Last night I had dinner at my local Lai Lai Garden Restaurant. It's in the neighborhood and I've been going there on Wednesday night quite regularly. The magic of Wednesday night is the dollar sushi menu: a pre-selected list that will cost one dollar per piece. I like the deal for two reasons: (1) it keeps me aware of how many pieces I order; (2) the list is extensive enough to offer variety at a reasonable price so I can order one or two pieces in the more expensive price range.
Lai Lai Garden has a nice sign posted by the front door where they have been advertising the Wednesday special for as long as I can remember. The sign was still there last night -- I noticed because I know where it is and I already know about the deal. The restaurant trained me and other customers to expect the dollar sushi on Wednesday. So in I went and sat down to order. Except, there was no dollar sushi last night: "No special on Valentine's day," said the waiter.
I looked around, the restaurant was not crowded, the people sitting at other tables were not wearing fancy outfits -- it could have been because of the snow and ice outside. There were no fresh roses on the tables to indicate it was a special occasion; everything in the environment and staff seemed to indicate it was just another Wednesday. Except for according to the waiter, it wasn't.
Over the time it has been in the area, this restaurant has worked hard to establish a customer base as every restaurant does. People learning about the dollar sushi night start bringing in friends on other nights because they got to know the place and like the sushi, even though the regular price is on the high side. The story the restaurant owners had constructed and taught customers provided a different experience last night.
By deciding to change the rules they created a temporary upset in the plans of regular customers. We've always done it this way, but now we have an exclusion. Want to know who benefits by a sudden change in direction? Nobody.
The customers learn about the change too late to walk out on a frigid night, so they order a little less because they have come in with a dollar figure and a certain experience in mind. That was the story you told them. They eat less, but they remember more. As they settle the bill and walk out they will remember what it felt like not to have their expectations met.
The restaurant doesn't make more money because now people order less. And the long-term effect may be the loss of a few customers. Remember that those are the people who come to eat there and expect the special treatment because you taught them that: it was your brand's promise.
My weekly post on customer conversation at FC Expert talks about an experience with a brand. The promise that wasn't kept wasn't a hit to the appetite, but it was equally disappointing to the wallet. Why chase customers away?
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UPDATE: For a Valentine Special Podcast link to Anna Farmery's at The Engaging Brand.
Valerie, very nice illustration! Now let's make it personal.
Since we know we are ALL our own brand (we DO know that, don't we?), what is it that people are expecting of us that we may have failed to deliver? Or where have we exceeded that expectation?
Yikes! They'll remember THAT, too!
Posted by: Robert Hruzek | February 15, 2007 at 11:23 AM
Good point, Robert. I believe it is always personal, we are human and whether we are customers or not we should remember that the way we behave *and* what we communicate both speak to our brand. So we set up expectations through what we do and what we say. However it is how we make people feel that sticks with them.
The waiter knows me; I go there often. He could have offered to honor the Wednesday deal -- I always order more when I order a-la-carte anyway. I was one of the few regulars in the restaurant last night... yet I felt like a stranger.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | February 15, 2007 at 11:45 AM
A bad brand experience is difficult to bounce back from and makes the need for conversation with a brand all the more important. I always try to stress with clients that marketing channels and customer touchpoints are not the same thing. A marketing channel can set up a promise or expectation, but a touch point (or the sum of many) fulfills it. Or not.
Brands that don't deliver better figure out the art and science of conversation because they'll need it in this ever competative market.
Posted by: David Armano | February 15, 2007 at 06:55 PM
Hi Valeria,
I've been doing some observational research on this very topic. (read: I am paying more attention to things...)
I experienced an airline upholding their brand promise on Valentine's Day. I was visiting our restaurant group in Dallas. Needing to be back for a special dinner with my wife, I decided to fly with Sun Country Airlines instead of the captive airline, Northwest. Living in Minneapolis, it feels as if we have little choice.
Sun Country promises a variety of service perks. They 100% delivered. And for less per ticket than the legacy carriers. I posted the entire story on my blog should anyone care to learn more.
Regular customers notice the details. Remember my coffee of choice? Know that I like no cuffs on my suit pants? Upholding a brand promise doesn't make a difference, it makes THE difference!
Posted by: Joe Raasch | February 16, 2007 at 09:56 AM
David -- you fleshed it out for me: the art and science of conversation. One can do a thousand things right and yet fail on the one experience and story that goes wrong. If we engage in a continuous conversation with our customers, disappointments will be easier to come back from.
Joe -- I love your definition of observational research. Paying attention is vital and yes, regular customers are (or should be) engaged in a continuous relationship with you. Why change that?
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | February 16, 2007 at 11:02 AM
Valeria,
Even though I have been in marketing, consulting and communications for9 35 years and often do customer service training, I am always surprised by stories such as this. It is easy to create great customer experiences. It is lazy and crazy not to.
Posted by: Lewis Green | February 16, 2007 at 11:26 AM
Lewis, the funny thing is that your comment to this post came in as I was posting linking to your previous comment... we really got a conversation going here!
You're right: creating a great customer experience is simple.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | February 16, 2007 at 02:00 PM