Good evening, Team! It’s Saturday!

Pardon the late post, I did not prepare well enough for a Friday morning blast.

Anne and I have a few places we go to enjoy time together. There’s a little steak place that has a terrific vegetarian menu (if you know to ask for it) that we enjoy going to maybe once every three to four months. The happy hour on the weekend suits us well. The chill in the air, a booth for just us, some soup and our selection…and we are set!

What we enjoy most about this place is not the well-made drinks or the presentation, temperature or taste of their outstanding food…it’s the customer service.  It’s an experience with a lingering feeling. We are made to feel special in anticipation, while we are there and after we leave. Today, I tried to show some appreciation beyond a promise of a return visit. Our waitress, Pascal, was delighted when I called her by her name. The manager with a stylish shave head was a bit surprised when I showed more enthusiasm than he did, and he’s high energy, and shook his hand while reassuring him how good of a job he’s doing.

What I took away from this enjoyable respite from the chill, the wind and the crowds was a full stomach, a full heart and a bunch of questions:

•“How do we show up?” 

•“What can I share with my coworkers, business partners, and colleagues that might get them more engaged, more aware and more excited about how we leave our customers feeling?”

•”Is doing a good job enough?”

•”This place has competition with more name recognition, more experienced staff, a fancier menu – but we haven’t been there in a long time. Why not?”

Customer service.

I will be thinking of ways we can make our customers feel like they’ve had a positive experience. As a colleague shared recently as we spent time in a booth at a local conference, “We want them to like us!” It never hurts to have that brought to the top of mind.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric