Unexpected

- My second category of delight is things that are unexpected and things that you didn't ask for, unrequested. So, for example, if you take your car in to be serviced and they clean it, you just think, wow, they've cleaned my car as well, that's fantastic. Now the problem with these things is that they become expected. So the second time you go in, you're going to expect it to be cleaned. And they've then got to clean it every time forever. And you may think, well, in that case don't go there. But what I'm saying is, yes, you do have to go there. And you have to clean their car forever. But it does mean if they go anywhere else and the car isn't clean, they're going to think, (scoffing) I don't like that. I'm going to go back to that first place again. So there's no problem with doing that. And it doesn't really cost you very much to clean the car, and you've got that person locked in then. Now if everybody starts to clean cars, then you've got to go another level up and you've got to think of something else. So you've got to clean the car and put some flowers in there, or whatever it is. But nevertheless, if everyone else is doing it, you've got to do it. So I know that it's going to become relentless, but that is the game we're in. We're in an arms race with our competitors. And we have to keep escalating to keep ahead of our competitors. So like it or not, that's what you've got to do. So surprise them by cleaning the car the first time, and then do it every time forever. And make it become part of your process, that that's what you always do. I've got a couple of other examples. One was, I stayed in a bed and breakfast. And I had a couple of apples with me and I just left them on the windowsill. Went out, did my training course all day. Came back to my B and B, and on the windowsill were my two apples, a peach, and a banana. And the lady had obviously come in to make the bed. And she'd seen the two apples and she'd thought, oh, I'll put out a bit more fruit for Chris. And I just thought that was brilliant. Unrequested, unexpected, and I just thought that is great. And I've always stayed in that B and B ever since. When I'm in that area, that's the one I choose. Just for the cost of a banana and a peach. Sometimes you go into shops and they have biscuits for your dog. And they say, would your dog like a biscuit? And they give your dog a biscuit. And that's brilliant 'cause it doesn't cost them much. And people are quite funny about their dogs. Some people even call their dogs fur babies, which worries me. But everybody who's got a dog is, regards it almost as a member of the family. So if they ignore your dog, they're basically saying you've got an ugly dog or they don't like your dog. So to say, that's a nice dog, that's already good. But if you actually say, would your dog like a biscuit? That's really good. I've got one more example of the unexpected. And this is a little Italian restaurant just down the road from where I live. And the waiter puts opera on the sound system. And he loves, he's Italian and he loves opera. And he actually sings along with the opera during the meal. He's quite amateur. And he sings along with little bits of it. But it sort of adds to the theater of the place and it's a bit human and a bit crazy. And that's an unexpected thing that you get that makes it better. And it makes you talk about that to your friends. And you know, it probably would make you go back. And if you go to any other restaurant after that, it just feels as if they don't really care. There's your food, you know? You think, well, he's not singing along to opera. So what can you do that your customers would not have asked for and would be unexpected and would give them a bit of a laugh or make them feel a little bit more cared for than they did before?