As the customer leaves your business and takes the last bite, so to speak, will they be thinking about returning and recommending your business? What is your cone made of?
My wife and I spent a great day at the beach. The walk along the beach was awesome and the barbecue supper was delicious. As we went to leave Tatamagouche, we thought we would go to our favorite ice cream stop. What a great way to end the day, or so we thought.
I guess it was not the 12 year old girl that ruined the event for us, nor how the ice cream was placed on the cone. It was the old stale ice cream cone that nearly broke a tooth that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Previously, we have always had a good experience at the ice cream stop. Now as we headed down the road, the staleness of the hard cone was too much. We were too far down the road to turn back. What a bad taste in my mouth. What a bad way to leave Tatamagouche. I like Tatamagouche and the businesses there. The businesses there are working hard to offer the best products and services to their customers. This ice cream stop was dropping the ball big time by failing to deliver.
Maybe it was the July 1st holiday that depleted all the good cones? It’s hard to believe that an ice cream stop could have old cones period. They usually turn over their stock rather quickly. So where did these old stale cones come from?
So how can this experience relate to your business? In the speaking business, I was told you were as only as good as your last speaking gig. I am afraid that this holds true for business in general as well. When the customer encounters a “Fail” on your part, most just walk away; never to return. Only about 6% return to let you fix the problem. If I had found the problem sooner, I should have went back to the ice cream stop to share my experience and let them fix it.
As business owners, we need to make sure that we help our customers leave our businesses happy. It’s usually not that hard. The customer will usually give you a visual clue that things are not right. As business owners, we need to read our customers as they head out the door. If we have employees, they need to understand that they play a part in this process.
To have a strong business, we need to make sure that our customers are satisfied with our products and services. We need to make sure that the products and services we provide are top. One stale ice cream cone can send a customer away with a bad taste in their mouth. Using products and services that can fail easily is a risky way to do business; unless you are Walmart. They have a great return policy as best as I can tell. Don’t try to pass stale ice cream cones off on your customer though.
As a tourist area, when one business fails, it can reflect on the other businesses in that area. People can take a broad brush and paint the area in some cases. Since I have done business in Tatamagouche many times, I can verify that the businesses in Tatamagouche are great businesses. They are working hard to establish a great experience for those who visit there.
So make sure that you have plans in place so that your 12 year old does not grab the stale cone, and ruin someone’s day. Empower them to deliver great customer service and products. That last bite could leave a stale taste in your customers mouth. You want your customers walking away singing your praises. You can do this.
Jeff, this is an incredible post and right on the money!! Your experience with the ice cream cone is typical of how far too many customers experience the worst that a business has to offer. A rude customer service agent, lack of follow up, or just a bad attitude can ruin an otherwise stellar experience. I find it both interesting and somewhat commendable that you did NOT mention the ice cream store by name. Would “outing” them in this post have helped? Who’s to say. You did raise good points on how businesses fail their customers; many times in little ways.
@JohnLusher I wanted to use this post to help businesses learn John. The ice cream store shall remain unknown, since it would not benefit them or Tatamagouche to reveal who they are via a blog. I will speak to the owner next visit.
It is so important that businesses learn from the mistakes of others, and not repeat them. Thanks for the great remarks. ^Jeff