What is good service worth?

I don’t like going to the deli counter at the supermarket.

Not because I don’t like my local supermarket deli’s selection (it’s fine) or because I think their meats and cheeses are too expensive (they’re fine too, I suppose. I always get the same thing.) It’s because the service is so deplorable, and I hate waiting in line.

Supermarkets at some point apparently realized this, so they came up with the self-serve deli kiosk. It eliminates the need for human interaction for people who don’t want it. Tell me what you want, I’ll take care of it for you, pick it up whenever.

Yesterday, when I was at the supermarket, I used the deli kiosk, like I always do.

And the deli people got one of the items in my order wrong. So now, since there are other people waiting in line, I have to wait in line with them to get the food I actually ordered. So on top of not giving me what I asked for, you are forcing me to participate in a process I deliberately set out to avoid. Talk about a broken system. How do you suppose I, as a customer, was compensated for the time I lost and frustration I endured because of this ordeal?

If your answer was to discover when I got home that the other item in my order was just absolutely horribly prepared, you would be correct.

I don’t like going to Starbucks.

Not because I don’t think the drinks are good (I think they are) or because I don’t like what they ‘stand for’ (I don’t really pay that much mind.) I dislike it mostly because, for me, the cost of a drink at Starbucks isn’t worth what I get out of it.

Today, however, I discovered a Starbucks gift card buried in my wallet. And the first thing I could think of was how excited I was to be able to go into Starbucks and get a Peppermint Latte. Like it was some sort of privilege. Starbucks has chosen to ignore me with their marketing, and that’s fine, because nothing short of free coffee would get me in their stores. But when I am there, I am so overwhelmed with how positive the experience is, and how good it leaves me feeling, that I actively THINK about when the next time is I can feel that good again. All this has absolutely nothing to do with coffee. Talk about great marketing.

If I am paying money in exchange for you doing something for me, I have every expectation that you will do everything in your power to leave me as satisfied as I can conceivably be in the situation, regardless if it’s deli meat or gourmet coffee. Not because I’m worth it (you don’t know if I am or not) or because I feel entitled (even though, as a paying customer, I am) but because you (the service provider) don’t get to decide what satisfies me.

Maybe for me, the wait is worth it because you sliced my cracked pepper turkey* just the way I liked it, or if I know you’ll stagger the cheese slices so they don’t all become one bug clump in the fridge. Maybe the wait has turned me off so much even giving the turkey away wouldn’t satisfy me. Maybe I hate your coffee, but I’m only here because it’s free, so that cheerful smile you flash my way doesn’t register with me.

Wise people say ‘you only get one change to make a first impression.’ But what they don’t tell you is that, while you may have some control over WHAT that first impression is, you have no control over WHEN it is. Maybe I form my first impression the second I walk in the door. Maybe it’s when you ask me if I’m being helped. Maybe it’s whether or not you ask me how I like my turkey sliced. You have no way of knowing, so they only way to win is to do it all. Be perfect. Sure it’s not easy. But in a world where I can get my deli meats and my coffee wherever I want, why would I settle for anything less?

The worst thing we in the Service business can do is wait until our customers are unhappy to treat them with respect and tell them how important their business is to us. I’m not suggesting we water it down by saying it every time; this is just as bad, if not worse. When I was working for a notable local pharmacy retailer, we actually had to do this. When we answered the phone, we actually had to say, ‘Thank you for calling ----, where the customer comes first.’ Most of the time, people didn’t even hear us, and if they did, we said it so fast they didn’t understand us. This sort of hollow rote does not build goodwill with customers. Making them feel special, however… well, everyone likes to feel special.