The present I purchased for my wife’s birthday arrived this week. Why am I telling you this? Because her birthday was in April. (Sidenote, have you ever met an “April” that wasn’t born in April?) Now, it’s no secret that I have a propensity to procrastinate on things, however this ridiculous delay wasn’t by my own doing. When I placed the order for the beautiful teal, bar height, adirondack chairs, they informed me that they were experiencing delays and it would take 6-8 weeks for my package to be delivered. “Ok” I figured, at least they will be here for the summer so we can enjoy some sunsets on our back deck.

Fast forward to August when I realized I had heard nothing and we still didn’t have the chairs, I reached out to the company to inquire about my order. They responded with a nice form letter letting me know about a shortage in the material and that they did not know when they expected to have my furniture done. A month later I followed up again for an update and I got a similar response, this one assuring me they would get it done “as fast as humanly possible” once they got the material and thanked me for supporting their “small family-owned business”.

Since September 6th, I’ve had no communication with them. I probably could have cancelled the order, but I wanted the product and was still holding out hope it would get done. So, when it arrived in two boxes last week, I was surprised, thinking what Christmas present is this that I ordered? When I opened it up, I realized exactly what it was as I pulled out the teal pieces, however other than some hardware, there was nothing else in the boxes. No instructions, no note, nothing! Off the top of my head I came up with about 10 things that would have cost them almost zero that they could have included. A handwritten thank you and apology, a discount for a future order, background on their “small family owned business”, a beverage mix to enjoy while sitting in my outdoor chairs, a bow to put on it since I told them it was a gift, even a joke about the long delivery time. You get the idea. Had they done something it might have turned me into a raving fan and returning customer. I might actually be singing their praises and driving business to their website instead of sharing my frustrations here.

I continue to be astounded at businesses that do the bare minimum. Especially when things don’t go exactly as planned. I understand that businesses provide a product or service, charge appropriately and deliver on that. However, I am seeing more and more that it only takes a little extra effort to stand out. I get that we are all pressed for time and have endless demands on ourselves and our teams. However, making time to do something a little extra for your customers, your employees, even your vendors can truly set your company apart. Thanks for letting me rant a little bit this week, but I hope it serves as a reminder that sometimes it only takes a little effort to change someone’s experience and in turn make a big impact in how they view you and your company.