Grocery Store Switch!

My wife just walked in the door and said: “I am switching to Albertsons!” There are two grocery stores within 3 miles of our house. A Krogers and an Albertsons.

This was the final straw after countless bad experiences with this particular Krogers location. (We have been to other Krogers stores with a much better outcome.) They are constantly understaffed at the checkout lines, and a management team that does not seem to understand that the number one customer turnoff is a long line.

My wife is preparing an appetizer for our adult Sunday school party tomorrow night. She is making “Ham Balls” and needed a ham finely ground. She approached the man in the meat department at Krogers with the ham and asked if he could grind the meat. He replied by saying he could not because they only have one grinder and it is used for red meats only.

My wife put back the ham and drove across the street to the Albertsons. She was greeted upon entering the store and had several positive encounters with helpful staff on her way to the meat counter. She asked the meat manager if he could grind the ham. They also only have one machine, but his response was very different: “Sure. It will take me a few minutes to clean the machine if you don’t mind waiting.”

What a different response! In an economy where every business should be working hard to keep their customers, it is surprising that the Krogers employee did not seem to care.

We spend over $100 a week on groceries, with the majority of it for the past five years going to Krogers. That is over $5,000 of annual business that this store just lost and the Albertsons picked up, all because of how the two meat managers handled a simple request.

When we first moved to Frisco, the Albertsons was the only close grocery store. They were horrible in customer service! I have noticed a vast improvement in the past year. They are obviously paying attention to their customers and have trained all of their team members to deliver excellent customer service.

Customer Service in a Down Economy

For the past five or more years, most industry segments in the United States have experienced steady growth and a healthy bottom line. While that may be great and we all enjoy the economic stability, it can lead to practices and habits that are not conducive to excellent customer service. When I mention that I work with companies to help improve their customer service, I often receive a list of companies that could use some help.

Having an abundance of customers has created the following attitude: “If the customer is not happy, he or she can leave. We can always replace them with a new customer.” This attitude may not be verbalized, but it creeps into our communication and service delivery practices. As Tom Peters once said, “Customer service is so bad, that if you treat your customers with common, ordinary, garden-variety courtesy you have the lion’s share of any market you want because you will be alone!”

Then it happens!!! We have a slow down in the economy and everything changes. No longer are there more customers than we know what to do with. The power has shifted and the consumer is now in charge and gains an advantage that was missing in the strong economy. Suddenly there are countless companies clamoring to earn their business and convince the prized customer to spend their precious dollars on their company’s product or service. Not only are there fewer paying customers wanting what you sell, but there are more motivated sales people hungry to steal them away. Someone who has been a steady customer will now be presented with better deals and tempting offers to move their business to one of your competitors. Even your loyal customers will be watching what they spend with a new sense of scrutiny.

Economic slowdowns may be painful, but they are actually good for business.

Three things happen when a company is forced to tighten their financial belts:

1. Processes that are not adding value miraculously are no longer needed and are eliminated, or at least trimmed down.

2. Leaders and staff who have not been pulling their weight are eliminated, creating a more effective organization after the dust settles.

3. Employees at all levels start understanding the need to practice excellent customer service and they start listening to the end customer.

The best and most profitable companies figure out how to apply these three concepts during the strong economic times. The remaining 90% of organizations require a little pressure to do what they should have been doing all along. So don’t feel bad if you are in one of those companies that is scrambling to make changes and win the right to continue doing business with your existing customers.

Following are a few steps you can take to improve the way you work with each of your customers.

1. Increase the level and frequency of communication with each customer. Where a call every quarter to check on a regular customer used to be fine, you may want to check in with select customers on a more frequency basis to ensure you are meeting their needs and they are not considering other options.

2. Respond to all customer complaints and issues with a heightened sense of urgency. Understand that your customers are less likely to put up with problems and errors in your service delivery. They now have options and other companies wanting to prove how they can do a better job at meeting their needs.

3. Go after those customers who are currently with your competitor. Look for the gaps in the other company’s service and move quickly to demonstrate how your organization can meet their needs and even save them money.

