Marketing
Moments of
Magic & Misery
by Big Dave
Ostrander
Anything that touches the customer is a marketing issue. Anytime a
customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however
remote, is an opportunity to form an impression. These words are from a
book called Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon. Mr. Carlzon is the former
president of Scandinavian Airlines and turned around the failing company
to on of the most respected and profitable air carriers in the world.
Some examples of Moments of Truth in a pizzeria are:
- How the phone is answered.
- Drive by shooting of the exterior of your building.
- Parking lot and entrance appearance.
- The in person greeting and acknowledgement of the customer.
- Counter and staff appearance.
- Fun with pickups.
- Sweetest sound in the world. The sound of your name coming off
someone else's lips.
- Driver appearance and greeting of customers at the door.
- Driver 'Road Rage' vs. 'Random act of Kindness.'
- Customer complaints. In person or on the phone.
- Professionalism, comments and language of staff in presence of
customers.
These are the main 'Moments of Truth' in our pizzerias, and notice that
they are all controlled by people. Some moments are not controlled by
people, such as advertisements: (radio, newspaper, television, flyers,
etc.) Let's deal with the people to people moments we have control over.
Or think we have control over.
You and I have all seen the good, the bad and the ugly of customer
service. I wonder why we rarely experience unforgettable service. After
all, it's relatively free. I'm convinced that management has not trained
the staff to deliver even mediocre service. I'm convinced that staff
mimics management. I'm convinced that one outstanding, friendly
'Director of First Impressions' can be the primary reason that you have
a loyal customer base. On the flip side, I'm sure that you have people
working for you that turn off and turn off lots of customers a week.
I've met both kinds and we need to explore why we don't deliver or
receive 'Knock Your Socks Off' service at least once a day.
The key to the lock is, hire friendly. I can teach job skills and
systems but I can't teach friendly or positive attitude. I used to try
but it ended up frustrating me as well as the recipient of my
attentions. I concluded that certain people should explore careers
outside of customer service. They shouldn't be allowed to ruin your
business, one dumb move after another.
In my book, Big Bucks with Big Dave, I discussed my pre employment
screening process in the chapter that spells out How to Hire Eagles. We
decided to hire tough and then manage softly. By waiting for the new
hires that had 'The Right Stuff', we rarely had to deal with attitude.
With positive attitudes everywhere, we were able to give the crew that
'At Your Service' mentality. Sure, we had our share of meltdowns during
rushes and when under mega pressure times. These incidents were very
short lived and the kitchen comedians kicked in with humor to salvage
the moment.
I was very subtle in the messages I sent my crew. One of the messages
they received was stamped across every paycheck they ever got at Big
Dave's. The seven magic words I big red letters were 'A LOYAL CUSTOMER
MADE THIS PAYCHECK POSSIBLE.' A large banner at the customer order area
shouted; YOU'RE THE BOSS AT BIG DAVE'S. I coined little acronyms like:
SIN, Solve it Now, and TLC, Think like a customer. XOG, Hugs and Kisses,
Grandma, never say anything to a customer you wouldn't say to your
Grandma.
A few summers ago, I was in a pickle. I had a calendar conflict. I was
going to be on family vacation in Pennsylvania and then off to New
England for mini family reunions. Right in the middle of the 30-day
trip, I was committed to present a seminar back in Michigan. Not a big
deal unless you're camping on a mountaintop two hours from the Philly
airport, your flight leaves at 6 in the morning and your family is
sleeping in the motor home.
My sister-in-law lived in the area and told me there were little or zero
chances of getting a cab. She did call a friend who owned a limousine
service and arranged for me to be picked up at 3 a.m. and driven to the
airport and be waiting for me when I caught the red eye back to Philly
later that night. Sure enough, when I eased out of the camper and walked
to the gate of the campground the limo was there. My driver, Jeff,
greeted me warmly. I rode shotgun.
We started off. He said he brewed a fresh pot of coffee at home because
there were no restaurants open at this time in the morning for miles.
WOW! Then he asked me if I wanted cream (real I might add) or sugar. I
loved this guy, he was reading my mind. Then he asked me if I would care
for a piece of fresh fruit or a bagel. Then he asked me what kind of
music I liked. He had a complete CD library. We were running a little
behind and he reassured me he would make the airport with enough time to
catch my flight. We set up the radar detector and sped to downtown
Philadelphia. We got there with 20 minutes to spare.
