It may not be fair, but it’s true. Get 99% of everything right, and people will focus on the 1% you missed. Just ask Bill Buckner (sorry non-baseball fans).[level-members]
You should keep this in mind as you run your business, both in the day-to-day operations and in long-term planning. Your shop might be clean enough to eat off the floor, but if the welcome mat is stained or tattered, that’s going to make an (unfortunate) impression.
If most of your staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful, that’s great. Don’t hire (or fail to fire) one bad apple to ruin everyone else’s work.
Every contact you have with your community, online and off, is a reflection of your shop’s brand and how it is perceived by your customers. Give them a positive memborable experience every time they come in contact with you, and you’ll build a strong brand that can withstand a ding or two here and there. (Hey, nobody’d perfect.) But if you let your guard down and don’t pay attention to the small details, the larger errors will not be viewed favorably. In other words, your shop is going to be graded on a curve. You determine whether that curve adds to or subtracts from your score – and your success. [/level-members]