4. Develop a passion of flawless internal service. During a tight economy, there is no room for internal politics and turf wars. You are in the middle of a battle! All hands should be on deck and supporting each other to increase the level of service provided to the end customer.

Remember, if you are not fully committed to providing the best possible service to your customers, there will be someone who is, and they will be more than happy to take the customer’s money. Don’t fear these times. Seize the opportunity to raise the bar and develop a culture where delivering excellent customer service and assuring customer loyalty are the primary reasons you exist as an organization and even have a job.

The Cowboys Will Never Win it All!

To a certain degree, strong egos and successful athletes go hand in hand. Unfortunately, an out of control ego can also breakdown teamwork and lead to a talented team of individuals never reaching that ultimate goal of team sports: the championship trophy.

I live in the Dallas area and would like nothing more than to be a Cowboy fan. Unfortunately, they have an owner who insists on hiring players who will never work well on a team. For example, Terrell Owns. He has a lot of talent, but week after week he seems to be more interested in how many times he touches the ball instead of if the team is successful. During the post game interview several weeks ago following their first loss, T.O. said that the offense stagnated because he did not get the ball enough. That is after they sent it his way 17 times!

Superstars like T.O. may be fun to watch when the team is winning, but when things are tight and the season is on the line, their selfish actions will always keep a team from winning the big games. I will admit that T.O. has gotten better in the past year, but until he either leaves Dallas or learns to put his team ahead of his own ego, the Cowboys will never make it all the way.

The same is true of teams in the corporate world. An organization will never reach its potential when there are members of the team who are more concerned with their own career progression than helping the company reach their goals.

It is a tricky balance! We need people who have self-confidence and are driven to success, but not at the expense of the overall team or organization. The goal is to find talented individuals who get their excitement when the team has a win!

A Little Help Please!

It is amazing that in a time when many companies are on the brink of bankruptcy and almost everyone has to work harder to close business, some organizations are unwilling to lift a finger to earn your dollars.

This past week I was in New York City with my wife. This was our first pleasure trip to the city and we had a fantastic experience. Prior to flying to NYC, some good friends gave us the name of a transportation company that was an alternative to the taxi cab. We called ahead and made our reservation for a driver to meet us at the airport upon our arrival.

The car was clean, comfortable, and on time. The driver was very nice and took us to our hotel on Times Square. After spending the weekend seeing the sights and shows, we reluctantly made the call on Sunday afternoon to the same car company to arrange for our pickup later that evening. We would be spending the final night at a hotel a few miles from LaGuardia Airport.

When I called the reservation number for the NYC company, they asked for the address of our hotel. (It was a Fairfield by Marriott – three miles from the airport.) At the time, I was walking down Broadway heading to lunch and did not have the address with me. I told them the name of the hotel.

They responded that they would need to have the street address to make the reservation. I was surprised that a transportation company would not have a list readily available of airport hotels. I asked if they could look up the address, and they responded that they could not. I asked to speak to the manager and got the same response.

If I was running this business and trying to generate revenue in a down economy, I would have found a way to find the address. I can’t believe that I was the first person to make such a request. This company should create a quick reference document for their reservation agents to quickly find the address for the main hotels that surround their two main airports.

I don’t know if these employees were lazy or just lacked common sense, but if they want to stay in business, they should realize that customer expectations are increasing and they need to do what it takes to respond to the customer needs.

Customer Service is like a Roller Coaster!

The relationship between a company and its customers is not all that different than the relationship between a husband and wife. Every couple knows that there are great times and times that you may not be seeing eye-to-eye. There are also times when you are moving from one state to another, also called “making up.”

I want to share an experience from this past month that illustrates the up and down nature of customer relationships. Several weeks ago, I received an unsolicited call from a representative of Verizon. He was the sales person from whom I had purchased my air-card almost 18 months earlier. He worked at one of the Verizon locations inside a Circuit City store. He said that they were replacing some of the older equipment that had experienced problems. The sales person assured me that there would be no additional cost and it would not extend my contract.

