At the end of a conference I attended, buses lined up to take conference-goers to the airport. Eager to allow enough time for long lines at the airport, I raced to the first bus, leaping over luggage and zigzagging around people less frantic than I to depart. I handed over my luggage to be stowed in the baggage compartment, hopped on the bus, and began to mentally pace.

Time passed, but the bus didn't depart. I quickly realized that I should have taken a cab, but my suitcase was now buried under heaps of luggage and I had no choice but to remain where I was.

When the bus driver got on, I asked him whether we'd make it to the airport within an hour. "Unlikely," he said. "The chances are very, very small. You might as well forget it." I became anxious; I really didn't want to miss my flight.

As we departed, the bus driver announced that he knew how eager we all were to make our flights and he'd get us to the airport as quickly as possible. Fifteen minutes into the trip, he declared that we were entering a speed trap, and he was taking a really big chance, but he knew we were in a rush, so he'd risk it.

Twenty minutes later, we reached the airport with time to spare. Time to linger over goodbyes to friends and still mosey through security and to the departure gate. I was enormously grateful and gave the drive a big tip. Make that a very big tip. It wasn't till later that I realized the bus driver's clever strategy: He had skillfully (some might say deviously) managed my expectations.

After all, he had told me before we even left that we wouldn't make it within an hour. So if I had gotten off the bus and taken a cab, he'd have been rid of one potentially pesky passenger. On the other hand, if I stayed on the bus and we arrived late, well, he had warned me. I couldn't claim I'd been misled. Most important for both of us, we arrived with time to spare. And he knew we would. I'm pretty sure of that. He earned himself a big tip from this grateful passenger and probably several others.

In lowering my expectations, the bus driver had protected himself against the unlikely possibility that something would prevent him from making good time. Such as having to creep turtle-style through that (alleged) speed trap. Yet, I suspect he was familiar enough with this route to know that when (not if) we arrived sooner than he'd led us to believe, he'd be tipped accordingly for his on-time delivery.

Unlike this bus driver, many eager-to-please people make overly optimistic commitments to their customers. Is it any surprise that when these people hit their own particular speed traps and have to adjust their commitments, their customers become upset? After all, from the customer's perspective, a promise was made, but not honored. Sometimes, it's better to minimize the expectations you create.

Of course, if you find yourself exceeding expectations, you can be justifiably pleased. But just be aware that you could actually be setting the stage for customer dissatisfaction. This reaction reflects the reality of what I've dubbed the Expectations Norm: Expectations quickly adjust to match an increased level of service, and if service then drops from this new high, customer satisfaction quickly plummets. Customers will experience a decline in service from that high level as much worse than when that lower level of service was the norm.

So, if I ever run into this bus driver again under similar circumstances, I will expect on-time delivery (of me to the airport). I'll tell him it's necessary if I'm to remain a satisfied customer. That'll be a tip he can count on.

About the Author
Website: www.nkarten.com

Naomi Karten has always been fascinated by human behavior. Her background includes a B.A. and M.A. in psychology and extensive corporate experience in technical, customer support and management positions.

Since forming her own business in 1984, she has presented seminars and keynotes to more than 100,000 people internationally. Her services, books and newsletters have helped organizations and groups

• Manage customer expectations,
• Enhance their communications and consulting skills,
• Provide superior customer service, and
• Establish successful service level agreements.

She is the author of several books including:

Communication Gaps and How to Close Them, which provides strategies and guidelines for improved communication in such contexts as building strong relationships, delivering superior service, fostering effective teamwork, and managing change

Managing Expectations: Working With People Who Want More, Better, Faster, Sooner, NOW!, which offers a serious, lighthearted look (yes, both!) at policies and practices for successfully managing expectations in the workplace

How to Establish Service Level Agreements, a handbook based on more than a decade of experience providing SLA consulting and seminars internationally and which is designed to help you avoid the flaws and failures she encounters so often