As many of you know, I had to euthanize my two year old dog, Max, last week. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to decide. About 13 years ago, I had to do the same thing with my ol' furry pal; Hank. Hank was a trooper. He survived two of my divorces (yep, I got the dog both times), saved my life once from 2 vicious Rottweilers and he loved to pull me while I was on my roller blades. I had one of those extender leashes, he would take off after the UPS man and I would just hold on for the ride. It was like water skiing. I had Hank euthanized due to his deteriorating health. And when I got his ashes back, they came in a plastic baggy placed in a plain brown cardboard box. I wasn't really expecting much more. But the veterinarian has really upped his game by plussing the experience of losing a pet. A whole lot, since Hank. Plussing was Walt Disney's term for constant improvement. When we got Max's ashes back he was in a decorative wooden box with his name engraved on the top. They included a plaster imprint of his paw and a lock of his hair in a little bag. They also included a nice card and it was all wrapped in a beautiful purple sheer. What does this have to do with your business? All together now... EVERYTHING! Are you still providing the same service you did 15 years ago? Have you plussed your client/patient experience over the years? What can you do to improve the delivery of your experience? Take some time with your team and ask them "What can we do better?" On the same day I got Max back, the repair company brought my computer printer back after being fixed. The tech was proud that he had fixed it. He even brought 50 pages of printouts showing how well the repair went. I paid the guy and went about my day. About an hour later, I hit the print button for a document. Nothing happened. No whirring, no clanking, no whoosh of the paper.... Nuthin' I opened up the printer, only to see a giant gaping hole where the 4 toner cartridges should have been. Sigh.... I called the owner. He couldn't believe it. He apologized and brought over 4 NEW toners. (They run about $175 each). The total for the toner was twice as much as the repair. He may have gone negative on the profit on this transaction, but he now has a customer for life, which is far more profitable. Have a great weekend