What Is Exceptional Customer Service?
What is exceptional customer service?
It is making that one person in front of you feel, for those moments you are together, they are the most important person in the world. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do to make their day better. There’s nothing you would hold back. It’s all about the customers’ experience.
For nearly twenty years I’ve been saying in my speeches and writings that my litmus test is the answer to this one question:
Would a customer be willing to crawl naked over broken glass to return to your store? If not, you still have work to do.
If you think it is OK to remain silent to customers, huddle by the counter or for your customers to be dehumanized when calling your store, you probably won’t appreciate the story I’m about to share. For the rest of you, read on…
Cynthia and Tim Holliday’s daughter Faith wanted to go to Roy’s in Sarasota, Florida for her 9th birthday dinner. As Tim told me, “Not that we go there all the time, because it is on the pricey side, but that’s what she likes for her special day. Ok, I know it’s a chain, but they really run the place like it’s locally run, which they do a great job of. They keep electronic records of their customers, so they know how often they come in, what they like, and so on. They treat the kids great, as they get a free cheese tortilla with apples and carrots, shortly after they sit down.”
Now if you are not familiar with Roy’s Hawaaian Fusion restaurants, here is an overview from their About section of their website, “In Hawaii, there are two things of equal importance—food and the “aloha” spirit. The blending of these two dynamic principles is how Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion® Cuisine was born. European techniques and Asian cuisine meet Hawaiian hospitality to create a fine dining experience unlike any other. Where the “aloha” style of service comes straight from the heart, and where any occasion becomes an unforgettable evening.”
Exceptional
They had asked Tim when he made the reservation to email a picture to them, which is the picture you see there. They decorated the table with little sparkle “Happy Birthday” pieces, and they printed a little birthday story with her name in the front of the menus for our table.
Customer
They took her back into the kitchen, where she helped make a sushi roll, which ended up being complimentary.
Of course, they brought her a dessert that had “Happy Birthday” written on the plate in chocolate
Experience
And then the waiter took a picture of the three of them, which they printed and delivered to the table in a Roy’s picture frame.
Tim shared, “Memorable experience? Couldn’t be any better. Customer service? Unmatched.
This is the kind of thing we like to try and take and modify for use in our retail shop, so customers leave and want to talk about us to everyone they know.”
My take…
Smart marketing? Sure.
Authentic? Yep.
Memorable? Absolutely.
One could say, “It’s easier for a restaurant, they told them it was a birthday.” Well, true, but name one – one -restaurant who ever took that much initiative for a birthday of yours? I doubt any.
I share this story because when you are in the presence of exceptional customer experience, you know it. It is real. You are, for that one moment, like Faith, the most important person in that team at Roy’s eyes.
Brilliant and so true! We rarely eat out. Rarely does the food or service seem worth the time or money. I’ve never been to Roy’s, but believe me, after reading this, Roy’s will be where we go the next time we choose to eat out! I’ll be sharing this, thank you Bob!
I agree that Roy’s does a great job, and they are in the absolute minority of businesses that offer what I call ‘surprising customer service’. When you experience it, you know it, and you will want to trumpet it to the world! Of course, any good marketer knows that the way to a customer’s heart (and wallet) is through their kids!
Wow! How fabulous! I have seldom been to restaurants which care so much about their customers. But yes, my partner and I waltzed down to Roy’s a week ago and, with little surprise, we were treated to absolutely delightful customer service of the highest quality.
The second we walked in the door we were greeted by a young man with a warm, glowing smile that illuminated the entire restaurant. I felt instantly uplifted and we were then gracefully shown to our table to dine. After no more than one minute we were given water to quench our thirst. And, may I say with confidence, from that moment on, we knew we were in a restaurant bursting at the seams with an abundance of joy, love, tranquility, kindness and passion.