Customer Experience - The Sincera Way

The Seven Seas Restaurant Dining "Experience"

Recently we "celebrated" my wife's 40th birthday at the Seven Seas Restaurant in Mandan, North Dakota with our two children. 

This particular restaurant has been a favorite of my wife's.  Over the years, we have enjoyed many good meals at The Seven Seas - usually during a celebration or special occasion.  We celebrated 20 plus years ago for prom, stayed at the hotel on our wedding night (had the first breakfast of our marriage), and celebrated Christmas there with co-workers.  There is history there for our family. 

My wife loves The Seven Seas.  One of the reasons my wife wanted to eat there on her birthday is because they provide a nice birthday cake.  It is a nice way to celebrate...

When we arrived, we were the only people there.  The food was ok to good.  This time, the prices seemed high for what we received.  The waitress was attentive and pleasant. 

When we were finished eating our main course, I shared with the waitress that it was my wife's birthday and that we would like the birthday cake.  What happened next shocked me.

Before I share the rest of the story, please allow me to share what an opportunity it is to find out that it is someone's birthday...  One's birthday is typically very special to them.  Therefore, whoever thought about the concept of providing a birthday cake on one's birthday at this restaurant is/was brilliant.  Lots of positive emotion potential here.  Positive emotions leads to a higher likelihood of repeat business. 

Back to the story...  I asked about getting a birthday cake for my wife...  The response from the waitress was an immediate and pleasant, "We are not supposed to push desserts right now because it is Valentine's Day weekend."  For the record, it was not Valentine's Day.  It was two days before Valentine's Day.

Wait a moment.  The Seven Seas is supposed to be a fine dining experience and desserts are not part of the menu?  We were confused.  "Shocked" does not describe how we felt.  After the waitress left, my wife sadly said, "It isn't my fault I was born so close to Valentine's Day."

There was a time when it was a real treat to eat at this restaurant.  The Seven Seas defined "fine dining" in the area.  Unfortunately, that time has passed.  Perhaps "fine dining" today really means, "hurry up, eat your food, and leave so that we may turn the table."  If that is the case, the price should have been less than half what it was...

What happened next was perhaps even more fascinating.  I went to the checkout counter to pay.  The person behind the counter noticed that we seemed upset and said something to the effect, "Everything must not have gone well."  I did not say anything back.  I was still in disbelief. 

A missed opportunity to make it right.

After departing, I called the restaurant manager.  An apology was made and that was it.  The manager acknowledged the "Valentine's Day no push on dessert policy".  No offer was made to make it right.  We spent a good deal of money on the meal that was in my opinion damaged greatly.  I then called the hotel general manager.  She acknowledged that the temporary "no push on dessert policy" had backfired.  She offered to make it right and took my name and number.  That was several days ago.  No word yet. 

Another missed opportunity to make it right.

What went wrong?

It is difficult to say exactly what one thing went "wrong" that lead to this Customer Service situation.  If I were the management, I would want to understand how something like this could have happened.  What "mindset" lead to this happening in the first place?  More importantly, how does one make sure this does not happen again in the future?

My analysis follows...

From my experience it takes three strong "elements" working together to create a powerful Customer Experience - The Right Talent, Systems, and Culture.

The Right Talent - Without the right "type" of people, the Customer Experience will never be what it could be.  The waitress did a pretty good job.  She was attentive and sincere.  She seemed to really care.  She was doing what she was told to do.  One cannot fault the waitress in this situation.

The Right Systems - Without a systematic approach, the Customer Experience will vary from time to time and person to person.  For the most part, the system worked.  However...  I think a strong part of the Customer Experience is the presentation of meal options that maximize enjoyment of the experience.  That did not happen.  We were not allowed to have dessert.  It was Valentine's Day weekend...

The Right Culture - Without the right culture that is carefully and continuously managed, the Customer Experience will likely be inconsistent.  If one is building the Customer Mindset that your restaurant is a "fine dining experience" one does not cut corners on Valentine's Day or any day for that matter.  The Culture of the organization is set by the leadership.  All problems "start at the head".  In my opinion, management "leadership" set the tone for this to happen.  Management violated the culture of the restaurant in this case by encouraging the wait staff to refrain from offering desserts in order to deal with the anticipated heavy Valentine's Day traffic.

