Shifting Your Customers’ Expectations
I went into a “hamburger restaurant� the other day. Not the usual mcChains but a different concept. You still placed your order at the front, but then you took a number and found a seat. A few moments later a server brought you your food. While I was engaged in conversation with my friend the server interupted us to inquire if we needed any condiments. A few moments later we were interupted to ask if we wanted desert or more tea. As we got up to take our trays to the trash, a server grabbed the trays from us.This was not a sit down and get served kind of place, but a hybrid of fast food vs full service. Frankly, it made me uneasy, and I am not likely to frequent that particular place often. Why? Because it doesn’t meet my expectations of what a hamburger restaurant should be. Their concept works well in the mexican or italian food restaurant themes but not for hamburgers.
Perhaps my expectations of what a hybrid restaurant should be, has not been changed yet. Perhaps it is poor execution of what the servers should and should not do. In all fairness the food was good, reasonably priced, and delivered in a timely manner. I was left pondering whether I should tip or not. Is a buck on the table good enough, or should I leave 20% of the purchase price I paid at the upfront register. If I paid by credit card, am I expected to leave a cash tip? Is a $5 hybrid store hamburger better than a chain $3 hamburger or as good as an $8+tip full service burger?
Photo by R@punseLL.
Ikey Benney on February 22nd, 2006 7:13 pm
Hello:
Sometimes it can be confusing how much to tip for a service or if you’re required to tip at all.
So, I have a policy to tip wherever I go and receive any service, regardless whether or not the service was satisfactory or not: Post Office, bank, gas Station, grocery stores, supermarkets, Hamburger joints, Kentucky fried chicken, Italian restaurant, Mexican restaurant, Taco Bell, you name it, and I tip.
The first time I do this, I notice surprises the on the face of some of the recipients and I figured that was because they don’t get tipped and were not expecting one from me!
This may not be what everyone may want to do, but it is my way of spreading goodwill and showing appreciation.
If I received a bad service, perhaps by giving a tip, next time when they see me, they may wish to improve!
Having this policy of tipping everywhere has helped me because when I go back to those places, they recognize me instantly and most treat me better.
And sometimes when I don’t go to some of these places for a while, the next time they see me, they tell me they missed me!
Usually that gives me a good feeling!
Ikey Benney
http://maychic.com/may5.htm
biz-story blog » Blog Archive » Weekend recap - What I read this week on May 27th, 2006 4:43 am
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