Well, today life changed at the Red Robin in Turlock. He just called me from the restaurant to say that his server, Brandi, sent someone across the street to buy him a Pepsi! This has never happened before and it made our day! Thank you, Brandi, and thank you, Red Robin, for allowing an atmosphere of freedom for your staff to exceed customers’ expectations.

He’s still at lunch, but I can assure you, he will be leaving her a nice big tip!

This is the story of the three groomers I contacted for Candy’s first wash & fluff. They’re in various stages of the customer satisfaction scale.

I was very patient with Groomer A, attached to a local vet. I called. Left a message. No reply. Called. No reply. Called. No reply. Rinse & repeat for six weeks. Meanwhile Candy is now quite beige and shaggy and Groomer A is now a zero on the scale.

Groomer B is a pet store chain. Efficient. Options. Big staff. Had an opening for Candy on the same day. Great. An hour after I dropped her off, they called to say they couldn’t get her out of the crate to wash her. Something about barking and charging the cage door. I trekked down there and got her out amid some loud noise like a jet taking off in the doggie storage room. Hmm. No wonder she seems upset. An hour or two later … “Hi, Mrs. Conway? We can’t get Candy out of the crate.” Hmm. They don’t fluff right after they wash? Trek #3. Got her out and came back an hour or so later on trek #4 to pick her up. They did offer an express service next time – no crating for an additional fee. A month later I got a voice mail message, seeing if Candy was ready for her next wash & fluff. Nice idea, but a little too late. Another zero. I’ll never go back there.

Groomer C is a small shop that looks like a house. Cute sign. On the first call, Judy explained her credentials and what they offer for dogs. Said to bring her right in, they could finish her by 5. I got there at 1. They oohed and aahed over how cute she was and commiserated with me about my prior bad experiences. About 2 pm I got a call. My heart sank as I’m thinking “They can’t get her out of the crate either.’ Imagine my surprise when they said she was all done. In one hour! I think I’m a customer for life! Thanks, Two Paws Up! (Now all they need is a Web site, but that’s another topic for another post)

Bottom line?

Don’t make a customer beg you. Unless you’re rolling in customers and don’t really need more anyway. In that case, you should be writing this post! Most customers won’t put up with it anyway and will go somewhere else. Call them back promptly. Or even better, be available when they call.

All the procedures and protocols for efficient service won’t help you keep your customers if you or your staff can’t handle the job.

Friendly, personal service that goes beyond their expectations will delight your customers and make them want to do business with you. And better yet, they’ll talk about you to their friends.

That’s what you want, isn’t it? And if not, why not?