Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

A best practice of great customer service is definitely in remembering that you’re mission is to provide service to the customer. The state of our economy is not based solely on businesses being built and selling product, but the experience consumers receive while they are spending their hard earned dollars. Service can make a world of a difference when making purchases and all other variables are constant.

I was enthused about stopping at TGIFriday’s for the 2 for 1 entree with a friend. My friend opted out, so in driving past an Applebee’s I decided to just stop there for something to go. I am not a huge friend to Applebee’s. Nothing against Applebee’s but this was what my friends and I considered a nice restaurant to dine at when we were teenagers. As an adult, it’s just not at the top of my favorite places to eat.

I walked in and went straight to the bar to order. The waitress was immediately pleasant, offering as much time as needed. I had a few bucks in my pocket and money on my credit card. I ordered a burger and fries, and paid with credit. As I placed my order and paid, she was speaking. Not wanting to be rude I didn’t want to interrupt her to tell her I didn’t include the tip because I would pay her with cash for a drink while I waited. After her seeing that I didn’t include a tip on my credit card slip, her attitude and professionalism never changed a beat. I finally ordered my drink, paid in cash and left her a few bucks for a tip. My food finally arrived and immediately examining the food I notice the fries were stale, and the onions were burned to a crisp. Clearly this similar meal I could have purchased from a drive thru for $6.00, or bought a sack of potatoes, package of ground beef & cheese, and a bottle of Boone’s Farm from the grocer for the same price to last 4 times as long. The waitress didn’t hesitate to making any accommodations necessary to ensure my meal was made just right and I was still having a pleasant experience. It was so natural and felt like more than her “just doing her job”. Since I had no more cash, I asked her to print me a new credit card slip and included an additional tip from my credit card.

Great customer service is experienced to me when the person providing is doing more than “JUST DOING THEIR JOB”.

“Hence, we define marketing as the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.” ( Tortora & Eubank (2010). Survey of Historic Costume, 5th Ed. Fairchild Books. P 6)