We found Max & Erma’s on a visit to Cincinnati and were blown away. Judging by the size of the Monday night crowd, we weren’t the only ones impressed. As part of his greeting, our server asked, “Is this your first time at Max & Erma’s?” We said yes, he thanked us for giving them a try, and we gave the exchange no further thought, other than to comment that Max & Erma had done a great job training.
After a killer meal, our check was delivered by a pleasant young woman who identified herself as an assistant manager, who verified that we were first-timers and surprised us with a guest comment card that
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cluded a $5 voucher for our next visit. What kind of response do you think they get on an offer like this?
As an aside, how much do you figure is the actual cost of the offer?
If the guest check average is a conservative $12.50 and the average party is two guests, then we are talking about a 20 percent discount on a
$25.00 check. Food cost is in the neighborhood of 35 percent, which leaves $11.25 to cover labor and overhead—plenty! Now figure that since there is a significant discount involved, the guests are likely to return much sooner than expected, which is itself an act of building a Max &
Erma’s habit.
But what if the guest experience had been a poor one? This same couple, expected to be monthly guests representing $300 in annual sales, could be salvaged simply because someone had the foresight to ask and was willing to risk $1.75. Talking to customers pays!
Comment cards are a little old-fashioned but still around because they are inexpensive and they work—but only if you do them right.
Effective guest comments require that . . .
• You ask the right guest.
• You ask the right questions and ask them right.
• There is evidence that you are listening.
• There is immediate response.
• The response comes from a high level.
• The response is individualized and personal.
Data without action is wasted information. If you are going to collect it, have the courage to act on it. Too often companies collect data, are frightened by it, and then decide to ignore it. Sometimes, they blame the data collection process, but more often they blame the consumers who are labeled as not understanding the concept.
The customer is never wrong, even though he or she may not be right. If the customer thinks it, it is so.
A small case in point is okra. This is just an opinion, but I think okra is proof that God has a sense of humor. “Well, the oysters turned out pretty good. Tomorrow I’ll make the vegetable equivalent.” (I’m not cer-tain of the scriptural reference.) The point is, I wouldn’t eat that stuff on a bet. But when we ran a fast-food fried chicken franchise, we sold that slimy vegetable by the boatload.
The customer is never wrong, even though he or she is not right.
If the customer says the store is too cold, it’s too cold. If the cus-tomer says, “I want to buy baggy pants so large it looks like I mugged my
84 W he n Cu stom ers Talk
father,” you’d better get them in stock. If the customer wants fried okra, give it to him! You can talk bad about customers when you write your first book! Whatever the customer wants, give it to him. Whatever the customer’s problem is, solve it for her. When the customer talks, listen respectfully.
The customer is never wrong, even though he or she may not be right.
But you won’t find out what the customer is thinking unless you ask, listen, act, and ask again.
Have a Coke and a . . .
Here’s another quick example, Coca-Cola Red Lounges. The for-ward thinkers at Coke noticed (that’s another way of listening) that fans of American Idol were intrigued when winners of a Coke-sponsored contest got to watch the final episode while sitting on the set’s “Red Couch.” It was an easy leap to imagine Coca-Cola customers of all stripes would enjoy the camaraderie of sharing an ice-cold Coke while lounging around with their friends.
Voila! Coca-Cola Red Lounges recently debuted in malls in Illinois and Los Angeles. Coke decided to hang with their young customers, who are notorious for hanging at the local mall. Equipped with custom-built furniture, plenty of exclusive audio and video programming, games, and more from FUSE, G4, Sony, and ESPN, the lounges serve as teen-tar-geted events and, not surprisingly, listening posts for a new generation of Coca-Cola customers.
Kohl’s has had their ear to the ground and discovered an untapped potential in a clothing line for tweens, that awkward age when young girls are about to leap directly from age 9 to age 29 with no steps in be-tween, when every 10-year-old wants to change her name to Brittany.
Kohl’s discovered that these girls want clothes their way, and we’re not talking only fashion. They want an experience that includes music and an integrated Web site, in addition to the customized line of apparel and accessories that has been branded everGirl. To seal the deal with the highly targeted market, an everGirl song and music video were re-leased by the all-girl band, PLAY.
And who do you suppose is Kohl’s partner? Nickelodeon, of course!
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