Whether the question is “do you want fries with that order” or “of course we can do that,” business has to be trained and reminded that the customer is always right! On a recent Monday night after working late, I was desperate for dinner! A ham sandwich would have been great. Nowhere to be found. Monday night is notoriously a dark night for many restaurants. Everywhere I went, I was turned away! That is, until I stumbled upon Crush, in Baltimore’s Belvedere Square. I arrived after a performance at the Creative Alliance and was indeed informed the kitchen was closed! At this point, after trying four or five places, I gave up, resigned to having a nightcap and heading home.
My friendly bartender came over and said she couldn’t promise anything from the kitchen but if I had my choice, what would I prefer? So appreciative and utterly famished, I told her “anything but the beet salad!” Yuck! Ten minutes, later she arrived, to my delight, with the tuna steak sandwich that was my first choice! To add to her stress, a friend was on her way to meet me and had the same hunger pains! Must have been the great theater!
Sheepishly – okay, not entirely – I asked my newfound friend if she could squeeze one more dish out of the kitchen in time for my friends arrival. What do you think? Absolutely! My friend’s dish appeared as she slid her legs under the table.
When we left, some 30 minutes later, the server walked away with a 50 percent tip and an abundance of accolades from my satiated friend and me.
Back to the preface of my comments: The answer is YES. Customers keep us in business. They are the reason we went into a service business. Without customers and clients, we collect unemployment checks, if we’re lucky! Don’t say, I can’t help you, we’re all out of that, it’s not my problem or fault. Say instead, “would you like fries with that order, ma’am?”
Remember why you became an entrepreneur! It’s all about your customer!