Consistency is a virtue?

My employer has a list of corporate values it wishes to instill. One of them is consistency, but consistency is only a virtue if you are not a screw-up. By and large, I do consider it a virtue...at least when it comes to food. When I go to Mickey D's, I can be assured of predictable food and a dynamite beverage (courtesy of their superior water filtration system).

The main problem with consistency is that it often becomes the new norm. If somebody is given 'exceptional' service every time they may see it for what it is, but typically view it as progressively mundane. That is until they go somewhere else. Let me go back to the Mickey D's example. Next time you are eating fast-food inside, try the water first. If I only ate at Mickey D's and no where else, then I wouldn't feel that way.

It's the same way with Pharmacy business I suppose. I don't offer exceptional service to every customer because most of them don't need it. There are a few that do need it on occasion. Some folks are scared, ignorant (not to be confused with rude), miserable, in pain etc. I will expend extra effort on these folks because they need it. Far too often it is the other way around. People will 'go the extra mile' on the low-hanging fruit and ignore the 5% who need it most. That way they can say that 95% of our customers rate our service as excellent...but it is a lie. Just like saying I fired my pistol at someone and it missed their ear by three inches. The implication is that they weren't shot, when in reality I plugged them between their eyes.

One of the tenets of Taoism is to be frugal. It is not for the purpose of being miserly, but to be generous when somebody needs your generosity. I have been both the giver and the receiver of such generosities. Lately, more on the receiving end. So what is better, the frequent giver of small gifts or the infrequent (or unexpected) giver of large ones? Before you answer ask yourself if consistency is a virtue.