I went to an Indian restaurant near my home for lunch. My wife is not in town and I am not the greatest fan of my own cooking. Nowadays, most of these guys offer the "one-size-fits-all" buffet for lunch, which is good for the owners, not so good for the customers. Still, I went forward, took the plate and went straight to the "Non-vegetarian" section.
I opened the food warmer on the appetizers, which was named - "Tandoori Chicken". And I didn't find a single piece. I was disappointed, but I was so hungry that I decided to move on to the rest of the buffet table. I served myself some hot naans and curries. And went back to my table. On my way back, I told the waiter that the Tandoori Chicken container is empty. He told me he was sorry about it and offered to bring the chicken "fresh" from the kitchen, RIGHT AWAY.
I loved Tandoori Chicken and was ready to wait a few minutes before starting my meal. 5 minutes went by. There was no tandoori chicken. I wasn't able to fight my hunger. So, I started eating my main course (which typically is naan bread and curry).
After 15 minutes, the waiter brought me my Tandoori Chicken, hot from the kitchen. By that time, I was having my desserts. Now, my penchant for Tandoori Chicken, forced me to eat them, even though it had missed its chance. The worst part was that it tasted terrible. To serve me quick, they brought it without the "Tandooriness" in it.
Now, you serve late. You have already missed the bus. But you still try to catch up, which is good. But you serve bad. I am sure I won't go back to that restaurant ever.
When I was driving back, I started empathizing for the customers whom I would have worked with. There have been projects when we have delayed deliveries. We missed the bus. Even when we delivered good afterwards, it was late. Our code just missed the customer's taste buds. I remember we cursing them for not being empathetic for our hard work and great quality code. I just realized - "It doesn't matter"
It is very critical to know how important is something for your customer, not just quality-wise, but "time-wise". Even if I received a great pizza from Pizza hut, but if it is 30 mins late, I wouldn't be too happy with them.
I opened the food warmer on the appetizers, which was named - "Tandoori Chicken". And I didn't find a single piece. I was disappointed, but I was so hungry that I decided to move on to the rest of the buffet table. I served myself some hot naans and curries. And went back to my table. On my way back, I told the waiter that the Tandoori Chicken container is empty. He told me he was sorry about it and offered to bring the chicken "fresh" from the kitchen, RIGHT AWAY.
I loved Tandoori Chicken and was ready to wait a few minutes before starting my meal. 5 minutes went by. There was no tandoori chicken. I wasn't able to fight my hunger. So, I started eating my main course (which typically is naan bread and curry).
After 15 minutes, the waiter brought me my Tandoori Chicken, hot from the kitchen. By that time, I was having my desserts. Now, my penchant for Tandoori Chicken, forced me to eat them, even though it had missed its chance. The worst part was that it tasted terrible. To serve me quick, they brought it without the "Tandooriness" in it.
Now, you serve late. You have already missed the bus. But you still try to catch up, which is good. But you serve bad. I am sure I won't go back to that restaurant ever.
When I was driving back, I started empathizing for the customers whom I would have worked with. There have been projects when we have delayed deliveries. We missed the bus. Even when we delivered good afterwards, it was late. Our code just missed the customer's taste buds. I remember we cursing them for not being empathetic for our hard work and great quality code. I just realized - "It doesn't matter"
It is very critical to know how important is something for your customer, not just quality-wise, but "time-wise". Even if I received a great pizza from Pizza hut, but if it is 30 mins late, I wouldn't be too happy with them.
