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All right – who turned off the heat? Is it just me or do you have the same sense of missing that best of all seasons – Indian Summer? Waking up to frost and 39° outside in early October is rough. And if you want to hear something really ironic, I was in Orlando last week for the annual NAPSLO meeting and it was a stifling 93° with a record heat index. Am I really that hard to please?

There is something to be said about being a ‘tough customer’. I think most of us who are hard to please are quick to acknowledge it. I also believe we have high expectations because we hold ourselves to a higher standard. Ask my staff and they will tell you that the most important standard we have at Tuscano is exceptional customer service.

Obviously, this is on my mind because I was recently treated to an excellent customer experience. I know that 99% of the time I can’t change an airline ticket without being charged. Being an optimist though, I am willing to give it a shot and see if I get lucky. When we tried to come home a little earlier in the day from Orlando, I got the expected smack down – for a whopping $750 we could escape the heat and arrive home 3 hours earlier. Keep in mind that the customer experience scale slides in two directions; a customer’s experience has everything to do with hope and very little to do with status quo.

Not to be deterred, Jinny whipped out her iPhone and did a little checking around. She found a one-way ticket for a reasonable price so we jumped on an earlier flight with Southwest Airlines. While I was pleased to get the ticket and felt it was worth paying the extra money, that is not what truly made my experience remarkable. During the entire trip the Southwest employees never failed to be helpful, courteous, and efficient. Maybe I am coming late to the game, but I really like the jokes they tell during the announcements too.

So I base my experience on getting what I wanted (an earlier flight), and making me feel good about the decision. In our industry, this is the equivalent of delivering our product on time and making the customer feel good about his or her choice. If however, your service is better than expected, you come through ahead of schedule with a smile and maybe some humor, and if all of your co-workers operate on this same level, then you are ahead of the pack. In our business there are a lot of ‘big dogs’ out there chasing us, so staying ahead means staying alive.

If you are looking for a better than expected on-line experience, you should really check out our Vacant Dwelling rater. I know they say the housing market is getting better, but there will always be vacant homes to insure – those under renovations, in an estate, with an absent owner, or simply on the market. I would go head to head with any market when it comes to making it easy (and enjoyable) to write this class. Our Tuscano rater gives optional quotes for ACV/Basic and RCV/Special, provides a full proposal, and offers online binding.

Then, when that vacant home becomes occupied, we have a great new/old market to assist you with the homeowner’s coverage. We are proud to now represent Philadelphia Contributionship, the oldest property insurance company in America. They have been writing some very nice homeowners for us including an HO3 product for the underserved homeowner. Getting a quote is easy – just complete the online Homeowner & Dwelling Submission and stand by for a better than expected experience.

Keep smiling,