White Glove Service is Already Dead

What if instead of white glove service, we gave garden glove service?

That’s right – dirty, sweaty, stained-up garden glove service?

What if we weren’t the white glove wearing butlers or high-end order takers or whoever it is that wears white gloves anyway, but instead the earth tilling, crop growing, actively involved partners in our client’s most important projects?

How could that change the story we tell?  

The business of “do this for me” is the category the automating robots are coming from. “Alexa, do _____” is where white-glove turns into no-glove. We need to say no thank you to no-glove.

And, we don’t beat white gloves with whiter gloves – we beat them with altogether different gloves. It’s the underlying reason why automating “do this for me” stuff works as well as it does. It’s better, not different. 

The business of “do this with me” is the category where we (still? always?) have a fighting chance. Filthy garden gloves are hard to automate. The personal, the hard to do, the complicated to explain – these are the places where getting our hands dirty pays off. You know, where we add value.

The essential element is that the work is seen and not just the finished product.

If all we do is show up with an annual report, even with white glove class, we need to remember Alexa is within earshot. If, instead, our clients see the work, are engaged in the work, and see the benefits of the work over time, the relationship will drive its own value.

White glove service is already dead. Not everyone seems to know it yet. It’s an opportunity, but only if we’re willing to get our hands dirty.