Although this story is about good customer service at a restaurant that I recently had with food, there are many takeaways that can be applied to the irrigation industry.
I am in love! Shhh, don’t tell my boyfriend. I’m in love with Seasons 52, a new restaurant that recently opened in Garden City.
“How can you fall in love with a restaurant Randi?” I don’t know, but they made it very easy to do!
I made a reservation for lunch for myself and a client. Let me start by commenting on how beautiful the restaurant was, from the decor to the music to the ambiance. When we arrived, the hostess escorted us to our table and quickly changed our white linen napkins to black ones. If you’ve ever seen me speak and heard me talk about a black napkin, you know that this is when the fireworks started for me. When a restaurant cares about the entire dining experience and not just the food, I’m smitten. Who wants to have a great meal and get up from the table to find white lint all over your lap?
Our waitress Julia came over and introduced herself and greeted me by name. That’s another wow for me. She asked my client and me if we had ever dined there before. When we told her this was our first time, she shared some history about the restaurant and began making recommendations on what to order. She frequently checked back during our meal to see if we needed anything. Julia was the friendliest and most genuine waitress I’ve ever had the pleasure of being served by.
After lunch, she presented us with the check and her business card! When’s the last time you received a business card from a waitress? She told us she is there every day for lunch and invited us to come back again.
Did anyone notice that I didn’t mention anything about the food? Of course a great restaurant experience includes delicious food. However, for me, the dining experience is not just about the food. It’s about everything that happens before, during and after the food! P.S. The food was fabulous and every item on the menu is fewer than 475 calories!
Here’s what they did right:
- Paid attention to the details (black napkin)
- Personalized my experience (used my name)
- Educated me (told me about the restaurant)
- Made recommendations (shared her favorites)
- Invited me back (with a smile)
You don’t have to be in the restaurant business to glean some tips on what YOU can do in your irrigation business to have your customers fall in love with you.
On the way out, I asked to speak with the manager. I wanted to know his secret for delivering a great dining experience. He told me that while of course they provide customer-service training to their employees (good investment), they take great pains to hire friendly people with good attitudes. Sounds like a winning recipe for success. I can’t wait to go back there. Lunch anyone?
Randi Busse is president of Workforce Development Group, and can be reached at 631-598-5598.