I replied: “Sure. Go ahead and send it to me.”

The card arrived later that week. I waited a few days and then connected it to my laptop to see how it would work. I noticed that it connected with a new phone number. Apparently, this sales person lacked integrity and was simply attempting to gain the commission from a new device and phone number. (NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE – The Roller Coaster headed down the slope.)

Suspecting that this would result in a separate bill, I picked up the phone and called Verizon and explained the situation. The Verizon call center agent was very pleasant and said she would take care of the situation by closing this number and moving the new device to my original account. (POSITIVE EXPERIENCE – The Coaster was heading back up.)

The next weekend I was on a trip. As we usually do, my wife drove and I sat in the passenger seat with my laptop catching up on some work. I connected my new air-card, only to have it fail while making a connection. (NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE – Heading back down.)

I called the technical support center for Verizon and explained the situation. The previous call center worker had made a mistake with the cards and had turned the new card off instead of transferring it to my old number. (NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE – Heading into the tunnel!)

The initial call center support person was very understanding and did everything within her level of skill to resolve the problem. After 30 minutes, she asked if she could put me on hold and get a senior technical support person on the phone. She stayed on the phone, explained the situation and completed a proper handoff. (POSITIVE EXPERIENCE – Coming out of the tunnel!)

The technical resource tried several possible solutions without success. I explained how important it was for me to have access as I had several urgent emails to send. He kept thinking and eventually was able to re-activate my original card and account. I was back up and running! (POSITIVE EXPERIENCE – The coaster was heading up another hill.)

Two weeks later, I received a “Welcome Packet” from Verizon thanking me for opening a new account and letting me know my new expiration date would be two years in the future. (Heading back down!)

I called again and talked to a nice team member who assured me that this was not the case and the account had been closed. (Taking a turn back up.)

Two weeks later, I received my “new” Verizon bill that indicated I was being charged over $200 for an “early termination” fee. (Sinking to an all time low! The coaster had jumped the track!)

I picked up the phone again and after waiting a couple of minutes, a very polite Verizon employee answered the phone. I explained the situation and within two minutes, she had issued the credit and apologized for the entire situation. (Moving back up the final hill.)

Within five minutes I received an email from the Verizon system confirming the credit and showing the correct outstanding balance for my original air-card. (Back to good standing.)

I tell you this story not to pick on Verizon, but to illustrate what is common in almost every company. Great customer service requires every team member to do their part.

Employees in any organization will fall into one of four categories:

They understand the importance of providing great customer service and also possess the skills and support to do so.
They understand the importance, but lack the training, systems, processes or skills to provide great customer service.
They don’t believe that customer service is important, and therefore don’t stand a chance at delivering excellent service.
They lack the personal integrity to consistently do the right thing, resulting in disappointed customers.


There were seven points of contact with a Verizon employee during this air-card saga. One lacked integrity, two or three had great intentions but lacked the skill or support system, and three delivered great service.

Verizon has one of the better reputations for customer service from among the cell phone providers. I am sure they have a good training program and expect only the best out of their employees, yet less than half of them were able to meet my expectations. Remember, if you are one of those employees who have a passion for delivering service and possess the skill needed to do so, you will have to make up for less than stellar performances by some of your co-workers. Consider it your job to get the roller coaster back on the track and heading back up the hill. Every organization’s goal should be to have more positive experiences than negative, but even service recovery situations can earn big points in the constant up and down relationship between a company and its customers.

Keep Those Customers!

Picture a large wooden bucket with a hose adding water at the top with a constant flow. The water runs continuously, but the bucket is never quite full. Unfortunately there is a big hole in the bottom of the bucket.

That is how most companies operate. They spend a lot of money on marketing initiatives trying to increase their market share in their particular industry. Meanwhile, long term customers are leaving and taking their business to a competitor.

Many sales incentives and programs are established to draw in new customers with little regard for an existing one. For example, the cell phone industry runs all kinds of promotions to attract new customers. I was a customer of a particular provider for several years. My average monthly phone bill was around $200. My contract had long expired and I was in need of a new phone. I was told there was no way to take advantage of some of the offers available to new customers.

Let’s think about that situation.
- I was a proven customer with a high monthly bill who paid the full amount each month prior to the due date.
- I knew how to use all the features of the phone and did not require any assistance from the customer service center.
- I had been pleased with the phone and service and had been a loyal customer for three years.
- I frequently referred friends and family to this provider.

Most organizations would consider me an ideal customer, yet this phone company did not appear at all interested in keeping my account.

For the reasons listed above, an existing customer is almost always worth more than a new customer. I have heard it said that it takes six times more resources to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.

Some companies have started to understand that if they spend a portion of the money previously spent marketing to new customers on keeping current customer satisfied, they will benefit financially.

So why do customers leave? Take a look at the following list and the percentage of people who left for each reason.

3% move away
6% develop other friendships
9% for competitive reasons
14% are dissatisfied with the product or service
68% because of an attitude of indifference by the owner, manager, or some employee

Over two thirds take their business to your competition due to reasons other than the product or price. Customers are fickle! Unless they have no alternative, a customer will leave if they are offended or if their needs are not being met by a member of your team. Your company may indeed have the best product or service, but if not delivered by attentive staff and leadership, a customer is likely to buy from someone who treats them with respect.

It is critical that you have accountability processes in place. The way a customer is treated plays such an important role in retaining them, so it is critical that every employee on your team be trained to deliver world class service. You can’t be with every customer at all times, so you must ensure that your staff is delivering the quality of service you would expect if you were personally handling the interaction.

There will be times when a customer decides to leave. On those occasions, it is important to talk to them and identify the core issue that resulted in their decision to take their business elsewhere. It is important that the person soliciting this feedback be objective and not defensive or argumentative. At this point, the most important thing is to learn from this former customer to avoid repeating the same mistakes with current customers.

On rare occasions, you may be able to win the customer back simply by talking with them and resolving their immediate issue. You have a much better chance of retaining your customers if you are able to gather feedback and act on it before the customer decides to go to a competitor.

Remember, in most instances, your current customer is your best customer!

Recover Right!

Do you work for an organization where everyone is perfect and mistakes are never made? I didn’t think so. As long as people are responsible for delivering products or services, there will be mistakes. How you handle those mistakes says volumes about the level of customer service you offer and the length of time your organization will be in business.

My wife and I found a great restaurant shortly after we moved to Orlando. It came very close to becoming one of our least favorite places to eat. Let me explain.

During one of our first visits, I was having lunch with my family and some of our out of town guests. I had ordered a sandwich and had taken my first bite when it happened… There was something in my sandwich that did not belong there. (In case some of you are reading this around meal time, I will spare you the details.)

I alerted the server and she apologized and took the sandwich back to the kitchen. A few minutes later the manager arrived at our table and also apologized and wanted to know how they could make up for this situation. I ordered another item and went about our conversation with our friends. It was a good choice and I enjoyed it much more than the original selection.

To be honest, I was expecting that they would have given me my replacement meal for free. When they brought me the check, the entire meal for my party was complimentary. This exceeded my expectations and turned what could have been a bad experience into one that transformed me into a very loyal customer. This is called “Guest Recovery.”

Since that day nearly seven years ago, I have been back to this restaurant over 20 times. (We had a lot of out of town guests our first few years in Orlando. I worked for Walt Disney World and we gave many of our friends and family free lodging and admission.) We made it a part of each family’s visit to take them to our favorite restaurant. The restaurant’s policy of guest recovery and their training of all employees resulted in a considerable amount of revenue for them over the past years.

Any business should have a plan in place so that every employee knows how to respond when their company makes a mistake. Many organizations train their managers on how to handle these situations, but their front line employees do not have a clue on how to respond to the customer. Many times you will hear, “I just work here.”

During my time as a “Cast Member” at Walt Disney World they did an excellent job of educating every employee on the importance of appropriate guest recovery when a mistake occurs. Organizations like Disney and the Ritz Carlton Hotel understand that how they handle mistakes can make the difference between someone never returning or becoming a loyal customer.

