Ever been so upset by poor customer service in a restaurant that you haven’t left a tip? We’ve all been there – slow service, a long wait, staff been stretched and hassled…. it’s so frustrating. Well, this is a story of a couple who experienced just that and gave their waiter a $100 tip!!!!
Makenzie and Steven Schultz waited 20 minutes for water, 40 minutes for a starter and over an hour for their main course at a restaurant in Iowa last week! However they recognised that it wasn’t their waiter’s fault and tipped him heavily for all his hard work!
“Our service tonight sucked. Took 20 minutes to get water, 40 minutes for an appetizer and over an hour for our entree. People all around us were making fun of the restaurant & how bad the service was. Yeah, it was pretty terrible. But, it was very obvious that the issue was being short staffed, not the server. He was running around like crazy and never acted annoyed with any table. At one point we counted he had 12 tables plus the bar. More than any one person could handle! They explained on their Facebook page.
Having both worked in restaurants before they recognised the stress that the waiter was under, and felt real sympathy for him!
Makenzie said she posted an image of her bill to remind people to “think of the entire situation before you judge” and to “always always always remember where you came from”. The post has gained nearly 1.5 million likes and been shared more than 180,000 times!
We often talk about Sales Prevention Officers as being the people who prevent customers from getting a great customer experience and it’s usually the front line staff who get blamed. The reality is that they are often just the ones at ‘the ‘sharp end’ and it’s not their fault!
- What causes ‘Sales Prevention Officers’ in your business?
- What’s stopping your people from creating ‘remarkable’ customer experiences?
- How can you remover them? (The ’causes’, not the people!)
Hint: Why not ask them what they think – but be ready for the answer – it could be you!
