We took my father about 3.5 hours North to Chicago last week for some advanced tests on his heart. As we are from a smaller city, my entire family and I have been completely impressed with the service and care my father has received at a big city hospital. We rose at 2:30 am last week to get him to his 7 am appointment. When we arrived, we filled out the forms and before having us sit in the waiting room, they gave us one of those little buzzers like you get at restaurants. Who would have thought of that? When they are ready for you, just like at many restaurants, the little
buzzer shakes and lights up (which wakes you up if necessary) and you
head toward the door. By doing this, the nurse doesn’t have to come out and yell your name. As a patient, you don’t have to worry that you will miss your name being called if you need to step outside to make a phone call or run to the restroom. In our case, because we got there early and we all fell asleep in the waiting room, we didn’t miss our name being called.
My question for you is what are you doing in your small business to make an unexpectedly great first impression on your clients? If it is raining, do you run out with an umbrella to assist your clients? Do you give them your personal cell phone number for their upcoming Saturday appointments so there are no communication errors? Do you send a personal note after the very first time you meet someone? I would love to hear what you are all doing in your business to wow your clients and prospects during or after that first interaction!