Great customer service organizations see an opportunity whenever a mistake occurs, regardless of whose fault it may be. This allows for personal contact with the customer where you can demonstrate how valuable they are to your business.

A simple, “I’m sorry” can go a long ways towards reducing the tension with a customer when a problem occurs, yet those words seem to be missing from our vocabulary. Once an organization accepts responsibility for a problem, most customers are reasonable and willing to forgive and move forward. So many people, especially front line employees, get defensive when a customer has a complaint or offers a suggestion.

Take a few minutes and review your guest recovery practices at your business or organization.

Do all employees know how to respond when a problem occurs?
Are your recovery policies appropriate for the mistake?
Do you look at these mistakes as opportunities or annoyances?
If you spot a trend in complaints, is this information utilized by the group delivering the product or service to make improvements?

Recover Right!

No False Waits!

One of the most difficult things for any restaurant is matching the staffing level with the actual flow of customers. If you have too many employees working, you have high overhead costs. Too few and you can't take care of your customers.

We are in San Antonio this week spending some time with friends. After a fun day at SeaWorld, we left in search of somewhere to have dinner. Several weeks ago, we had had a good experience at a particular restaurant chain. We again found one of their locations off of Loop 410 in San Antonio. It was 8:00 p.m. when we entered the restaurant. The two hostesses greeted us and asked for our name to add to their wait list. They informed us it would be a 15-20 minute wait.

I gave them my name and then looked around the restaurant. Thirteen tables were clean and ready to accommodate customers. (This was about 25-30 percent of the entire restaurant.) I asked the hostess why they were not seating people at those tables and she responded by telling me they were short waitresses tonight.

I asked to see the manager. He came out and was polite, but told me they were short kitchen staff and he had told the hostesses to hold up on the seating so he did not have to "comp" any meals due to slow food delivery.

So instead of letting us sit down and at least have a coke or water, we were asked to stand in a crowded entry way with 10-15 other guests. There are better ways to handle this situation. First, do your very best to ensure you have adequate staff on hand, especially on weekend nights. Secondly, if you do run into this situation, you are better off seating your customers and explaining the situation. You may need to offer a complimentary appetizer, but at least you will keep their business.

We were hungry, so we left and went next door to Olive Garden. They were also busy, but immediately took us to a table. Part of their training for their managers is a policy called "No False Waits." This means if they have a table ready, they should be able to handle your party.

They were very busy and our waitress had a lot of tables. She quickly stopped by the table and introduced herself and let us know that she had a lot of tables that had been seated at the same time and she would be with us as soon as possible. She communicated the situation! We were fine with the short wait. At least we were seated and could enjoy spending time talking with friends. She eventually came to our table and did a great job taking care of us.

Remember: The number one customer turnoff is a long wait! This includes waiting in the entryway of a restaurant when you can see empty tables ready for you.

Sub-Contracting Challenges!

There are challenges associated with using a sub-contractor to deliver all or part of your services to the end customer. In the eye of the customer, the contractor individual or company represents you just as if you were doing the work yourself. This week I am struggling to have a projector repaired that belongs in our media room. I purchased the projector a little more than a year ago from Circuit City and I also purchased the extended warranty.

Over two weeks ago, the bulb went out on the projector. I immediately called the service line and they politely placed the order for the new bulb, letting me know it would arrive in 10 business days or less. After 8-9 days, I checked on the order only to find they were still trying to locate a bulb. (I could order a new one on their website and have it delivered the next day.)

After the 10th business day, there was still no bulb. I called and spent almost half an hour on the phone and web-chat session trying to get an estimated time for the delivery. That is when it happened. The Circuit City warranty person let me know that they had ordered the part from a third party parts distributor, Tiger Direct. He then said, "I don't know why they have not found the part. It is in their hands now and I can't do anything about it." He passed the buck to their vendor.

The problem is: I DID NOT BUY MY PROJECTOR AND WARRANTY FROM TIGER DIRECT!

The customer never wants to hear you blame your internal partner for a service delivery problem. As far as the customer is concerned, there is only one company involved: The organization from whom they purchased the product or service.

