Have you heard the phrase, &uot;You only get one chance to make a good first impression&uot;?

The first impression we have of a business might take into account many factors.

Here are some of the more important ones:

Reputation:

What is the reputation of the business among the members of the same industry?

What have we heard from others about this particular business?

How is it regarded in the community?

Facilities:

How are the physical layout, appearance, cleanliness and degree of comfort in those areas frequented by customers.

The People:

Are your people pleasant, available, efficient, welcoming, helpful, etc?

The attitudes of its people often make the difference between an organization and its competitors.

Action:

A sense of &uot;things are happening&uot; and a demonstrated effort to service the visitor.

How we perform against our customer’s expectations directly impacts customer satisfaction.

From the customer’s perspective, did we meet, exceed or under-perform versus what they expected?

First impressions are critical because they are a major component of perception.

We need to get off to a good start when the customer first enters our establishment if we’re to positively bridge the gap between perception and expectation.

Take, for example, the case of the business executive looking for a fine dining establishment where he can entertain customers.

He hears that ABC Steak House is the best in town, with excellent steaks and an extensive wine list.

As he walks in the door, he is greeted coolly, and his reservation is missing.

The floor is dirty, his wine glass has water spots, the waiter’s shirttail is hanging out and he obviously hasn’t shaved for several days.

Though indeed the steaks may taste great, the executive’s perceptions will not meet the expectations he had upon arrival at the restaurant.

His level of satisfaction is likely to be low and he is not a candidate to be a repeat customer.

The key to excellent customer satisfaction is to understand what the likely expectations of our business are, and then to take the steps necessary to insure that customer expectations are consistently met and usually exceeded