Whether you are a restaurant, ski resort, airline, or a hospital, there are lessons to be learned here. 

Customer Service Recommendations

1. Decide what you really are. Are you a fine dining experience or just another restaurant? I am not passing judgment. Just be what you say you are.
2. Be consistent. Whatever you say you are - be it - consistently.
3. Maintain integrity.  If you are unable to be who you are when you are exceedingly busy, cut back.  Do not "trade" who you are for making more money delivering something you are not. 
4. Recover quickly. Things do go wrong. It happens. Expectations are missed. It is life. It is what one does about the non-optimal Customer Experiences that matters. Recovery is an opportunity.

Next time I believe we will eat at Paradiso where the "chips are free" and "dinner is extra".

Furniture Store Customer Service Issues

My wife and I recently splurged on a new bedroom set with a "serious mattress".  We spent a LOT of money (at least it was a lot to us).  The furniture is made of hickory and came with a few cracks (wood splits) and a couple of dents and dings.  We did not know about the issues until the furniture was in our bedroom.  Due to the difficulty of the delivery people getting the furniture in the house, we chose to keep the furniture and work out the details with the funiture store.

Oh...  And they damaged a wall corner getting the furniture up the stairway.

Our stress has been a bit high to say the least.

It is an interesting thing to review the events that transpired that cause one to say, "I think we should step away..." 

The sales person said the furniture was manufactured by Amish people and the reality is the furniture has the name "Amish" in it but nearest I can tell, no Amish folks touched it.  I could be wrong - but I am pretty sure the furniture was imported from Taiwan.  How do I know that?  There are stickers on the back of each piece that say, "Made in Taiwan".  I wonder if Amish people live in Taiwan... 

This particular furniture store delivery team is similar to the cable company.  They promised delivery between the hours of 11 am and 1 pm.  Then they did not make the appointment on time.  Wait.  Our cable company actually made their appointment on time... 

While some of the damage issues were potentially caused by the furniture manufacturer, some were the result of storage and handling. 

Quick point...  I really believe the Customer Experience can be greatly enhanced by "correcting" the mindset of the Customer.  Right now our mindset may be encapsulated by the following questions:

• Will we be taken care of?

• When they say, "We will take care of you, is it like the way they have taken care of us thus far?"

• Do they really care about our needs?

• Are we just another Customer to them?

Thus far, we have been told we will be taken care of.  Yet, the furniture store waited for us to take digital pictures and we have had to call them to find out what is going on.  They should be calling us and they should have come out to our home. 

What are we to assume?  No one has come to our home to inspect the furniture and take the pictures themselves.  We are in the "dark".  When Customers are left "in the dark" - they create the stories that fit the situation - in other words - they go negative.

Naturally our mindset is beginning to slide now.  Our willingness to negotiate is diminishing.  We want the quality furniture we purchased.  Nothing more, nothing less.

What should have happened or should be happening...

• Tell the truth.  While the furniture is definitely high quality, it was not likely touched by Amish people.  We would have bought it anyways.  Just tell the truth.

• The furniture should have arrived when they said it would arrive - not a second later than promised.

• The store manager or sales manager should have come to our home immediately to inspect the damage and address our concerns.  That would have said, "We really do care and your concerns are our top priority."  Actions should match the words.

• The digital pictures should not have been our responsibility.  Someone should have come out with a digital camera and taken the pictures the way we would have taken them.  We did not create this problem, therefore, we should not be inconvenienced and we should not be doing their job for them.  Actions should match the words.

• We should be getting periodic updates.  We should not be calling the store to find out what is happening next.  We should be kept up-to-date without calling the store to find out what is happening.  Actions should match the words.

• They should send out someone to repair our wall corner damage or arrange to have it repaired.  Actions should match the words.

Customer service failures happen.  Studies have shown that a poor Customer Experience may actually be recovered in such a manner that the Customer actually feels better about the organization.

That remains to be seen.