Is it a Good Experience?

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

That quote comes from Randy Pausch and his book The Last Lecture. I’m behind the rest of the world in reading, what I would classify as one of the most inspiration books I’ve ever read. Randy’s book offers so many wonderful nuggets of truth in relatable, bite sized pieces.

In the last section of the book he writes a series of very short thoughts each focused on a different life lesson. This quote comes from the lesson Be the First Penquin.

I’ve underlined so many passages in this book and in this chapter the opening quote – mentioned above – really struck home.

Think about our life experiences and the experiences our customers have with us. We don’t always get what we want. And sometime, unlike the Rolling Stones classic hit, we don’t even get what we need.

But we do get an experience.

Just like the old adage – God always answers, it is just that sometimes the answer is “no.”

So what do you do with that experience? The one where the answer is no and you don’t get what you wanted or needed or expected?

It makes me think of my customers.  If I mess up and don’t deliver as promised – do I at least make sure the resolution is a good experience?

Am I proactive in letting them know I’m going to be late or it will be not quite what they expected? Or do I wait for them to call, hoping they forget?

If I bite off more than I can deliver – do I own up or hope they don’t notice?

We can’t always please everyone. So when our customers are unable to get what they want…what kind of experience do we give them?

And now, just cuz sometimes you should get what you want….