My wife and I had dinner last night at a nearby restaurant.  Their advertised offer to ‘buy one get one free’ special caught our interest.  Wonderful, I thought.  Just the ticket to lure 2 hungry people facing $4 per gallon gas as they decide whether to venture out or not.

As the waitress approached us, she mentioned the special was good until 7pm.  I promptly looked at my watch and it was 1 minute before 7pm.  I’m in, I thought!  We ordered our food and drinks, and began to discuss the day’s activities.

As the waitress delivered our drinks, she explained the bill was actually going to be more than we thought, as the special was now over.  Hmmmm…I thought it was before 7pm when we ordered I asked.  “Well…I entered the order into the computer and it wouldn’t take the special so I don’t know” she explained right before she walked away to serve the next customer. 

No options, no apologies, no further explanation offered.  Although polite, she was obviously focused on her problems and not her customers.  While she didn’t seem interested in making it right with us….she did want us to know it wasn’t her fault.

Our local newspaper recently featured an article (interestingly enough) on this same restaurant.  The owner explained how business was down and the economy was really hurting them.  While that may be true to some degree, I’m wondering how much the restaurant may actually be hurting themselves.

In today’s connected world, a customer that has a bad experience will share that opinion with others more quickly than ever before.  That could be good (or in the case of this restaurant) it could be bad.  Most of us make buying decisions on what others have told us about a product or service, so it becomes a key influencer.

I encourage you to consider the various customer touch points in your business.  Are you giving your customer the best possible experience in every area?  Do you follow through with your commitments to your customer?

How you answer the phone, resolve a complaint, or whether you deliver your product in a timely manner is huge and can dictate the difference between a satisfied customer and a disgruntled customer. The good news is you get to choose.

Had a recent customer service experience you’d like to share?

We’d love to hear it.