The SCORE 2014 Issue 2 2014 | Page 16

by jim sullivan

2014 Issue 2 |

the

SCORE

14

1. Fail to be a servant leader. What’s
happening on the inside of your store is
felt on the outside by our customers. Treat
your team the way you expect them to
treat your customers, and never treat a
customer better than you do an employee.

We need to spread energy everyday—
not take it away. 

2. Fail to focus. Most customer
complaints can be traced back to
disrespect or perceived disrespect. A
distracted, visibly irritated or stressed
team member or manager should not
be the first thing a customer experiences
when walking in our front door. After all,
they just drove past 10, 20, 30 or 40 other
restaurants to come to ours. The customer
is not an interruption of our job. The
customer is our job. 
3. Superficial Congeniality. Everyone
can detect the difference between genuine
and forced hospitality. What does “superficial congeniality”look like? Picture the
flight attendants on your last trip.  
4. Letting guests overhear managers
and crew discuss the daily activities of
running a restaurant. Customers should
never be within earshot of managers
telling team members to wipe down a
table, clean bathrooms or clock out. They
should never have to hear a manager
reprimanding an associate, or listen to a

manager
complaining
to another manager about business. Pull
those conversations away from your
customers. 

5. Not noticing a customer with a
problem. The most important real estate
in your restaurant is the 18 inches or so
between the top of the table and the top
of the customers head. Constantly scan
the guest’s body language in every section
for patrons who look like they need something or appear unhappy with their wings,
fries, beverage or experience.

6. Avoiding a customer with a
problem. This is much worse than not
noticing a problem in the first place.
Managers must be vigilant about resolving
a small problem before it becomes a
big one. The classic problem resolution

Photo ©istockphoto.com/BrianAJackson

W

hen plotting their
service strategy
and delivery, too
many operators,
managers and
trainers focus on
what they should“do”for their customer.
I think it’s more important to first focus
on what not to do. In other words, do you
know what you don’t know that you don’t
know? 
Most customers today define service
as “the absence of complaints,”not as
something a company “gives them.”Let’s
take a closer look at the fundamental fatal
flaws of service-giving as seen through the
customer’s lens. Eliminate these service
blunders, and you may no longer have
the need to“teach”service at all because
your customers will have a consistent
experience characterized by the absence of
complaints.