella around, working her to exhaustion. During this servitude, Cinderella avoids growing into a bitter, resentful young woman, because her father had taught her to be a loving, caring person; she faces each harrowing day with a smile and chooses to see the good in others.

Meanwhile, the Prince in the story is dealing with his own hardships. The King and Queen are getting older and are anxious for him to find a wife. In fact, they become so concerned that they decide to throw a ball and invite every eligible maiden in the kingdom—and demand that the Prince choose a wife from those in attendance.

The day of the ball arrives, and Cinderella is so busy primping her stepsisters that she is unable to prepare herself adequately. She does, however, have a dress and at the last minute she runs down to accompany her sisters to the ball. Jealous of her beauty (and fearful of the competition) they rip her dress to shreds, assault her verbally and leave her sobbing in the kitchen.

At the ball, the Prince is clearly frustrated by the horde of women throwing themselves at him and yammering on about their various qualities and how they would be so perfect for him. The Prince becomes disenamored with the encounters. All he wants is to connect with someone who actually cares about him. And in walks Cinderella.

Her fairy godmother had shown up, waved her magic wand, turned her rags into a gown and whisked her off to the ball. Cinderella arrives and patiently waits her turn to dance with the Prince. Cinderella is the first to talk about things other than herself. She engages him in conversation about the music and the dance and even asks him about his interests.

Intrigued by Cinderella, the Prince continues dancing with her and talks with her long into the night until the midnight bells signal her abrupt departure. She runs away, leaving the Prince wanting more; the only thing he has left to remember her by is one of her glass slippers.

The Prince so enjoyed his time with Cinderella that he roamed the entire kingdom looking for the girl who fit the glass slipper. Eventually, the Prince finds Cinderella and, as a direct result of her caring towards the prince, they marry and live happily ever after.

So, what’s the lesson here? The Prince was forced into a situation he didn’t want to be in—much like your customers who regularly call in or come to your storefront. After all, who wants to take time out of their day for a clogged drain or a broken heating system? Herein lies the takeaway from the fairytale. Because of the Prince’s situation, the women of the kingdom were positioned so that they could prey on the Prince—he was being forced to fill a need. The more he interacted with the selfish women, the more his need was ignored—and the more frustrated he became. The women were focused on what they had to gain.

Many of your competitors have this same mindset. Face it—you may have this mindset! Your competitors know the people calling them have a need, and they are more focused on what they can gain from the customer instead of how they can meet their customer’s need. Are you taking the time to discover your customer’s need? Listen to them, ask questions, learn about their situation, show them that you care, and reassure them that you can help.

As for Cinderella, when she had the opportunity to be with the Prince, she focused on him rather than herself or what she could gain. She went out of her way to do something different. Cinderella exceeded the Prince’s expectations and outshone her competition. As a result, she was chosen.

Just like the Prince had expectations based on previous experiences, your customers come to you with preconceived notions based on their previous experiences. Your job is to exceed those expectations so that your customers will go so far as to “roam the kingdom” looking for you. Cinderella listened attentively, asked questions and used the time with the Prince to create value. This is the example of how you can and will exceed expectations and increase your customer base.

Pattern for Excellence

The Cinderella scenario sets the stage for what I refer to as the Pattern for Excellence. I created this Pattern seven years ago and dedicated my time and energy to teaching its principles to thousands of people in hundreds of organizations. The Pattern’s end goal is to deliver exceptional service consistently by creating a WOW Experience for every customer.

A WOW Experience is that moment when your client recognizes that you went above and beyond. Expressions such as “WOW,” are often used by the client to describe how you exceeded their expectation and won the moment. A WOW Experience is the outcome we look to achieve in every client interaction.

The Pattern for Excellence is a framework for learning how to get the most out of what you do—and learning the best behaviors and practices that consistently deliver phenomenal customer experiences.

You and the Client

Creating a WOW Experience involves two general roles: You and the Client. You must see the work you do as meaningful and be self-driven to provide a service that doesn’t consider how hard it is, how long it takes, or how much it pays. It is the kind of work you do autonomously.

In a WOW Experience, you freely provide a service the client did not expect. Clients have an expectation of the kind of service they’ll experience for their money. They hope to be impressed and to come back to buy more and tell all their friends about it. You notice the client’s impression, and it makes you feel good about what just transpired—and that emotion serves as motivation to recreate WOW Experiences with more clients.

In a WOW Experience, both you and the client are edified and fulfilled. It’s as if a seed is planted inside of you and begins to grow and swell and then to yield fruit because of the natural law of reciprocity. In an ideal interaction, both you and the client walk away edified because you gave exemplary service that exceeded their expectations.

The WOW Experience makes customers come back for more. It makes them more tolerant and patient when things periodically don’t go as they expected. We are human; mistakes happen. But if you have created a WOW Experience, you have built trust and loyalty. This trust will bring your customers back and make them loyal to your business.

Companies that stand out today are providing outstanding service to their clients. How do companies provide consistently excellent service? They use guiding principles similar to those in the Pattern for Excellence. They attract people by developing a powerful interpersonal connection. They embody a passionate attitude that is electric and contagious. They are confident in their ability to WOW more customers because they rely on their guiding principles and practice them consistently.

They connect with people by listening to them and hearing their expressions and intent. They connect and become present as they show genuine empathy and respect for their customers. By giving first to create WOW Experiences, they build long-term, reciprocal relationships. The work they do is autonomous in that they endeavor to see clearly what is missing, discover the right answers and respond accordingly, no matter how long it takes, how hard it is or how much they are being paid to do it.

They give others what they really want, what we all want— respect, kindness, understanding—not just what they ordered. They create value within the responsibility they are given and set the example for others to pass it forward. The value they create makes them valuable. They experience fulfillment and happiness in their work because of their attitude towards it—that the work is a blessing that they honor and value because the work is bigger than they are.

As the Pattern for Excellence increases your awareness, you more easily empathize and show understanding. You adapt quickly to create WOW Experiences. You come to genuinely care about your customers. As you master the Pattern, its attitudes, principles, and practices will come naturally and authentically.

Let’s Get Started

As we embark on this journey together, I will draw on lessons learned from the past and use personal experiences to show the importance of each principle found in the Pattern’s framework. I ask that you consider what you know to be true about each principle taught and write it down. Drawing on your own experience as it relates to the stories and examples I share, consider an action plan that will turn what you know and believe into a habit.

By the time you complete this writing exercise, you will have the tools needed to master the Pattern for Excellence. You will become more aware and persuasive in your communication. You will get more done in less time and increase your ability to create WOW Experiences for your customers.

As you implement the Pattern, you experience more fulfillment in your work. And, as a byproduct, you attract more opportunity to your business, make more money, and become an indispensable part of any organization or within your own business.

Ask yourself: Do you see your work as a set of tasks to be completed, or is there something bigger at play that helps you enjoy the work that you do? If it is the latter, GREAT, but why? If it is not, why not? What steps can you take to transition from seeing your work as an obligation to seeing it as a principle-centered service opportunity? When will you take those steps? How can you create the conditions and culture that give you the opportunity to do your best work? Take a few minutes before you go on to answer those questions. It helps to identify your “Why.”

The Pattern for Excellence provides a framework that you can use to find fulfillment and happiness at work. The Pattern for Excellence focuses on the Outcome: Why; Principles: What; and Applications: How.

“The goal of life is not really space travel, backyard swimming pools, glider planes, entertainment extravaganzas, big, fast cars, or thrill pills. What human beings are really seeking is individual happiness, self-realization.”

—W. Cleon Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap