When I said first impressions are hard to overcome, I had no idea. 
 
Until recently. 
 
I was reviewing the results of a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey with a client, when one of the comments jumped off the page. 
 
It read, “17 years ago some of your employees were snobbish, arrogant, and rude.” The commenter went on to say that they were made to feel “like an idiot.” 
 
You read that right. This comment was from 17 years ago. Had they been waiting that long to vent? I’ll let you decide. 
 
Fast forward more than a decade and a half. Poor service from a competitor drove them back to my client. How was it? The commenter said that recent experiences “have been exceptional.” 
 
So, what score do you think they gave? Were they a promoter giving a perfect 10 to my client for being exceptional? 
 
Hardly. They were a detractor! Their NPS score was determined by – not the most recent exceptional experiences – but the first interaction 17 years ago. 
 
What are the lessons here? 
 
The first is that first impressions are really hard to overcome. According to my friend Sylvie di Giusto, those first impressions form in about 7 seconds and then are reinforced through confirmation bias. 
 
Do everything you can to start your new customers out on a positive foot. 
 
The second lesson is that second chances do come, but they come slowly. Keep doing the right things and you’ll get another shot at the business. 
 
Even though this person was a detractor, they ended the note by saying that they would continue to give my client their business. 
 
What if they hadn’t been on their game when the second chance came along? Would it have been another 17 years before the third? 
 
The third lesson is that you must give your clients a way to give you feedback on their experience. It’s not hard to administer your own NPS survey. If you want some help, just reply and I’ll be happy to show you how.