“Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.” ~ George Washington
How many times have you been disappointed by a business that promised you something and then failed to deliver?
I am sure we all have been there, but when is happens we tend to lose our “faith” in their promises and possibly look at these businesses through less than rose-colored glasses.
A couple of months ago my husband and I ordered new furniture from a company that promised that we would have it by the Holidays, which was what we wanted. On December 15th, (which was when the store told us that our furniture would be delivered), they sent an e-mail stating that they had factory delays and that our order would not be delivered until sometime in February 2015.
When we purchased the furniture we had the salesperson call prior to our purchasing it to make sure that it was in stock and that we would receive it on time and we were told “yes, it would not be a problem.”
This was not the first time that we had a problem with this store, but last time we waited and waited to get our piece of furniture. This time we canceled the order once we received the email and got a full refund.
Apparently this store does not adhere to “The Service Promise” which is a commitment to being reliable to its customers. Reliability means keeping “The Service Promise”, by doing what you say you will do for the customer, not saying you will do it and knowing it will not happen.
Many businesses make promises like this to their customers knowing that once they have their money the likelihood of them canceling the order when it is delayed is very slim. They are willing to gamble on losing the deal when they really know up front the promise they are making is probably not going to happen.
They always come up with someone else to blame and are sympathetic to their customer, hoping that they win their loyalty even though it is based on less than high standards and integrity. Apparently, their reputation is not something that they worry about.
If you are someone who works with consumers make sure that your yes means yes, and if it is not a yes that you can give, then tell the truth and let the customer make up their mind whether or not they want to continue with the purchase.
At least you are not compromising your integrity.
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