It’s hard enough to satisfy customers today. Going BEYOND their expectations seems unnecessary and even an unlikely goal. Nearly every industry and profession is becoming more competitive. This is particularly true for many professions such as physicians, attorneys and dentists. Interestingly enough this hasn’t resulted in a higher level of personal service but rather a commoditization of services. The focus has become lower price rather than higher value. I guess I’m showing my age, but I can still remember when doctors made house calls. Today this idea seems ridiculous. But imagine the kind of service and attraction physicians would create if they actually could again perform this service. This would truly be going “far beyond a patients expectations.”

I recently had an experience that demonstrates expectations at work. Just a few days ago I was flossing my teeth and “pop”, off came an old crown. Now this is an inconvenient and perhaps uncomfortable experience for anyone, but for me it was more of a problem because I noticed that the now fully exposed tooth was extremely sensitive to hot and cold making it nearly impossible to eat or drink just about anything. I knew I needed to see a dentist and fast! Worse however, in just a few days I would be sitting on a plane for 14 hours flying to Sydney, Australia! However even with this in mind, my EXPECTATION was that I would have to put everything aside for the next few days and focus on this emergency. That was going to cost a fortune and I would be waiting in a dentist’s office many hours. This is if I was lucky enough to even get an appointment. 

So I called my old friend Mike Schneider. Now Mike is a dentist right here in Manhattan Beach, CA. He has been practicing for over 30 years and has a very well-established patient pool. Being my friend for nearly 20 of those years he has heard me ramble on about the rules of attraction and he has applied many of the strategies that we discuss on this site. When Mike heard of my dilemma he sprang into action. Although it was his day off, he told me to meet him at his office. Of course that was a workday for me so Mike worked around my schedule. When I arrived at 12pm Mike told me he had already set-up an appointment at the periodontist. She had agreed to slide me in at 2pm. He told me to get in his car because was driving me there. But first he said you need to have lunch so let’s go, I’m buying. He took me to lunch, (which he picked up) and then chauffeured me to the periodontist for emergency surgery where he waited until it was completed. Within 50 minutes the procedure was complete and Mike was bringing me home.

All this proves that I’m lucky to have a friend like Mike Schneider. Right? WRONG!

I’m lucky to be a PATIENT of Mike Schneider. You see, this is not the first time Mike has come into the office on his day off for a patient. This is not the first time he has literally chauffeured patients to and from specialists. In fact I know of many patent’s that Mike has performed the exact same services for. And he doesn’t charge a dime for this! Do you think that’s going “Beyond the Customer’s expectations?” You bet.

This sounds like a commercial for the dentist, Mike Schneider. It’s not. I’m not even giving his number or website. It is example of how one entrepreneur is EXCEEDING customer’s expectations. What can you do exceed the expectations of your customer? If you are a carpenter, how about talking the client to the lumberyard with you to pick-out wood? If you are a gardener, how about planting a few extra flowers without being asked or even charging for them? I know a criminal lawyer that actually visits the families of convicted felons so that he can personally report to his client about their condition. 

Let’s face it, exceeding expectations is a lot easier than it looks if we are willing to give just a little. No matter what kind of business you are in, you can exceed the customer’s expectations by applying Rule #6 of Attraction and “Be willing to GIVE.”