Hey restaurant owners and managers. Pay attention. Two things not to do when anyone on your team screws up someone’s order at a restaurant:
1. Offer them a free dessert.
2. Bring the check and say, “I did not charge you for your coffee”.
Lesson to all business owners: when you screw up, and we all have and will, do the right thing. Do more than the customer or guest expected. Wow them – this is your chance! This is the BIG moment to shine.
I met two dear friends this week for our GNO dinner. We waited 45 minutes for a table, ordered quickly and got right down to business – talking and catching up. Dinners were served and my meal was no where in sight. The waitress neglected to order it. She apologized. I understood. It happens. She offered us free dessert – we explained we did not want dessert. We ordered coffees. I purposefully did not ask for a discount on my meal. I wanted to see what she would do. She opted for the weak path, the cheap path, the ‘she-won’t-care’ path. She didn’t charge us for two coffees. How pathetic.
My guess is she did not tell the manager. She did not want to draw attention to herself by making a mistake to discount my meal. She and the restaurant – Not Your Average Joe’s was very average.
How do we all avoid being weak, being average and disappointing the customer?
1. Training – get your team trained using examples and scenarios clearly defining your expectations
2. Believe in Wow’ing and create that mentality in your business
3. Empower your employees to WOW
4. Share ‘wow’ moments with your team; share the feedback that you get from customers
5. Think like a consumer, client, customer.
Don’t be an Average Joe. Be above average. Be excellent. Let’s get to wowing and make your peace-offering more than a cup of average Joe.