Comments on: Good Intention – Negative Value http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/2008/10/08/good-intention-%e2%80%93-negative-value/ A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:33:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Bob Burg http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/2008/10/08/good-intention-%e2%80%93-negative-value/comment-page-1/#comment-182 Bob Burg Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:27:16 +0000 http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/?p=60#comment-182 Dixie, I like to read stories like yours much better than the one I wrote. And yours is an excellent example of the fact that with just a bit of effort and creativity, a business can create an asset of value that elicits customers wanting to just sing its praises. Good for HyVee . . . and good for you for mentioning them. By the way, I don't recall getting an invitation to your manicotti dinner. I'm sure it was merely an oversight on your part. (???) :-) Dixie, I like to read stories like yours much better than the one I wrote. And yours is an excellent example of the fact that with just a bit of effort and creativity, a business can create an asset of value that elicits customers wanting to just sing its praises. Good for HyVee . . . and good for you for mentioning them.

By the way, I don’t recall getting an invitation to your manicotti dinner. I’m sure it was merely an oversight on your part. (???) :-)

]]> By: Dixie Gillaspie http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/2008/10/08/good-intention-%e2%80%93-negative-value/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Dixie Gillaspie Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:42:29 +0000 http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/?p=60#comment-181 Now let me tell a contrasting story. There is a grocery store chain called HyVee that is employee-owned. I have had many outstanding experiences there, but this one will always stay near the top in my storytelling lineup. I was making manicotti for for my husband's family (he has 10 sibs plus spouses and kids – you do the math) and I ran to the store with a very long list, got home and put a cake in the oven and started on the filling for the pasta. Due to time constraints, quantity required and general laziness that day, I resorted to preshredded cheese, which I opened and dumped in with the rest of the ingredients. I started stirring only to notice that the cheese had MOLD in it! I called the store, expecting that the best I could hope for was that they would offer to replace all of the ingredients which I had just ruined by adding the moldy cheese. I grossly underestimated their sympathy for a stressed-out cook and their desire to add value. As soon as I said I couldn't come back to the store until the cake was out of the oven, the customer service professional who took my call said, no worries, they would send a driver out with my ingredients if I would just give her a list of what I needed, quantities required and my preferred brands. That's right, she even asked <i>what brands I used!</i> Not only did their driver arrive in short order with everything I needed, they also added a gallon of premium ice cream to "go with the cake I had in the oven." Talk about taking responsiblity and building a culture of go-giving! I now live in a town with no HyVee, more's the pity, but I've told that story to some pretty large audiences, so I'll bet they are still getting buzz and business out of the value they added for me that day. Now let me tell a contrasting story.

There is a grocery store chain called HyVee that is employee-owned. I have had many outstanding experiences there, but this one will always stay near the top in my storytelling lineup.

I was making manicotti for for my husband’s family (he has 10 sibs plus spouses and kids – you do the math) and I ran to the store with a very long list, got home and put a cake in the oven and started on the filling for the pasta. Due to time constraints, quantity required and general laziness that day, I resorted to preshredded cheese, which I opened and dumped in with the rest of the ingredients. I started stirring only to notice that the cheese had MOLD in it!

I called the store, expecting that the best I could hope for was that they would offer to replace all of the ingredients which I had just ruined by adding the moldy cheese. I grossly underestimated their sympathy for a stressed-out cook and their desire to add value.

As soon as I said I couldn’t come back to the store until the cake was out of the oven, the customer service professional who took my call said, no worries, they would send a driver out with my ingredients if I would just give her a list of what I needed, quantities required and my preferred brands.

That’s right, she even asked what brands I used!

Not only did their driver arrive in short order with everything I needed, they also added a gallon of premium ice cream to “go with the cake I had in the oven.” Talk about taking responsiblity and building a culture of go-giving!

I now live in a town with no HyVee, more’s the pity, but I’ve told that story to some pretty large audiences, so I’ll bet they are still getting buzz and business out of the value they added for me that day.

]]> By: Tom / Unique Business Opportunity http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/2008/10/08/good-intention-%e2%80%93-negative-value/comment-page-1/#comment-175 Tom / Unique Business Opportunity Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:59:35 +0000 http://www.thegogiver.com/blog/?p=60#comment-175 I was so glad to see you close with the concept of responsibility. That word was screaming out at me while reading your whole post. Too bad that no one just told you that they owned the problem. I guess it's up to us to do business in the right way so our actions and intentions spread. I was so glad to see you close with the concept of responsibility. That word was screaming out at me while reading your whole post. Too bad that no one just told you that they owned the problem.

I guess it’s up to us to do business in the right way so our actions and intentions spread.

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