Acronym

As a new Acronym blogger, I’d like to introduce myself. I recently joined the ASAE staff as deputy editor of Associations Now; previously, I was the senior manager of communications for the American Industrial Hygiene Association in Fairfax, Virginia.

Because of this transition, over the last month or so I’ve had occasion to think about some of the best advice I’ve received as a professional. “You’re only as good as your last two weeks on a job,” I was told. It’s true; if you morph into a stereotypical short-timer, you’ll leave a trail of disgruntled co-workers behind you. “She used to do such a good job,” one of them might say. “But toward the end she just wasn’t reliable.”

I wonder if a similar paradigm might be helpful in thinking about customer service. Since any individual member of your association might not be in contact with you regularly, any impression could become a last impression. “I’ve had some good experiences with my association,” one might say. “But the last time I called I was transferred three times, and then the person I spoke to didn’t get back to me with an answer for two weeks.”

If you were to always respond to a member as if it were your final opportunity to impress him or her, what would change? What would you do differently?