The same is true if you are a hotel or restaurant and hire an outside firm to handle your valet parking. Your guest does not make a distinction between the valet company and your hotel or restaurant. They are one and the same.

So, be careful when you choose a partner who will be responsible for delivering a service or interacting with YOUR customers. YOUR reputation is on the line!

Great Service Starts Within!

Before any organization can be great at external service, they have to learn how to deliver excellent service to each other within the company. When I have the opportunity to work with a new client, we almost always start with a focus on improving internal customer service. It is surprising how many individuals treat their co-workers one way and then flip a switch and turn on their customer service skills when dealing with someone from outside the organization.

If you are in a role such as accounting, HR, IT, or some other internally facing department, you play a critical role in your teammates being able to provide great service to your outside paying customer. For example, if someone who deals with your external customers receives a call from a customer who has a problem with an invoice. Imagine that the employee places a call to someone in accounting to look into the issue, and the accounting team member decides that because this in an internal request, they don't have to reply in a timely manner. What does that do to the other team member's ability to provide excellent service?

That outward facing employee may have the best intentions to respond to the customer quickly, but they are handcuffed. Yes, there must be mutual respect between departments, but the bottom line is that the internal departments exist to support those who interact with the paying customer.

The same concept applies to those who are in a leadership role. You have three primary purposes:

1. Develop the employees in your organization
2. Remove the roadblocks that prevent the front line employees from performing their jobs
3. Set the vision and overall direction for the company or department

A leader should view the employees and other leaders in their part of the organization as their "customers."

Great organizations develop a culture where internal and external customers are treated with the same amount of respect. The next time you have the opportunity to respond to an internal request, remember they are your customer!

You might as well smile!

As we all strive to deliver excellent customer service, there are going to be moments when the customer makes special, sometimes crazy requests. Unless the request is something completely out of bounds, we generally try to accommodate the customer and give them what they want. By doing so, you remove one possible reason they would turn to your competitor.

So if you are going to go ahead and give the customer what they ask for, why not capture the good will at the same time. On many occasions, employees give in to the customer, but then they make sure the customer knows that they are not happy about it.

Let me give you a couple of examples. Just this week I was on vacation with my family in Branson. My wife and I were enjoying ourselves walking in the Branson Landing area when we decided to grab a bite for dinner. We selected a Pizza / Gyro restaurant. I approached the counter and noticed how good the hot, fresh pizza looked. We ordered a piece of pepperoni and one with sausage. The girl behind the counter picked up a plate and picked the two pieces of pizza from trays that had been behind the hot, fresh ones. (I think they had been there for an hour.) I politely asked her if I could have a piece of the hot pepperoni instead. She gave me a less than pleasant look, and put the cold pizza back and gave me one from the hot pizza. She did not say another word as she handed me my pizza.

Contrast that to another experience later that same week. We had returned to a restaurant called Shorty & Smalls. (Great ribs!) We had a party of six and they seated us at a table next to the kitchen that did not have any view of the lake. There were plenty of other tables available with a great view, so I asked the hostess if we could move to another table. She immediately said, "Sure. Where would you like to sit?" She helped pull together two tables and moved our menus over from the other table. I'm sure she had a reason to seat us by the kitchen, most likely to balance out the load on their servers. She gave in to my request, but she did it with a smile!

If you plan on giving the customers what they want, then make the most of the overall experience. You never have anything to gain by letting them know you are not happy. (The customer generally does not care how you feel.) The entire experience can be ruined by a poor attitude, even if it just through your body language.

And they wonder why we can't stand the airlines???

I don't know about you, but I am tired of hearing about all the challenges being faced by the airlines. I know they are dealing with high fuel prices, but so is almost every other business.

They are responsible for the vast majority of their own problems. Some basic process improvement and a dose of normal everyday customer service would make a significant improvement to their bottom line.

