When Do We Take the (White) Gloves Off?

Sometimes, we make an incorrect assumption when helping a customer. We assume they have more time than money.

Because we work on billable hours at J Street, we’re very conscious of how we spend our customers’ money. We want to be efficient and solve their problem without spending more of their budget than necessary.

So, when there’s something a customer could do themselves, we might send them a file, provide some instructions, or explain the steps they need to take.

We go in with the intention of saving them money, but sometimes we get that wrong.

Not Everyone Wants to Save Money

Sometimes the customer has more money than time. A customer might be perfectly capable of doing something themselves, and they could probably get it done without too much trouble, but that doesn’t mean they want to spend their time doing it.

Think about a business owner who has a dozen things competing for their attention. They could spend 30 minutes following our instructions to fix something, but those 30 minutes could be better spent running their business.  Their time has value too, and sometimes they’re willing to pay us to save it.

They want us to just take care of it – classic “white glove” service.

In fact, by trying too hard to preserve a customer’s budget, we can create a different kind of frustration. We think we’re being helpful by giving them the cheapest path forward, but what they really wanted was for us to handle the whole thing.

How Do We Know When They Want White Glove Service?

Once we recognize that our idea of the “best” solution might not be cheapest one, the next step is figuring out what they actually want. The answer is remarkably simple: We ask them.

Rather than assuming they want the least expensive option, we get curious.

“Would you like us to take care of this, or would you prefer that we give you the guidance to do it yourself?”

That gives the customer a choice.

Maybe they’re trying to keep costs down and are happy to spend some time doing it themselves. Great. We’ll give them the information they need.

Or they’re busy, have a deadline coming up, and would rather pay us to take it off their plate. That’s great, too. We’ll take care of it. (And I’ll be happy with the extra revenue.)

Neither option is better. We’re giving them the choice instead of deciding for them.

Value Isn’t Always About Cost

True service starts with knowing whether your customer wants to save time or money.

The next time you’re tempted to send someone a set of instructions because it will be cheaper, pause and ask one more question: Would you like to handle this yourself, or would you like us to do it for you?

If they choose the latter, put on those white gloves and take care of it!

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