Your guests define 'value' by the totality of the experience: the service, the décor, the food and its flavors and aromas and the cost: all details that create a memory. The most memorable experiences come from an organized, well-rehearsed and communicated performance. Great 'word of mouth' is built note by note, scene by scene, act by act, so that by the end of the visit your guest walks away 'wowed'. Or bored. Or, worse of all, disgusted. It's your choice.

Curmudgeon Mike and I happened to be having breakfast at a unit of a successful 'down-home' chain, that promises fresh food and friendly service. Our server arrived at the table with an apron emblazoned with embroidered stars. We gave our order, which she took down with a smile. My expectations were being met, in 'down-home' spades. I couldn't help myself. I had to ask. "What's with the stars?" Then disaster struck. "Well, let me tell you...." And she proceeded to give Mike and me a detailed history of how she earned her stars and what each star represented. She beamed, she crowed, she joked. Finally, she left. Curmudgeon Mike squinted at me, in fury, "That is deplorable!"

Why, I wondered? I hadn't been rude, so far as I could tell.

"That is another example of terrible service disguised by sweet talk."

OK.

"She could have said, 'Let me put your order in and, if you are still interested, I'd be happy to tell you all about it."

I nodded.

"But, no, she decided her story was more important than our order. She did it with a smile, but in the meantime my blood sugar just went 'deep six'. Terrible, terrible. The guest comes first. Friendly gab comes second. No, friendly gab comes after I leave."

Now, that was Curmudgeon Mike, you understand, but his point is still valid.
It brings to mind the point that a guest often experiences the server's personality as forced, phony, unwanted or wildly out of context. How do you train the staff to get away from this deadly cliché?

Start with the idea that great service begins and ends with the principle: 'We should treat the guest and their needs, as we would wish to be treated'. Nothing more complicated than that. It means you need to hire for genuineness and empathy, humor and energy, before skill. From there, you remind 'your staff of actors' that everything they do comes from the single mantra: "It's about the guest". Then, you teach them your values, your promise and the things that make you great. But, always, always, it starts and ends with the guest.

I spoke to Tom McCabe, a great restaurant manager, whose skill has translated into sales growth year in and out, like the proverbial rising sun. What does he do?

"I care about the guest. I mean, really care about the guest. There is nothing I won't do to make them happy."

"How? By giving away the house?"

He laughed, "No, by listening to the guest, apologizing for the mistake, fixing the problem and taking the time to become friends. I once followed a guest who had left my restaurant unhappy and had gone to a TGI Fridays the same night. I couldn't accept him leaving, dissatisfied. He could chose never to come back to my restaurant, but he was going to know how terrible I felt. I can't stand to lose a guest."

"You're kidding!"

"No. It's both that simple and that difficult."

"Food cost?"

"I run a solid business, but the top line takes care of a lot of control issues."

"Hiring problems in a tight labor market?"

"People want to work for me, because they know I care."

"Why isn't this 'de riguer' for operators?"

"Most operators don't even get as far as talking the talk. On top of that, most operators don't put in the time to walk it. For it to pay off, you have to put in the time, effort and willingness to care about people. It is not a 'quick fix'."

"A little like farming instead of hunting."

He smiled.

Then, I remembered that when the Indians came over for Thanksgiving, they did not bring the Pilgrims a slab of bison, but some corn. Enough to eat and, maybe, some to plant.

 

Copyright © 2003 Richard K. Hendrie , LINK Inc. Method Marketing
9 Centre St. Cambridge, MA 02139 (v) 617-335-1011
methodmarketing@LinkincMethodMarketing.com