Wife and I recently had a great weekend away with friends. While there, we were reminded that the bar is low.

We drove our friends to pick up a rental car since we had to drive back early. We arrived after the reservation time due to a long final lunch together.

We waited in the car while our friend went to claim his reservation. We could see gestures and body language through the windows. The interaction took longer than it should have. Watching him trudge back to our car, it was obvious something was wrong.

The car rental location closed one hour before we arrived. The employees hadn’t left yet, although they were entirely “unable” to help. My friend was told some unconvincing story of why they could not do anything to do anything for him.

The rental car was sitting just outside, yet the employees would not allow him to claim it. Blech. Nor did they attempt to help with the resolution of the situation.

While we drove on, after calling headquarters and changing the reservation to another location, we discussed our frustration with that experience.

We didn’t realize the location closed so early in the day. And yes, we came later than our reservation time. Those were our fault. But aside from all that, the real disappointment came from how they helped resolve the issue.

They never even tried.

This fits into a theory Wife and I have about customer service and treating others well.

The bar is low.

Very low. The bar is so low that you barely have to lift your foot as you step to clear it entirely. Yet some people trip over it anyway and want it set even lower.

The height of the “bar” represents how hard the average person works at customer service. It seems people aren’t even trying to treat others well.

So what would make a world of difference for most customers, compared to their typical experience?

• Care about the customer.
• Do your job quickly.
• Follow through on your duties.
• Exceed expectations, if only just barely.
• Go one step above and beyond.
• Clean the bathroom.
• Keep the customer informed.
• Call customers back when you say you will.
• Be polite.
• Be friendly.
• Smile.

You know the saying “Go the extra mile”? Well, the bar is so low you only need to go the extra inch to amaze people! It has never been easier to wow customers.