Sunday, October 21, 2012

Great Expectations

I've been thinking recently about expectations.  A lot of what irks me in life involves unmet expectations.  Not even an unsatisfactory result, necessarily, just the fact that reality didn't meet the expectation.

Remember that scene from 500 Days of Summer?  The one in split-screen where it shows expectations vs. reality?  Yeah, just like that.

But not even necessarily with relationships.


A few examples of expectations not being met:

Being given an audition time of 11:30 and not getting in until 12:30.

A movie that everyone says is amazing just being okay.

Not having hover cars or universal moving sidewalks in the year 2012.


A few examples of expectations being exceeded:

Being booked for 8-5 and getting done at 11.

"Comes with a free cookie"

Getting to the register and finding out whatever you're buying is 50% less than you were expecting.


I think businesses - and individuals for that matter - would do well to set low expectations and then exceed them.  It keeps people much happier.  True story.  Also, keep them informed when the expectations aren't being met.  It goes a long way.

2 comments:

  1. Agreed. Its the wisdom of Disney's wait times--say it will be 30 minutes and then when guests make it to the ride in 28 they're happy.

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  2. When I was in school for interior design they told us to do just that. Under promise and over deliver. Best way to do business for sure.

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