My driver told me he would be picking me up at the arrival gate at 9pm
when I was due back. The rest of the day was fantastic. Rental car was
great. The seminar was one of my best. My return flight to Detroit was
good. Then I got the bad news. Our aircraft was grounded in Chicago with
mechanical problems. Normally this would be no big deal, but after
attempting to call the limo company and getting the recording, I got
nervous. I would not be arriving at 9pm; it was looking a lot like
midnight. I attempted to get the message to the limo company through my
sister-in-law and my wife back at the campground, but they couldn't find
a real live person in all of their calls. I was wondering how I was
going to arrange for ground transportation from the Philly airport to a
campground 100 miles to the west in the boonies, at midnight. This
situation was out of my control. After I deplaned in the City of
Brotherly Love, I walked out to the sidewalk and, you guessed it, Jeff
was waiting for me in the assigned place. I couldn't believe it. An
average employee would have determined that I was a no show and left. It
all pays the same. Not Jeff. He called the airline and found out my
flight was going to be delayed indefinitely. He kept on calling until he
got the real arrival time, and was there for me as promised. We were
both dog-tired. We would both be up for nearly 24 hours before the day
was done. It was my time to spring for the coffee.
On our long ride back I asked him why he went out of his way to meet me.
After all, I was 3 hours late. He said I was depending on him and he
couldn't let me down. He lived and practiced the Golden Rule. He added,
"The only reason I have a job is people like you who expect
extraordinary service, otherwise there are lots of other ways to get a
ride. All of them would be a lot cheaper." This was truly an
unforgettable Moment of Magic. He earned and got a lavish tip.
Recently, I experienced a moment of misery. My associate invited me to
dinner at quite possibly the most famous pizzeria in Southwest,
Michigan. This place is a little quirky by only offering one size and
very limited toppings, but I can deal with that. You can't knock success
and after 50 years and five locations, my hats are off to them. My
friend is a regular, we were greeted warmly, and our waitress Julie took
our order.
We ordered two 12" pizzas and some beverages. I ordered coffee with
cream. She brought our beverages and instead of cream, I got a packet of
dry coffee whitener. I hate coffee whitener. I have been known to pack
my own half & half in my luggage for road trips. I very politely
mentioned to my server that I would prefer milk or half & half. She
informed me that they didn't serve cream, half & half or milk with
coffee. Why not? She said, "It was against health department
regulations." I told her that I served in an advisory capacity
while on the Michigan Restaurant Association Board of Directors when the
entire state health code was rewritten and was absolutely sure that
their was no law or regulation that remotely resembled what she was
talking about. She then said that it was restaurant policy. I gave her
my best toothpaste ad smile and asked her to go to the walk in and pour
an ounce in a cup and bring it to me. She told me that there weren't any
liquid dairy products in the restaurant. I asked her to ask the
bartender for a little. I told her that they probably sold Kahlua &
Cream cocktails and I would really appreciate it. She told me no and if
I wanted to ask the bartender, go right ahead, but he would refuse me
also.
I was barely maintaining control, but got up and approached the bar. I
was sure Pat would oblige my simple request. I almost groveled. I said
please two times. He looked right in the eye and said, "I'm sorry.
I can't do that, company policy." I then asked him if I could buy a
Kahlua & Cream and hold the Kahlua. Again, I was refused. I told him
that I thought the experience was incredible and mentioned to him that I
would be sure to note all of the conversations and possibly include them
in an article I was preparing to write. He was unimpressed, and amused.
I was livid, returned to my booth to sulk and choke down the pizza with
cold black coffee.
My partner was embarrassed and tried to intercede in my behalf, asking
for the owner. He wasn't there. The more I thought about it the more I
relived that Moment of Misery.
When the transaction is over every customer subconsciously thinks and
says one of three things:
- Something Good
- Something Bad
- Nothing at all
What could this place have done to Redeem the experience? Broke the
stupid, callous, uncaring, ignorant company policy, and fetched me an
ounce of cream? I gave Julie and Pat multiple opportunities, and chances
to say yes. I don't blame them. They are just like our employees who
turn off our customers with company policy. I blame the person who pays
them and trains them to jerk customers around for no good reason.
How do you train your staff to serve your guests? How do control all of
your Moments of Truth? Are they really empowered and encouraged to use
common sense and do the right thing even if it costs you a dime? How do
you reward them for delivering Knock Your Socks off Service?
We are in a high touch, people to people business. It's so easy to say
yes but policy gets in the way every time. I urge you to examine every
policy you have and ditch all of them that could turn away customers for
life. We think that our pizza makes us different from our competition.
Our customers think different. They are hungry for Moments of Magic.
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