Recently while doing programs in the U.K., I boarded a train heading back to Heathrow Airport. While awaiting the train, I noticed the following sign: “Mind the Gap”. It serves as notice to passengers of what is sometimes a significant gap between the train and the platform. Coined around 1968, the phrase has since been offered verbally, in writing, and in icon form. It’s been repeated in various languages at train stations throughout the world. It has become such a cultural term that London’s Underground sells T-shirts with the phrase on it. It’s such a stock phrase that there are novels, films, and albums that have been created with the same title.
Given our economic times, it’s not a bad way to think about our performance and appeal to customers. Is there a gap between what we promise and what we deliver? Is there a gap between what we deliver and the price customers pay? Is there a gap in our ability to deliver great products? Should we mind the gap in our service delivery? Organizations that succeed under these difficult times mind the gap. They pay close attention to what their customers are really needing and fill in the difference.
What gaps exist in your service organization? Now is the time to mind the gap!
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