The other day I felt like playing chef at home. Of course none of the ingredients that I needed could be found in our kitchen (recipe books always get that wrong…), so I sought out a store that should have all the stuff I needed.

I needed farfalle, mustard, non-alcohol wine and chocolate mousse. That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? I picked up the pasta and mustard and headed off to the frozen section for the chocolate mousse. Oi! I could not see Cadbury’s anywhere. There was another cheaper brand though, so for about 5 minutes I was torn between, "Should I or Shouldn’t I". I decided I should. I bought the smallest tub, opened it and tasted some. It tasted terrible, but at least I found that out before I got home!

I couldn’t find the wine I was looking for either. So again I was torn, should I buy what I found here and scout for the rest of the stuff somewhere else, or do I abandon what I have and buy everything elsewhere. It took me a ½ hour already to get what I had, so I went with the first option.

It took me 10km to find the store that had the wine I was looking for, and another ½ hour to find the nearest Woolworths for their chocolate mousse.

It sounds crazy to do so, but I want what I trusted. As any other consumer, I was willing to go with something cheaper, hoping I would find the same result I would with Cadbury or Woolies, but couldn’t compromise on quality like that. So I went the extra mile to find quality.

Spending some time on the road on my quest for a good meal, I started thinking about service delivery in general:

1. If you are a service provider and are selling something new the client, don’t be angry or even surprised if the client wants to sample a small bit first. Create that sample environment and deliver the best you have to offer.
2. If the client does not want what you can offer, find another client, but keep this one in the loop, just in case they change their mind or you can deliver in the future.
3. If you can’t offer what the client wants, consider a strategic alliance with those who can.

All the customer wants is to whip a meal, and they’re desperate for the right ingredients.

By Jeanne Fredericks