DELIGHT YOUR CUSTOMERS: Unfinished business drives us crazy

Unfinished business drives us crazy

It’s a familiar feeling. You’re watching a movie or a series on TV. You are tired and way past bedtime, but … you just can’t seem to quit. The talented writer creates a series of awe-inspiring cliff hangers that keep you hooked in, and then you simply have to watch some more. Here’s another example: What happens when you are driving down the road and you see some traffic lights in the distance? If you are like most of us – particularly if you are a man – you probably accelerate to make sure that you make it before it goes red. Is it the cleverest thing to do? Of course not in fact it is really very risky behaviour.

Why do we do this? It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect and goes something like this... If I come into your store with a list, and I don’t get everything on my list (inevitably), it leaves me with a feeling of dissatisfaction). Of course, rationally, logically, I know it’s impossible to have everything in stock but, you see, I’m neither rational nor logical.

Here’s a recent example: As I get older, comfort able (boring) shoes are far more important than a fashion statement, so I went to buy a famous brand of expensive soft shoes at the branded store. They didn’t have what I was looking for, but the staff response was at best, indifferent.

Slightly irritated, I asked if they could look on the com puter, and it was as if I’d suggested they plan an expedition to climb Kilimanjaro. The final answer? No, we can’t help. By a pure stroke of luck, I happened to pop into a large hyper store of a grocery chain that sells, not only groceries, but also many other products like lawnmowers, electronics and apparel.

I saw a really cheap version of the shoes I was looking for, but made in South Africa – an added bonus. They were literally 15% of the price of the branded shoes, so I bought two pairs! On the other hand, what if you make it easy for me to discuss my dilemma of the missing items with you, and then have a system to respond to that through delivery to my home or office, or a simple phone call or text message to let me know when it’s available.

I can tell you without any hesitation that the businesses that do this have my greatest support. My pharmacist who runs out of my medicine gets delivery from the supplier the same day, and then by 17h00 the motorbike rider delivers.

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