What More Can I Do?
Not long ago, I was stopped by one of my customers who complimented me on the ‘wonderful feeling’ she had every time she visited one of our locations. While this is not an odd occurrence, the kind of encounter I have more frequently is the one where we have made a mistake and have let down a customer. I started thinking about this lovely lady’s comments… her ‘wonderful feeling’ and I wondered what is it that we did to have her talk about our service using those words. When I asked her about it, she spoke about the annual Christmas Party we have for our regular customers, how much she appreciated the effort we put into the event and the fun and friendship she felt while singing Christmas Carols. Oh, did I mention that this conversation took place in May – five months after the event? We obviously made an impression.
Today, I had a young mom stop me as I picked up my son from a Saturday morning activity. I hadn’t met her before, but she was very insistent on telling me about her recent experience at another of our locations. She had arrived for a weekday lunch with her two small children, and after placing her order she realized she had left her wallet home. She started to explain this to our employee and went on to say that she would have to leave the order and come back another time. Nancy, our manager, said ‘Don’t worry about it… feed your kids and we’ll take care of the bill.’ The customer was very impressed and thanked Nancy for her kindness, fed her children and later returned to ‘fix up’ the bill. This young mom wanted me to know how much it meant to her to be shown such kindness. “Nobody treats customers like that,” she said.
When it comes to service, in these two cases, we got it really right. I really hope it seems unusual for a quick service restaurant to do either of the things I’ve mentioned. Out of the ordinary is what we are going for! Thinking of customer service in terms of ‘what more can I do’ helps create those opportunities to build deep and lasting memories that build the halo around your brand. Figuring out a way to make a customer experience bigger and better than they expected earns their loyalty with the wow factor. Providing your customers with a reason to give you their allegiance safeguards your relationship with your customer…that loyalty carries you when you do make a mistake and let them down. Customers who feel strong loyalty towards your business want you to succeed – sometimes even more than you do. They cheer you on from the sidelines, they give you invaluable feedback, they are patient and they defend you when need be.
While the idea of asking ‘what more can I do’ may sound like it will hamper production or affect profitability – from what I’ve learned over the last 30 years of working in a business that serves customers, I need them. Not just for the transaction, but also for their loyalty, because we do make mistakes. I have to show them that we value them, so when they feel let down they can lean on that deeper experience of feeling special and appreciated. And for our employees empowering them by teaching them to ask ‘what more can I do’ allows their natural creativity to be expressed in their interactions with our customers.
I’ll let you in on a secret – the Christmas Party happens without me, and Nancy never did tell me or anyone else in our company what she did. Both of these and hopefully many, many other unusually impressive events are happening because I believe service is not about the ordinary, but rather about the remarkable.
Walt Disney once said “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” I think these two customers will do just that. What about your customers?
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Nice post and very true. Do something remarkable and gain your customers respect. A consumer’s respect for your product and the delivery of it, is in my mind the cornerstone of loyalty.
Words to live by! With your clear focus on customer service and continued investment in the bricks and mortor of your locations, you are leading the way in the fast food business in this city. Great work!
Great post! Too often we forget how important each and every customer is. I personally go back to the golden rule…how would I like to be treated? Cathy’s employees did the same in both circumstances. I’m certainly going to forward this along to all the service people in my company.
Thanks Cathy!
Always nice to see a big company do a little extra.