And They Tell Two Friends…

“Do you have a minute?” This is what my friend on the other end of the phone asked. “I’ve got a another customer service story for you.” I listened attentively as he told me all about his recent adventure at a local Chick-Fil-A.  In case you are not familiar with this brand, they are a restaurant chain and as you have most likely ascertained, they are not a burger joint.  (Insert smile here)

He told me that he had been watching a national news broadcast and saw a story about a great promotion happening at this restaurant.  The promotion was designed to bring new guests who would in turn return hopefully with others, thus increasing market share.  The promotion was straightforward and easy to comprehend.  If you bought a meal on a particular date, you could return before the end of that month and receive a free meal of equal value by simply presenting your receipt.  Sounds great, right?  My friend thought so, and he was off to Chick-Fil-A.  It pays to advertise!

After ordering, my friend waited for an explanation of the free meal offer.  When he did not receive it, he inquired.  He was informed that this particular franchise was not participating in this promotion. He was then turned over to a manager who was very polite and professional.  The manager invested much time to explain how this promotion was restricted to one particular restaurant in another part of the country and that the national news reported the story incorrectly.

As a means of resolving this unfortunate misunderstanding the manager offered my friend three coupons totaling around ten dollars worth of free food.  The promotional meal he felt entitled to would have only totaled about six dollars.

My perplexed friend attempted to help the manager by explaining to him that it was costing the restaurant more to offer ten dollars worth of coupons than to simply honor the original promotion to those who asked.  Not only that, but he had taken a considerable amount of time to explain the choice of non-participation in the promotion.  Additionally, he was creating a confrontational situation and potentially leaving his guests with unpleasant experiences.  It would have saved the restaurant both money and man-hours if they had simply decided to honor the promotion the way it had been advertised.  This would have been an excellent opportunity to impress his guests with their smiles and outstanding service. The manager said thank you but this is what they had decided to do.

My friend enjoyed his food but the experience left him shaking his head at the shortsightedness of this management decision.

Yes it pays to advertise but at the same time it is imperative to make certain our promotions are well executed.  Marketing professionals must clearly communicate to each department exactly what is being promoted and what the goal of each promotion happens to be. All possible scenarios need to be anticipated and discussed in advance.

In the case of Chick-Fil-A, it appears local management did not think their decision through.  They did not stop to think about how this would affect their guests.  They did not take the time to train their front line personnel during a pre-shift meeting how to effectively manage this new development.

They did not ask these critical questions: 

• How do we turn this miscommunication into a tremendous opportunity? 

• How will our decisions be perceived by our guests?

• How can we create a magical, seamless, positive experience for our guests?

Questions I often ask are:

• What keeps people from hearing helpful suggestions?

• Why do many people become defensive and often make excuses instead of accepting feedback, or at the very least taking those suggestions in for careful consideration?

Years ago I heard that when we argue for our limitations we often get to keep them. 

As an organization you may want to ask yourselves; “What limitations are we arguing for and how does it serve us to do so?”

If you would like more information about the many Guest Service, Leadership & Team Development services I provide please visit my web site at www.PsCompetitiveEdge.com.

There are two specific new outstanding development programs I wish to share with you. 

http://www.pscompetitiveedge.com/star.html

http://www.pscompetitiveedge.com/guru.html

Thank you for being open to new possibilities.

Until next time, continue to strive for excellence!

Peter Scott – Your Competitive Edge