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Suggest You - Customer Service Flops at a Restaurant: When Something Was So Going Well, Why Change It?
In the history of architecture there has often been an unseen contradiction between what the architect wants to design and what the client wants built. Sometimes an architect will get so wrapped up in his vision and personal aesthetic values that what the client likes and does not like becomes secondary, or is overlooked completely. When this happens the house or building created may win design awards and look beautiful to a trained architectural eye, but the client or people who have to live in it may dislike it intensely. Often the owners or tenants will go back in and change things a second o
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back
Closing a store requires considerable effort and attention and the items listed below, in no particular order, are minimal considerations when terminating a franchise and closing a dealership operation.THIS CHECKLIST IS NOT "ALL INCLUSIVE". YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH YOUR ATTORNEY AND ACCOUNTANT AND THIS LIST SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS AN ADDITIONAL AID FOR YOU TO USE TO BUILD UPON WHEN YOU CONFER WITH THEM.Basic Preparation1. Officers, Directors and ShareholdersBe certain to hold both directors and shareholders meetings and to obtain resolutions from each
**Sigh**
Okay, back to Customer Service Flops at a Restaurant!
On a Saturday, I wanted to get out of the house to do some writing, to get a change of atmosphere and to perhaps be inspired by different surroundings.
I headed to Borders Books, but they didn’t have enough tables; all were taken. (They’ve had room for more tables for a few years, but haven’t figured that out yet! Or maybe they have, but they don’t want more tables to clean.)
So I went to a place called Corner Bakery. This is an old-fashioned-inspired place owned by a local chain of restaurants. While the other restaurants owned by the chain are sit-down places, Corner Bakery is a walk-up style restaurant where you order your food at a counter, pay for it, and then take it to your table. All they keep on the tables is salt and pepper, so customers have to get everything else they need from a service area. The service area has ice, a soda machine, iced tea, water, napkins, cutlery, sugar, milk, and anything else you would need (except, of course, for salt and pepper, because, as I said, that’s all you find on their tables).
I asked the woman taking my order if they served their tea in pots, and she replied that she didn’t know what I meant. So I asked another employee, who said they did not have teapots. (Border’s does!) They knew I was there for here (not to go), but my tea was served in a take-out cup. I also ordered something to eat. They handed everything to me over the cash register. I set it down while I put my change back into my wallet, and then I looked around for a tray. (I recalled using a tray every other time I was there.) I didn’t see any trays.
So I asked the two employees behind the counter if they had any trays. They both said no. Hmm. What happened to the trays? Well, one employee said, when they remodeled the kitchen and ordering area, they got rid of the trays.
So I had to pick up the items I purchased, bring them to a table, then go back to the service area to get flatware, napkins, etc., and bring that back to the table.
Being a tea person who likes to have her tea just so, next, I brought my take-out tea cup to the service area for milk and sugar. After pouring some milk in the cup and breaking open a sugar packet, I deposited the used sugar packet in the garbage slot conveniently located on the counter of the service area (just like Starbucks!). Then I grabbed a spoon, stirred the tea, and looked for a basket or container to place the used spoon. I didn’t find any such container, so I shrugged my shoulders (in my mind, anyway) and left the spoon on the counter of the service area (not like Starbucks!).
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back t
Interviewing well is an art and yet I find so many people pay very little attention to this aspect of the job search process. It is in fact likely the single most important step.If you are called for an interview, the assumption must be that it is your job to lose. If you have been called, you have many of the skills needed for the job and your qualifications are enough of a match that if the fit is right, they could hire you. People are busy and companies value their time. They are not going to spend the time and resources to have you come in for an interview if they don't think you can do
On a Saturday, I wanted to get out of the house to do some writing, to get a change of atmosphere and to perhaps be inspired by different surroundings.
I headed to Borders Books, but they didn’t have enough tables; all were taken. (They’ve had room for more tables for a few years, but haven’t figured that out yet! Or maybe they have, but they don’t want more tables to clean.)
So I went to a place called Corner Bakery. This is an old-fashioned-inspired place owned by a local chain of restaurants. While the other restaurants owned by the chain are sit-down places, Corner Bakery is a walk-up style restaurant where you order your food at a counter, pay for it, and then take it to your table. All they keep on the tables is salt and pepper, so customers have to get everything else they need from a service area. The service area has ice, a soda machine, iced tea, water, napkins, cutlery, sugar, milk, and anything else you would need (except, of course, for salt and pepper, because, as I said, that’s all you find on their tables).
I asked the woman taking my order if they served their tea in pots, and she replied that she didn’t know what I meant. So I asked another employee, who said they did not have teapots. (Border’s does!) They knew I was there for here (not to go), but my tea was served in a take-out cup. I also ordered something to eat. They handed everything to me over the cash register. I set it down while I put my change back into my wallet, and then I looked around for a tray. (I recalled using a tray every other time I was there.) I didn’t see any trays.
So I asked the two employees behind the counter if they had any trays. They both said no. Hmm. What happened to the trays? Well, one employee said, when they remodeled the kitchen and ordering area, they got rid of the trays.
