This post is the tenth in a series that has identified 10 different obstacles that have emerged from my analysis of customer satisfaction data. Perhaps you have encountered one or more of these obstacles in your own business? The tenth obstacle is missed opportunities.

Two years ago, I wrote a blog post titled Missed opportunities. I considered repurposing the content for this post but decided against it. While thinking about the topic, it occurred to me that missed opportunities include failure to provide both expected service (such as those examples found in the above post) as well as unexpected service.

Capitalizing on opportunities to provide unexpected service may actually leave a greater lasting positive impression than providing service the customer already expects.

Last month, my wife and I joined another couple for dinner at Mizuna in Denver. While taking our drink orders, the waiter, Jimmy, noticed my wife’s struggle to recall her preferred martini order. So he patiently walked her through her options: Gin or vodka? Dirty or not? Up or on the rocks? Olives or a lemon twist? Shaken or stirred?

Once her ideal martini order was sorted out, he took the remaining drink orders and left to retrieve the cocktails. When he returned to our table a few minutes later, he provided my wife with a simple “cheat sheet” that captured all of her preferences to simplify future martini orders. Brilliant!

What impressed me the most about Jimmy’s gesture was that it was completely unexpected. While I expected him to return to the table within a reasonable amount of time with accurate drink orders, I did not expect him to record a “cheat sheet” listing my wife’s preferred martini order.

Another thing that struck me was that Jimmy’s actions were voluntary. While accepting drink orders and delivering them to restaurant guests is a mandatory aspect of a waiter’s job role, taking a minute to create a customized “cheat sheet” for a guest is voluntary.

Lastly, while Jimmy gets paid to take and serve drink orders, his decision to jot down Julie’s martini order cost his employer nothing. And although this gesture was free, it made more of an impression than anything he was paid to do that night.

How about you? What could you do today (that would be unexpected, voluntary, and free) to capitalize on the many opportunities you have to create lasting positive impressions for your customers?

Last week, my family and I traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to attend a family reunion. While in Lincoln, we stayed at a full service hotel downtown. When we arrived at the hotel, we unloaded several bags from our vehicle onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel. Minutes later, a bellman passed by without saying a word and entered the main lobby from the sidewalk.

My wife and I fully expected that he was getting a luggage cart to assist us with our bags. When he did not return, I went inside the hotel and encountered him standing just inside the lobby. He looked at me and asked, “Can I help you with your bags?” Already, I was annoyed because he clearly saw my bags on the sidewalk yet I still had to track him down for assistance.

Now that we were being helped, we no longer felt ignored but did feel as if this bellman was treating us indifferently—as if we were just another “check-in” or transaction. It’s not that he did anything wrong during the remainder of the check-in process, it’s just that he missed several opportunities to anticipate our needs and make a lasting positive impression.

For instance, one of my boys complained about the weight of his backpack. The bellman just stood there as I relieved my son of his backpack and hung it on the luggage cart. A minute later, while I went back to the car to retrieve a cooler, my wife corralled our four children in front of the elevators to take a group picture of them. She commented to me afterwards that she wished she had asked him to take a picture that would have included her—another missed opportunity for him to make a positive impression.

Later, when we were in the guest room, the bellman simply offloaded the luggage near the door, accepted his tip, and bid us adieux with the transactional industry farewell, “Enjoy your stay.”

He failed to observe other cues that would have made the difference between an ordinary check-in and a memorable service experience. Although a cooler, Pack ‘n Play® travel crib, and wine tote were all visible cues, he appeared aloof from any customer service opportunities these items may have presented. In the first ten minutes after his departure I had already retrieved ice for the cooler (which required accessing the 4th floor as there was no ice machine on the 3rd floor where our rooms were located), phoned housekeeping for a sheet to line our toddler’s travel crib, and gone in search of wine glasses.

With so many missed opportunities, the potential for a unique and memorable customer-focused experience faded and we were left with an ordinary and forgettable process-focused transaction. As happens far too often, many service providers are lulled into the monotony of processing “each customer like the last customer” and, in so doing, treating the customer like just another transaction (in my case, just another “check-in”).

Service providers must recognize that each customer presents a unique opportunity to make a favorable impression. By committing to energize their customer service delivery by looking for visual cues, anticipating customers’ needs, and offering the unexpected, service providers will capitalize on opportunities to provide unique and memorable service experiences.