As you maybe aware “the race that stops a nation” happens on a Tuesday, a public holiday. However, in Melbourne, although the Monday is not an official public holiday, most of us take it off and go away for a lovely long weekend.
We choose to go away every year with the same three other couples. This year we are staying in a lovely little country town, which guarantees a few great days of profitable trading for businesses over that period.
Because of previous experience we decided to get up early for breakfast and go to a cafe we knew was just fantastic. Or, at least it was, the previous time we visited.
As you are probably aware, the most vital first impression for any business is that customers should be made to feel welcome.
The team member charged with doing this had obviously either not read the good book or had had a tough night previously.
Everything was a problem!
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For example, because it was a lovely day and we previously had been seated outside, we asked could we be seated outside.
“No,“ she snarled “We’re not serving out there today!”
I won’t continue with the general tenor of the day because I hate reporting bad examples, but within a couple of minutes we decided that she didn’t want to see us for breakfast and we left.
Now, I think she was probably merely a member of staff, so she didn’t care when $160 of business walked out the door.
But I do hope the owner, who was in the background, saw it out of the corner of her eye and decided to do something about it.
First of all, and I know that casual staff are hard to get, that team member should have been given a “one further strike and you’re out” piece of disciplinary advice. “Don’t ever do that again, and this is how you should cope with such a situation,” should have been the firm instruction she received.
And of course the owner should be setting the example so that all team members knew exactly what to do and how to make the dining public feel welcome.
So welcoming in fact that they wanted to come back and spend even more.
And when you only have a few opportunities for great profits in a small country town you’ve gotta maximise every possibility you get.
Letting money walk out the door is not the way any business owner will prematurely retire to the beaches of the world!
Excellent advice. Stupidity and poor service is unfortunately everywhere. There is a •Cobbler” service place that cut keys, repair watches, replace batteries etc at a Westfield Shopping Center nearby and for at least the last 3 months the very big clock at least 3 meters diameter above it to show they do watch repairs.has stopped. Every time I pass I notice and think “How could I trust them with a watch when they can’t even get their own big clock going?•. is it just me??