Welcome to Minute with Mallon!

Something I Taught: (and Learned!)

Last spring, Sandy and I took a trip to Charleston, SC for a 4-day vacation. We love to do these little romantic getaways. The whole purpose of the trip was to have time for the two of us, experience some great restaurants, walk on the beach, and just enjoy each other's company.

I'm a foodie, so one thing I do before any vacation is check out the restaurant options, so that we have a nice list of places I know will be memorable and enjoyable.

We were staying at the Hyatt Hotel on King Street. On the last evening, we decided to try a place right down the street called O-Ku Thai. We both love Thai food, so it seemed like the perfect option for dinner.

My first thought as we walked in was that the place was looked amazing! Spacious, well-designed, and beautifully decorated.

The hostess greeted us immediately with a huge smile. The restaurant had just opened a few minutes before, so she asked us to pick a table anywhere we wanted. This is so unlike most places, where staff will give you "the look" if you ask to sit at any table other than the one they want you to sit at.

The waiter arrived a few seconds later with a smile and a friendly welcome. Not scripted at all, just a genuine conversation about what our needs were at that moment.

Without going into too many details, the appetizers and then the entrees were delicious! They arrived quickly, and were delivered by happy, smiling people! I mean, genuinely happy! And the food was amazing! Each item we ordered was off the chart! 🤤

I was becoming more and more blown away…💥

I was in the restaurant business for 26 years, so when I go to a restaurant my attention to detail is very high compared to most people. I even notice things like burnt out lightbulbs, and the amount of hand soap in the bathroom dispensers. 🤭 So I notice a lot, and what I was seeing blew me away. We'd been to several of the nicest restaurants in Charleston over the last several days, but nothing compared to what we were experiencing.

During dinner, I'd noticed a gentleman walking through the restaurant. You could tell he was either the owner or the manager. He walked with purpose, spoke frequently with the staff and with guests at other tables, and seemed keenly aware of what was going on around him.

As he was walking by our table towards the end of our meal, I called him over and asked if he was the manager. He said he was.

We spoke for several minutes. I told him how happy we were with every part of the experience, and pointed out some specific things that were especially impressive. Then I asked him if he had any suggestions for dessert. I said, "Hope you don't mind, but we're only here until tomorrow, so could you suggest a place close by that has dessert? Just to get another experience under our belt."

He didn't mind at all and told us that there was a Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams right down the street.

Sandy and I stayed for another ten minutes or so, paid the check, then decided to go to Jeni's.

As we were walking down the crowded sidewalk, I noticed the manager of the restaurant about 40 feet away walking towards us from the opposite direction. He had a big smile on his face. "Folks, it was such a pleasure meeting you tonight. So I wanted Jeni's to be on us tonight for you."

He handed us this:

Are you kidding me!

I thanked him profusely! He would have none of it, and told us he hoped we had a great evening.

When we got to Jeni's, we found out it was a $25 gift certificate! WHAT??? 😱

We found a dish that was 10 scoops of whatever types of ice cream we wanted. And for only $21!

And we ate it all!!!

We walked back to the hotel in a hazy sugar coma to enjoy the rest of a beautiful evening.

So why am I telling you this?

4 Points:

The restaurant manager and his staff had a deep focus on the customer's experience. We didn’t just happen to catch them on a good night. It was apparent that they continually lived for this type of service and quality.
The manager asked us questions about our experience. It wasn't just a quick conversation; he was making sure to get details about our experience that could be passed on to the staff.
The manager was generous. His gesture of gifting a dessert by providing a gift certificate to another establishment showcased to me that they genuinely appreciate their guests’ patronage.
He created a memorable experience. As I write this, it's 9 months after the experience happened. 9 months! And I'm still blown away. So I'm sharing this with hundreds of people. Do you think that kind of word of mouth is good for business???

So my question for you is this:
No matter what type of business you own, run, or work in, how can you empower your team members to consistently deliver exceptional customer experiences, create memorable moments, and go above and beyond to leave a lasting impression on your guests?

Something to Ponder:

Customer service shouldn't just be a department, it should be the entire company.

- Tony Hsieh (former CEO of Zappos)

Something I Saw:

Want to share this issue of the newsletter via text, social media, or email? Just copy and paste this link: RobertMallon.com/Newsletter

Hope you have an incredible week!

Robert

Minute With Mallon: Surprising Acts of Kindness: Elevating Customer Service