The Value of Your Service

What if customers paid exactly what they thought the value was? Would your business prosper?

Have you ever given a tip to a street performer? Also known as buskers, street performers rely 100% on value to value transactions. They have barely two minutes to make an impression, and only get paid what people think they are worth. Sometimes that's a dollar, sometimes that's a dime, and usually "customers" keep on walking without paying anything at all.

Could your business survive using that model?

I've considered it as a model for my leadership training practice. Come to a workshop, or get some coaching and consulting and then pay me exactly what you think it was worth. What stops me? Not sure. Is it fear of the unknown monetary value? Is it fear that human nature might be to grab for the bargain (free!) and move on?

If a business demonstrates value that the customer is seeking and delivers on that promise, shouldn't people pay what is fair (or even more)?

What do you think?

Imagine a doctor who only got paid if the patient was happy with the service and treatment.

Imagine a restaurant where you not only tipped what the server was worth but also paid the restaurant what the service/decor/food/atmospher was worth.

Do we trust people enough to trust their judgment on what to pay?

In this bargain grabbing low economy world will people always underpay?

What do you think?

Are you willing to rely on the busker payment method for at least one of your goods or services? Why or why not?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

http://frontrangeleadership.com

P.S. update: I keep thinking about this from time to time. What surfaces often is the inequity of how we as a society pay people. Many professionals prosper, but my friends in retail, food service, and early childhood education struggle with below-median wages and ever shrinking benefits. If we made that voluntary, would it decline even further?

Are people valuing the right things? Is the work provided by that cashier really less valuable to you than you already pay?

I still don't know the definitive answer, so I welcome your opinion. How do we value your service?

(22 September 2012)

Comments

Get Going!

What goal are you working on? Maybe you don't spend every minute of every day working on your goals. I certainly don't. But when I do work on my goals they propel me forward. They get me going. Find your favorite goal. Work on it. Even if you start with the smallest task. Put one task after the other like little steps leading to a lofty elevation. Goals get us going. Because standing still goes nowhere. -- Doug Smith

Now Means Now

How do you feel when someone says that they will do something right away, and then they don't? When I say "now!" I mean immediately, and without over-thinking. never under estimate the temptation to overthink (I think I just did!) When is now? How about now? -- Doug smith Looking for leadership training? That's what I do: doug smith training

Power In Your Foundation

Where do you start? When you're building a team. When you're starting a project. When your developing a career. When you bonding a relationship. Build a strong enough foundation and your subsequent mistakes won't matter. Take the time to create the agreements, the conditions, the promises that you keep. Take the time to steady the ship and the waves won't matter. Sure, problems will bother you. Certainly, mistakes will sometimes hurt. But that strong foundation that you build creates resiliency that will see you through. Why not build for the long, long term? -- Douglas Brent Smith

More Than Convenience

This is probably get some disagreement. We've come to rely so much on one particular trait of business, probably even more than price. Convenience. We make so many decisions based on how EASY a transaction is. It's so much EASIER than ever before and we've all been spoiled by click-and-ship that anything with any friction whatsoever gets passed over. That's an understandable decision, but not always the best one. Convenience is great, but no substitute for quality. Hamburgers are convenient but wouldn't you rather eat a steak? (please excuse me my vegetarian and vegan friends.) Social media is convenient but how about the depth and richness of a long face to face conversation with a dear friend? I advocate that we consider other measures in our important decisions. Measures other than convenience: Quality Durability Care Beauty Drama What would you add to the list? Convenience is a poor measure of quality. Let's consider everything else that makes business -- a...

Promise and then Deliver

Be careful what you promise to gain a new customer. They are only new for a day. After that, expectations continue even if you forget your promise. Be careful what you promise. Do you have what you need to give your customers what they want? Because probably, what they want, is what you've promised. -- doug smith

Personally

Improving performance does require us to take our work seriously. But it does not require us to take ourselves too seriously. Taking things personally is a waste of self-esteem. -- doug smith

Disagreement Clarifies

One of the biggest mistakes I've made, many times, was assuming that someone agreed with me. That's a dangerous practice. It feels easier to agree. It just isn't always the agreement we think we have. High performance leaders constantly clarify the truth. They clarify meaning. The granular details reveal the truth. Abstractions keep us smiling and nodding. Clear communication sparks the awareness needed to see true disagreement. Disagreement can be the start to understanding, and without understanding there can be no true agreement. The more clearly we communicate the more likely it is that someone will disagree with us. Then we know where we stand, and the direction we need to move. -- doug smith

The Benefits of Supervisory Training

When was the last time you had any leadership training? How often do the supervisors in your organization get training? If you are like most organizations, it's never enough. Some teams go without any supervisory training at all and expect supervisors and managers to learn as they go, on the job. Unfortunately, while it is memorable to learn from your mistakes, it comes at a high cost. People get tired. People leave. Important accounts go away. Customers complain. And teams struggle without the skills and knowledge it takes to build cohesive teams that are capable of solving problems, improving performance and achieving goals. Admittedly, I can be expected to support training since I'm in the business. Still, take a closer look at your own leadership career and decide for yourself. Are leaders better off with more training and development or with less? Supervisory training can generate benefits that pay off long after the training is over. Here are just a few of the things sup...

Focus on Process

Fix the situation and let people be who they are. As much as you might want to change them, that's not your business. They are doing what they think is right, even if it is horribly wrong. Turn around the situation and watch them rotate, too. -- doug smith

Don't Jump!

I do it. You've probably done it, too. It gets us into trouble misinterpreting and reaching false conclusions. Slow down. Ease up from that jump. Stop that jump to conclusions and you'll avoid many big falls. -- doug smith

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