Building the customer experience a nickel at a time.

When our daughter was a toddler she had a favorite doll that accompanied her everywhere she went. This stuffed friend was made of soft green fabric and was appropriately named Baby G because of her green color.  Baby G was the best friend any child could ask for. She was always ready to play and was there by our daughter’s side each night when it was time for bed. The two were inseparable.

On a visit to a local restaurant we placed our daughter in the high chair which had become part of our daily routine. Baby G took her normal place in the seat next to her. After receiving our drinks my wife and I discussed the never ending to-do list for the day while our daughter chatted away with Baby G. While waiting for our food to arrive our daughter, like kids often do, spilled her milk and began to cry. As we cleaned the mess from the table (fortunately she had finished most of the milk) our waitress came to our table to help clean and to get another drink for our daughter. We were appreciative of the offer and she was off to the kitchen while we tried to comfort our child.

In short time our waitress returned with a new cup of milk for our daughter and had another cup, with lid and straw, in her other hand. With a smile on her face she gave us the cup of milk for our daughter and took the other cup to Baby G. We didn’t notice at first but tape had been placed on the sides of that cup. She carefully placed Baby G’s hands on the tape allowing Baby G to “hold her own” cup. Needless to say our daughter quickly forgot about the drink and our meal was great.

This simple act of thoughtfulness (and five cents worth of supplies) by our customer experience activist disguised as a waitress left a lasting impression on us. We have since frequented that particular restaurant for over 10 years and continue to recommend it to countless friends and relatives. Talk about a return on investment. No amount of paid advertising could generate this level of return.

It is often the little things we do that leave a lasting impression on our customers. A passing smile, a friendly greeting or simply taking the time to answer a question can mean the difference between a one visit customer and a customer for life. As customer experience advocates we understand this concept and look for opportunities to create these wow moments.