This is not news to some of you that know me. I have a pet peeve with dry cleaners and Chinese food. I probably got spoiled while living in Los Angeles where there is a $1 dry cleaner and a $1 Chinese food on every street corner. (Actually the very best Chinese food I have ever experienced can be found at Yang Chow. Go to the original one in China Town! Their hot and spicy wonton soup is to live for!) Dry cleaning was never an issue until I moved to the Midwest and it soon became one giant of an issue. $4 for a tie!!!! And no egg rolls!!!

Seems I have tried them all around my house or around work. The dry cleaner in Winghaven was run by nice people. When they would ruin my clothes they would try and go buy a replacement. One pair of pants to an expensive suit just disappeared never to be found. Now I am blessed with a sport coat that does not match with anything. One sweet generous woman at work, after hearing about my dry cleaning experiences, blessed me with a gift certificate so I could try the dry cleaner they all use. I was grateful for the gift and more so for the thought, but I really was not happy with their service, or price, so I kept searching and searching and searching.

There was one store very close to my house that looked great, yet they were over priced compared to everyone else so I walked out. I forgot why but one day I happened to be in a bind! As I think maybe they were the last store in the area that I have yet to try and it was the process of elimination that provoked my return. Anyway, turns out this over priced store has amazing customer service and by far the best cleaning service in the area.

I have been using them for a few months now and it is a pleasure going into the store. We always joke about something and they are very nice. They always call me by my first name and I address them the same. It is as if we have become friends. My clothes are always very clean, folded and NOT LOST!

When I was leaving today I started to laugh because they are worth the extra price – and then some! I should have tried them the first time I walked in. They are so good at what they do, and are so friendly, I have even stopped tweaking about the cost. I don’t even fret when they tell me the price although I am sure I am putting one of their kids through college.

Then I started to think about what we do. Not me, or where I work, but us as Christians or us as businesspeople. Do we make peoples experiences so enjoyable that they will travel the extra 10 miles to be at service every Sunday morning? How about 50 miles? Is the church experience so good that they forget about everything else, but God, while they are in the building? Are we so friendly that they will fight traffic, feed the kids, hurry to get dressed and drive back into traffic to attend a midweek service? Are people really getting what they need? If they are the challenges no longer matter! It becomes worth the extra!

If I really want good service I will most likely have to pay for it.  Price, or costs associated to obtain what we want, does not matter to a person if they are being treated better then good. As marketers this is an extremely valuable lesson we must never forget.

Ask yourself, are you worth the extra?