Customer Service is ALSO Marketing!

September 16, 2008

Hello All:

       As I write this, I’m currently on vacation in Virginia Beach, VA and am having a very relaxing and fun time.  I had an experience at a restaurant that bears out the above title.

       I was having breakfast with my wife at a small restaurant yesterday morning and what I thought was going to be a miserable experience turned out to be a great marketing lesson.  There were only two people working (aside from the cook) and one of the workers was either manning the cash register or delivering food.  The other waiter had to wait on at least 8 different tables while I was there.

       I must admit it took a considerably long time to get waited on when we first got there but from then on watching this guy “work the room” was sheer genius.  Even though he was overwhelmed with tables (they definitely were understaffed on this particular morning), he made everyone in that restaurant feel like they were the only one there.  He checked on all of us, made sure we had our drinks and apologized for making us wait.  He also brought our check in a timely manner as well.  Despite being obviously overworked he made sure ALL of us were taken care of—-and with a smile to boot!

       What’s the lesson here?  It’s not just enough to continually market your goods or services but treat the customer well when they do buy so that they will continue to come back and buy again.  Great customer service or, as some call it, the “wow factor” can be one of the greatest tools in your marketing arsenal.

       There are probably dozens upon dozens of restaurants in Virginia Beach.  I, personally, like to try different ones when I visit a city.  Do you know where I ate breakfast again this morning?  You guessed it, the same restaurant.  If you treat me right, I’ll keep comin’ back again and again!

Until next time,

Tim

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