Business cards for waiters?

I went to the Olive Garden this evening with my parents and the waitress left the pictured card. It reads:

"It was my pleasure serving you today"

I think this is a great piece of marketing for the waitstaff. It gives them a tool to help build a personal relationship with clientele. It can help serve as a reminder for guests returning on a regular basis as to who their favorite server was.

The card also facilitates a more professional and personal relationship with the guest, which may result in bigger tips :D and regular guests.

It was brought to my attention that some diners may see these cards as insincere. They may also begin to question the cost of these cards and how it has been rolled into the menu prices. I think the relative cost per guest experience is negligible and that the expense is worthwhile. Even if the effect these cards have is on an unconscious level they are sure to enrich the service experience and at least for the time being serve to differentiate Olive Garden in the marketplace.

This would be an easy tactic to adapt to your organization. Even small businesses can use this strategy to help encourage a higher touch at the customer contact level. I have used OvernightPrints.com in the past to get business cards. For a relatively low cost you could purchase contact cards for your frontline staff to help encourage customers you already have to return, which may have more of a relative impact than advertising to potential customers who may never come in.

DC

Say my name, say my name....

Next time you are interacting with a client, try this simple trick: use their name. It sounds obvious and simple but it can have real impact in a retail/dinning experience.

When I was waiting tables to put myself through college the restaurants I worked for often employed "secret shoppers" in order to insure quality customer service. One of the aspects we were graded on was a warm goodbye. It is hard to overestimate the importance of a fond farewell in the customer service experience.

I was recently at a fast food restaurant drive through (it was a moment of weakness) and I was thanked, as I usually am, by the attendant. The difference was this time it felt like a warm valediction instead of a forced utterance. The part that blew me away was that the employee actually used my last name. This is such a simple trick, but one that I don't think enough people use.

Most of us now pay with credit or bank cards with our names on them. It is so easy to read a name during an interaction. When I was working for tips this is something I would gladly do, as I had read once that it ingratiates yourself to the tipper. To have this done at a fast food restaurant blew me away. I will likely return to this location more often because of the generally more positive impression that I have. Again this is such a simple trick that should be employed more often. The wounds of standing in line could easily be resolved by a pleasant "thank you Mr. So-and-So" at the end of a retail experience. High-end retailers like Nordstrom do this why can't Target and Wal-mart?

So how would you implement a behavior shift like this? I think that you could always employ methods like secret shoppers but the real challenge is to integrate this behavior into your culture. During morning meetings and interactions it is up to the leaders of an organization to set the standard. Develop a script for yourself and stick to it. Try thanking your employees by name more often and in lieu of simple good byes and see if you don't notice a change in how they interact with you, each other, and the clientele.

The Beer Summit

In my opinion few indigestibles have as interesting a history as beer. Beer has been enjoyed by Pharaohs and Kings. Even our founding father's were beer drinkers. George Washington had a brewhouse at Mount Vernon. Many of our Presidents have been beer drinkers right through to Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama undoubtedly knows that beer can serve as a tool to lubricate uneasy conversations, and as such he invited Harvard Professor Henry Gates and Cambridge, Mass., Police Sgt. James Crowley over during their 15 minutes, for a beer. Mr Gates is the gentleman who you may recall was arrested for apparently breaking into his own house last week. This Beer Summit has sparked a dialogue about race relations in this country. Many questions have arisen regarding racial profiling, police harassment and whether Obama is really our "post racial" president. I'm going to leave those topics to other blogs, my thoughts are focused on the beer.

It was released in advance by the Whitehouse Press Secretary that Gates would enjoy a Red Stripe, Crowley a Blue Moon and Obama a Bud Light (which was originally reported to be a Bud and then changed). These choices in beers have actually resulted in some heated discussions of late. All three beers are products of large foreign brewers. Red Stripe is a product of Jamaica but the parent company is British, Blue Moon despite some tricky labeling is not Belgian it is Canadian. Bud Light however could be thought of as Belgian as it is now the product of InBev.

I'll disregard the choices of Gates and Cowley as largely apolitical but a little inappropriately stereotypical for such an occasion. I am however disappointed in Mr. Obama's choice. I understand that it likely wasn't even his choice, he has handlers and political image artists that probably make the decision for him, but I think it was a poor one.

By choosing a Bud Light, he is appealing to the lowest common denominator. Which I guess is what you do in a democracy. He chose the most popular beer, when he could have opened us up to something new. Something sophisticated. Something truly domestic. He could have elevated our paletes as he has the dialogue in this country. I could see our previous President as a Bud Light man but not Barack. I bet at home, if he drinks beer it is not a Bud Light. I would wager Barack is likely a Hieneken man at times, but sipping from that green bottle in public would be political suicide. Some have joked that TsingTao would have been an appropriate choice as China holds the note to a significant portion of our debt. I could also see Barack drinking some exotic micro-brew which would have sent the press into hysterics.

