Beautiful branding...disappointing experience!

A new restaurant in town has opened its third location...and I have been to all of them!

And...I have been disappointed at all three locations!

And that makes me very sad:(

This restaurant, with its roots in Dubai, opened its very first location in the U.S. right here in Lexington, Kentucky because the owners went to school at University of Kentucky.

The first time I went there, it was with a group of my girlfriends and we were delighted with the decor and environment as it was so different from anything we had ever seen.

Over the top use of velvet materials as luxurious curtains, coffee tables next to couches for lounging if you wanted that option, tassels everywhere, frames glued to the ceiling, bold colors...it was a creative delight!

Then came the experience.

The food was so so and what you would find in any restaurant, not the middle east exotic fare we expected. The wait times for food to arrive was long...and when breakfast was ordered, the food that came out was all wrong with toast being brought out 10 minutes before the rest of the meal, so it was cold and soggy by the time the meal came!

When we had a family reunion this past summer for my mother's 90th birthday, we decided to have breakfast there with a group of 15 people. It was absolutely the worst experience as we waited for nearly two hours to get our food! And with children too...can you even imagine?!

But...we forgave...and forgave...and forgave. We so loved the atmosphere and the crazy decor that we gave them many more chances than we normally would.

We appreciated the "branding" they did so well with the decor as it transported us to a fantasy land, but the customer experience fell flat!

After several of these poor experiences with the same problems over and over, we decided we most likely will not go back and most likely will not let them know our thoughts, but will quietly "slink away."

With bad customer service/experience, you’ll not only lose your chance to recover after a problem, you may not even find out a problem exists.

NOTE: As time has passed since I wrote this, they have ended up closing two of their three locations.

Helpscout.net says 50% who encounter a problem will not complain. YIKES!

Today's Tidbit is a cautionary tale.

From Helpscout.net, we learn some dangerous results of poor customer service and experience.

1. Increased sensitivity to price.

Who wants to pay for poor service or products? If you want to charge like a boutique business, you MUST offer over the top service, experience and products that reflect that. There is less tolerance for poor "anything" when you charge luxury prices.

2. Bad experience spreads like wildfire.

A 2014 survey conducted by American Express found that, “While 46% of American consumers say they always tell others about good service experiences, an even greater number say they talk about poor service experiences. In fact, 60% said they always share the bad ones, and they tell nearly three times as many people (an average of 21 people vs. 8 people).”

3. Expectations are higher.

I believe that to meet increased expectations, we must rise above, do more to create tighter relationships with our clients, provide a distinct and quality product and as Tim often says, "Create Gaps."

And, consistency in giving your clients an amazing experience is critical. In other words, DO NOT DISAPPOINT THEM...EVER!

This week, take an honest look at your business and evaluate it to make sure you aren't "leaking" clients who have left, but not said anything to you.

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Beautiful branding...disappointing experience!

A new restaurant in town has opened its third location...and I have been to all of them!

And...I have been disappointed at all three locations!

And that makes me very sad:(

This restaurant, with its roots in Dubai, opened its very first location in the U.S. right here in Lexington, Kentucky because the owners went to school at University of Kentucky.

The first time I went there, it was with a group of my girlfriends and we were delighted with the decor and environment as it was so different from anything we had ever seen.

Over the top use of velvet materials as luxurious curtains, coffee tables next to couches for lounging if you wanted that option, tassels everywhere, frames glued to the ceiling, bold colors...it was a creative delight!

Then came the experience.

When we had a family reunion this past summer for my mother's 90th birthday, we decided to have breakfast there with a group of 15 people. It was absolutely the worst experience as we waited for nearly two hours to get our food! And with children too...can you even imagine?!

But...we forgave...and forgave...and forgave. We so loved the atmosphere and the crazy decor that we gave them many more chances than we normally would.

We appreciated the "branding" they did so well with the decor as it transported us to a fantasy land, but the customer experience fell flat!

After several of these poor experiences with the same problems over and over, we decided we most likely will not go back and most likely will not let them know our thoughts, but will quietly "slink away."

With bad customer service/experience, you’ll not only lose your chance to recover after a problem, you may not even find out a problem exists.

NOTE: As time has passed since I wrote this, they have ended up closing two of their three locations.

Helpscout.net says 50% who encounter a problem will not complain. YIKES!

Today's Tidbit is a cautionary tale.

From Helpscout.net, we learn some dangerous results of poor customer service and experience.

1. Increased sensitivity to price.

Who wants to pay for poor service or products? If you want to charge like a boutique business, you MUST offer over the top service, experience and products that reflect that. There is less tolerance for poor "anything" when you charge luxury prices.

2. Bad experience spreads like wildfire.

3. Expectations are higher.

I believe that to meet increased expectations, we must rise above, do more to create tighter relationships with our clients, provide a distinct and quality product and as Tim often says, "Create Gaps."

And, consistency in giving your clients an amazing experience is critical. In other words, DO NOT DISAPPOINT THEM...EVER!

This week, take an honest look at your business and evaluate it to make sure you aren't "leaking" clients who have left, but not said anything to you.

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