The Enemy of Loyalty

‘Your desserts!’

The waiter placed our perfectly presented puddings in front of us with a flourish.  They looked amazing!

So why did we refuse them and send them straight back untouched?

We were already customers.  We were having a lovely dinner. The starters had been great.

It’s just he’d missed one important thing…

The main courses.

However, the waiter was charming.

We knew he would be. Having already asked for the wine to be ‘very chilled’ and being served a warm bottle. The service and his reaction weren’t really surprising.

He’d replaced the bottle without any fuss, ‘No problem sir’.

Very charming… just not very good.

It was one of those evenings where we left feeling a little confused.

Did we have a good time? Yes.

Would we go back? No.

We couldn’t risk it. And with so much choice, why should we?

Inconsistency is the enemy of loyalty. 

Often the promise is much greater than the delivery.

Shops who spend half a million on the refurb and 50 pence on the staff training.

Companies who pay PR agencies to help them win awards. But couldn’t win a public vote.

Rail companies where good service is a lottery.

When I present my 5 Star Service Keynote I notice a slight discomfort in the audience when I talk about consistency.

It’s obvious, essential, but it’s not easy.

There are dozens of reasons why we need to be consistent for our customers and thousands of excuses why we aren’t.

I know it’s tough, but the rewards of building lasting loyalty make all the effort worthwhile.

Be Brilliant!

Michael

PS My only scheduled public event in 2018, ‘Beyond Brilliant’ is taking place in just a few weeks.  The three other speakers and I have created a list of 50 really cool things you’ll learn if you come along.  You can read them by clicking here.