I personally would have liked Mr. O to choose a Sam Adams. NPR had a great interview with Sam Adam's founder Jim Koch on this subject that is worth a listen. I think by choosing a quintessentially American beer Barack would have been sending a great "buy American" message. Also it could have opened a lot of Bud Light drinkers to a more sophisticated beer drinking experience.

Too often do we suffer mediocrity just because it is common.

DC

It's National Cheesecake Day!

I know it's late notice but today is: National Cheesecake Day. Now I can already assume that you knew this, as it was circled on your calendar. You have likely been planning for months to celebrate this most sacred of holidays with your loved ones. You have probably picked out an outfit, maybe worked out a little more often and prepared a small speech to share as you and your guests reflect quietly on this solemn occasion.


Or maybe like me you find made up holidays hilarious and you will poke fun at them at any opportunity.

In the interest of full disclosure I worked for the Factory for a few years and really enjoyed my time there. This is a great marketing tactic for the CAKE. They have created a non-Holiday to promote their restaurant and the kick off of their newest flavour: Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake. Beyond this CCF will be donating $.25 to Feeding America for every slice of said cake for the next 12 months.

I can't speak to how good the new cake is, but let's face it: if it is from the Cheesecake Factory, it has to be good. What I am more interested in is how CCF has found an opportunity to promote themselves while giving back to the community. I think this is a strategy that will increasingly become the norm as younger, more "issue oriented" consumers enter the marketplace. Rather than appealing to greed and offering say a diamond ring baked into 5 random cheesecakes (that would be a great promotion, but could make for an awkward date) they have found a more socially concious way of promoting themselves.

The way I found out about this particular promotion was through Facebook. CCF eschews traditional advertising instead choosing to rely on word of mouth. What better way to promote word of mouth than Facebook? I think again this is a trend that is not going away and we will be seeing Facebook get used more and more as a promotional tool, for better or worse.

Despite many Americans cutting back on the frequency of dining out, and some scathing news filler stories about how restaurants like CCF are the cause of our expanding waistlines, the company has been doing well of late. They have made some smart changes to the menu, offering some healthier alternatives and with continued smart promotions like, National Cheesecake Day, I have a feeling they will be around for a while.

DC

What's in a name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II,ii, 1-2)

I decided to call this blog "Ring Bell for Service" after the sign you commonly see at Inns and Auto Body Shops. I've done so with a sense of irony as, it is both a sign and a sentiment that I hate. I think that customer service in our society is in decline. I believe that we all live as consumers in this culture and that if we have an open dialogue about how to be better consumers we can have a positive effect on the service environment (I'm sure this will be a recurring topic in this blog)

I don't intend this blog to strictly focus on customer service. There will likely be a lot of different posts on here ranging from comments on current events, and product reviews to musings about life and funny anecdotes. In the coming days I plan to try to come up with some convention for making posts easier to identify by their titles etc. I'll keep you posted.

I guess I could have called this blog anything really, thankfully Blogger has few restrictions and with creative spelling we can call ourselves just about whatever we want :) I chose this name because it speaks to me right now, and it should be easy to remember. The tone and content of the blog will not be restricted though so whether this was called RBfS or DCs Blog it is still going to be an exploration of topics that interest me (and I hope my followers) and an evolving product.

I plan on having a long journey ahead of me, I hope you will join me.
DC

Everything has to have a beginning...

Few things are as intimidating to an artist or author as a blank page. Don't get me wrong, it is thrilling to look at an empty canvass and think of all the wonderful possibilities ahead but that first brush stroke is the second hardest (The hardest stroke is obviously the last one because you have to make the decision that something is completed). I've been staring at a blank computer screen for a while now and feel the same sense of hesitation I do when I create anything. There is usually doubt initially. Maybe fear. It is like the small pit in my stomach I may get just before I give a presentation to a crowded room.

The sense of hesitation to create something is a feeling I have come to accept and even love. It is the sense of pain philosophers describe as necessary to experience pleasure. I feel like it is a notification of reaching the tipping point (which is also the title of an excellent book by Malcolm Gladwell and an equally good album by The Roots). The tipping point is that point in creation where like a roller coaster reaching the apex of its ascension you are filled with the most potential energy. Soon I will be gliding effortlessly through creative expression and public communication through this blog but for now it is all potential.

You may be asking "So what will RBfS be about?". I think I'll leave that unanswered for now, suffice it to say this will be like any other blog, a place for me to communicate my ideas in a public and hopefully interactive forum. I welcome feedback and envision this one day as a place where people can freely share their thoughts and opinions on topics of interest.

Thanks for reading,
DC