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(I Can't Get No) Delight  

In 1962, Wal-Mart stores began greeting customers with "Satisfaction Guaranteed" signs.  Three years later, Mick Jagger wrote and sang (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.  If only he shopped at Wal-Mart, might he have been forever satisfied by how white my shirts can be?

Before exploring satisfaction and the importance it possesses for Mick Jagger and all consumers, consider the dreaded disappointment that customers wish to avoid.   When asked, most acknowledge that disappointment is rooted in a customer's expectation not being met; perhaps the automotive transmission that failed on Christmas morning, with but 10,000 miles of use, not the expected 100,000+ miles.   Not quite the expectation of any consumer for any brand of automobile today.  

If disappointment is agreed to stem from an expectation not being met, what word would be used to describe an expectation being met?  More often than not, this scenario is defined as "satisfaction," as in "I can't get no."  What's even better, when expectations are exceeded, is often termed "delight."

Economically, satisfaction is getting what one paid for, a breakeven result.  By contrast, disappointment stems from receiving less than one paid for, feeling cheated, and delight from "getting more and doing so legally."   Upon closer examination, who do we tell if we're disappointed by a product or a service and who do we tell when we're delighted?   Market research reveals more "telling more friends" when disappointed than delighted.   What about results for being satisfied?  Here again, market research shows few, if any, actually rave upon receiving a satisfactory result.   Why then, if few friends are told about a satisfaction experience, does customer satisfaction continue to rank as a high priority?   Wouldn't customer delight make for a more notable achievement, something to write home about, perhaps even sing about..."how much whiter my shirts can be?"  


If you're interested in exploring the limitless implications of how we manage customer delight, satisfaction, and disappointment and using this awareness to improve team work in industry, government, and education, through better thinking about thinking, we invite you to join with peers at the In2:InThinking Network 2012 Forum in Los Angeles, California on April 19th through 24th.  This year, our ever timely focus will be;   

 

"Leading with Better Questions"


For reservations or more information, visit our 2012 Forum website at
www.in2in.org/forums/2012 or e-mail us at registrar@in2in.org Our Forum registration fee is $400 for the weekend Conference, with a $50 discount for registrations received by midnight, Pacific Time, on March 8th.  

If you are not able to attend our weekend Conference, you are most welcome to attend any of our 16 Pre-Conference sessions and 5 Post-Conference sessions for free, plus one Post-Conference session for $40.

Register by Friday, April 13th to attend any of our Pre- and Post-Conference sessions. Registrations for our weekend Conference will be accepted as late as Saturday, April 20th.

For a glimpse of the excitement we offer, link here for a 1-minute photo montage from our 2011 Forum, and here for a 2-minute montage.   Link here for a complete list of our previous Forum UPDATES.  

In2:IN 2012 Forum Team 
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