I recently had an experience I want to share with you.  It could have turned out badly, but I want to share with you the way the problem was handled.

The week before Christmas I was visiting my daughter in California and we decided to have lunch in one of her favorite restaurants.  It is called, “the Grill on the Alley” and is located in Westlake Village, California. 

My daughter ordered a salad, and my wife and I ordered a chicken pot pie.  When they brought it over, my wife noticed a white string in the dough on the top of the meal.  I called the waitress over, told her about the string, and explained to her that this often happens if the chef uses the same towel to cover the meal while they are baking the top part.  (Of course, I got this information from my wife.)  They then brought over another freshly cooked chicken pot pie. 

It could have ended there but it didn’t.  The manager, Quin Anderson, came over to our table and apologized about the mishap and offered us complimentary deserts, which we declined.

When they brought the bill over to me, they had only charged us for one Chicken Pot Pie. This was the surprising part, since they had already brought us a new pie. 

As you know, “stuff” happens, no matter how good your intentions, how well you train, or how well you prepare.  So train your staff how to handle problems when they occur.

Obviously this restaurant had done so.  The waitress got the manager and he immediately tried to set things right.  When we turned down the dessert, he wanted to make sure that somehow we were “compensated” for the inconvenience.  So he went a step further and removed the charge for the meal. 

He was determined that we walk away with a good experience of his restaurant.

There is a good lesson here…no matter what the customer says when things go wrong, make sure that they leave you with an experience that makes them want to come back.  Don’t listen to the words that “everything is ok”.  Instead, create a good experience around what happened. The good experience is what will create a lifelong cutomer and grow your business through word of mouth.

If you are ever in Westlake Village, I recommend you visit the restaurant (www.thegrill.com ).   They also have a wonderful dinner menu. 

So, what is one of the memorable experiences you have had where you recommended a business because of how they handled a problem? Tell us in the comment section below.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, Customer Retention, customer satisfaction, lifelong customer, word of mouth

When I started my first company, it was a struggle.

Over the years I realized how difficult it was to create a customer, so I decided that I wanted to create companies that would keep customers longer and have them spend more with me. This way they would spend more money with me. I became very successful because of the relationship I built with my customers and I treated them all as dear friends.

After 5 years of doing this, I wondered why I was putting all the time and effort into building these companies. After some “quiet time” I realized it was because I had a “passion” for what I was doing. There were times I couldn’t wait to get into my office.

What is your passion?

You must find it if you don’t know what it is.

It will keep you motivated and keep you going in the bad times. We all dream, so it will keep your dreams alive and keep you on track in order to accomplish your goals.

There is an old saying, “without a driving passion, you will become one of the “95% group.” Those are individuals without dreams, ambitions, and goals.

I’d like to offer a suggestion…

Right now, this minute, list the 10 things you have always wanted more of. Then rank them in order of personal passion to you. Review that list and look for the one that jumps out at you and gets you in the gut. That’s the one that will change your entire life.

I promise you that when you find your driving passion, everything in your life will start happening faster and faster.

Now, let’s get to your customer’s “why”…

Why do your customers purchase from you? It could be because of the great service you give, the great product you offer, or it could be a multitude of things. Whatever it is, you must find out why they purchase from you.

Once you know why, your job becomes about how to satisfy that "why" in a way that gets your customers to be passionate about doing business with you.

This is probably something new for you to try. But trust me, when you create a passion in your customer for doing business with you, you will have created an advocate for your business and services. Passionate customers will do business with you over and over and will refer everyone they know to you.

So your objective in dealing with your customers is to create passion in them for what you do.

When you are passionate and your customers are passionate, can you think of a better way to do business?

Let me hear your ideas about this.

Technorati Tags: customer experience, customer loyalty, Customer Retention, customer satisfaction

Many of us go thru our daily activities, and find others that help us along the way. But in the hectic daily activity, we forget to say thank you to those that help us.

When people spread your message or share your name with others, thank them. Do this publicly and as generously as possible.

Individuals need to be noticed and appreciated for the things they do. Thank them for sharing your name and message with others and you will positively reinforce them to do much more of this. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of influence.

Nurture it everywhere you can.

I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have recommended other business owners to my website and I hope they also have thanked you for the opportunity to receive the information that can help them get more customers and grow their business.

Technorati Tags: thank you