So I had to pick up the items I purchased, bring them to a table, then go back to the service area to get flatware, napkins, etc., and bring that back to the table.
Being a tea person who likes to have her tea just so, next, I brought my take-out tea cup to the service area for milk and sugar. After pouring some milk in the cup and breaking open a sugar packet, I deposited the used sugar packet in the garbage slot conveniently located on the counter of the service area (just like Starbucks!). Then I grabbed a spoon, stirred the tea, and looked for a basket or container to place the used spoon. I didn’t find any such container, so I shrugged my shoulders (in my mind, anyway) and left the spoon on the counter of the service area (not like Starbucks!).
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back
As it was, Walmart was a wonderful part of my life. For a short while I sincerely believed what I was told and even if I had my doubts I pushed them aside because the company that I grew to love seemed to be something I had never come across in almost twenty five years of retail.Now with a book about it written and the possibility that it may be too controversial for anyone to print, I may have to do it myself.It has to be written. It has to be published. It is a promise that I made to myself and so many wonderful Walmart Associates that I worked with over the years.Seriousl
I asked the woman taking my order if they served their tea in pots, and she replied that she didn’t know what I meant. So I asked another employee, who said they did not have teapots. (Border’s does!) They knew I was there for here (not to go), but my tea was served in a take-out cup. I also ordered something to eat. They handed everything to me over the cash register. I set it down while I put my change back into my wallet, and then I looked around for a tray. (I recalled using a tray every other time I was there.) I didn’t see any trays.
So I asked the two employees behind the counter if they had any trays. They both said no. Hmm. What happened to the trays? Well, one employee said, when they remodeled the kitchen and ordering area, they got rid of the trays.
So I had to pick up the items I purchased, bring them to a table, then go back to the service area to get flatware, napkins, etc., and bring that back to the table.
Being a tea person who likes to have her tea just so, next, I brought my take-out tea cup to the service area for milk and sugar. After pouring some milk in the cup and breaking open a sugar packet, I deposited the used sugar packet in the garbage slot conveniently located on the counter of the service area (just like Starbucks!). Then I grabbed a spoon, stirred the tea, and looked for a basket or container to place the used spoon. I didn’t find any such container, so I shrugged my shoulders (in my mind, anyway) and left the spoon on the counter of the service area (not like Starbucks!).
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back
Points You Want To Remember When Branding Your BusinessIt’s easy to get lost in the business shuffle these days. There are hundreds of companies that produce similar products or provide parallel services, but how do you make yours distinct? There are a lot of ways and only one highly important characteristic to a successful business. It is branding. Below are key points to follow when brainstorming your brand.Identify With Your BuyerEveryone is not your buyer. There may be a mass amount of people that purchase your product, but that’s not every
So I asked the two employees behind the counter if they had any trays. They both said no. Hmm. What happened to the trays? Well, one employee said, when they remodeled the kitchen and ordering area, they got rid of the trays.
So I had to pick up the items I purchased, bring them to a table, then go back to the service area to get flatware, napkins, etc., and bring that back to the table.
Being a tea person who likes to have her tea just so, next, I brought my take-out tea cup to the service area for milk and sugar. After pouring some milk in the cup and breaking open a sugar packet, I deposited the used sugar packet in the garbage slot conveniently located on the counter of the service area (just like Starbucks!). Then I grabbed a spoon, stirred the tea, and looked for a basket or container to place the used spoon. I didn’t find any such container, so I shrugged my shoulders (in my mind, anyway) and left the spoon on the counter of the service area (not like Starbucks!).
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back
Let's be straight up honest for a moment....success can really suck. Not all success, of course. Just the kind that sneaks up behind and knocks you down. The wading-through-the-swamp-wrestling-alligators kind of success that leaves you panting, breathless, staring deep into the gator's mouth.How does success go so terribly wrong? And could it happen to you? Oh yeah. It's as simple as having a great idea, promoting it, and discovering that you are utterly unprepared for the impact your business idea will have on the world.It started about 18 months ago, when our company was just me and
Then it was back to the table again. After a couple minutes I realized that the tea was still extremely hot, and I wanted a spoon. (Of course! I should have carried that spoon back to the table with me!). As I got up from the table to go back to the service area, my hip hit the table, spilling sugary tea on the table and on the pen with which I’m writing. Great! So along with the spoon, I grabbed more napkins to clean up the mess.
A tray would have made the whole experience so much easier! What do people who dine at Corner Bakery do when they have their young children with them? Tote the kids back and forth between the front counter, their table, and the service area, carrying as much as they can hold, until they get everything they need?
So my message to Corner Bakery is: Make your customers’ lives easier when they come to your restaurant: bring back the trays!
At what businesses have you experienced improved or poorer customer service (or other business decisions)? How did that affect your decision to repurchase?
What changes is your business considering? Will the changes make a real improvement that your customers will recognize for the better?
Because, you know, at the end of the day, businesses need their customers to come back and buy again!
© 2006 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.
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