Several months ago, I booked a one way flight on Mesa Air to Harrison, Arkansas to join the rest of my family in Branson. The kids are there at camp and my wife and I were planning on spending a few days together before picking them up. This evening (two days before my scheduled departure) I happened to call and confirm my flight. When the reservations agent looked into my flight she informed me that as of the end of June, they were no longer flying to this city.

When were they going to let me know???? Both my email address and phone number are on my reservation. If I had not called, they would have let me show up at the airport to find out my flight did not exist. At this late date, the price for flights to other area airports is outrageous.

Airlines: Stop complaining and fix your own problems! Business is tough, but if you treat your customers like you would expect to be treated, you will have a much higher chance at long term success.

Flexibility: The Tale of Two Pizzas

Flexibility! A key to developing customers who return! Recently, I had a pair of experiences that are a perfect illustration of this customer service secret.

My family and I were looking for an early dinner before returning to our church for normal Wednesday activities. There is a family owned pizza restaurant near our house in Frisco. We had been there before and really enjoyed their pizza. It was early, so we were just about the only patrons there.

My son happens to be a fan of cheese pizza and does not care for all of the other toppings. My wife and I prefer a good pepperoni pizza. We approached the counter to place our order. The cook took his place just behind the counter and started flipping the dough, trying to convince us of their Italian authenticity. Politely, I told the young lady working the register, (I’ll call her Rose), that I wanted one large pizza. I asked if I could have three fourths of the pizza with pepperoni and one fourth with extra cheese. (I also let her know that I was fine paying for an entire one ingredient pizza.)

Rose looked at me and said that they could only split the ingredients on a half pizza. (The cook was listening to the conversation and was anxious to start building our order.) I restated that I really wanted only a couple of the slices to be extra cheese for my son. I asked, “Can’t you just tell the cook, (who was listening to the whole conversation), to leave off the pepperoni on a couple of slices?”

Her response was: “No. Our system won’t allow us to do that and it will confuse the cook.”

After an additional unpleasant exchange of comments, we cancelled our order and left the restaurant.

Several weeks later, we were in the same position on a Wednesday night and my wife was hungry for a good pizza. She had seen another local pizza restaurant called “Sal’s” in Plano and we decided to give it a try.

We walked in and were greeted by a friendly young man. (Let’s call him Tony.) It was early and we were again the only people in the place. Tony escorted us to our table and gave us the menu. He took our drink order and then the moment of truth happened…

I asked Tony if it would be possible to get a large pizza with three fourths pepperoni and one fourth just extra cheese. Tony smiled and said, “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

The experience and pizza were both great and we have recommended Sal’s many times. We would choose their pizza whenever we are hungry for that type of food.

What is the difference between these two experiences?

It is their flexibility and willingness to give the customer what they want. Organizations need standards, policies, and rules to operate efficiently, but it is critical that all employees utilize some basic common sense when dealing with customer requests. Your goal should be to satisfy 100% of needs for each customer, within reason. Also, don’t let your computer system dictate what you can deliver to your customer. Learn to deal with exceptions!

This same concept applies to businesses outside of the hospitality industry. Employees should be trained to ask the question: “How can I satisfy this request?” instead of simply answering, “No, we do not do that.” Many new product and service ideas come from organizations that listen to their customers and make every attempt to tailor their offering to the specific need. Chances are there are other customers who want the same thing, but have been conditioned not to ask.

Flexibility! Giving your customers exactly what they want will eliminate their desire to go to your competitor! Take a few minutes and review your systems and policies and ask yourself, “How would my employees deal with a request that is slightly different than what we are used to hearing?” Develop a culture of flexibility and your organization will be one step closer to delivering world class customer service.

Look out for those with special needs

I just finished having lunch at a new Arby's restaurant near my home in Frisco. While I was eating, a lady came in who had a sling supporting her right arm. She placed her order went to fill her drink. The young worker behind the counter put her order on a tray and immediately walked around the counter and helped the customer find a seat.

I was impressed that this high school age worker saw the need and acted without being asked. Every employee should be on the lookout for a customer with special needs. This could be a disabled individual, an elderly customer, or a mom with two or three young kids. Put yourself in their position and anticipate the need.