A tale of two experiences…

Over the years on this blog, I have certainly made no secret of my love for Morton’s. I repeatedly mention I find it hard to beat their incredible combination of friendly servers, terrific menu selection, and excellent food.

However, one night this past week as I was traveling on business, my family and I had two wildly different experiences at two different Morton’s. It’s a great example to all of us in business that how we treat customers at one location impacts our business everywhere else.

While Tammy and Faron were here at home in Indianapolis, I was on the road in Orlando. Tammy was greeted at the door of the local Morton’s, welcomed like an old friend, and Faron was made to feel like the “man of the evening” — even though he’s 15 years old.

(It was a big night for him. Anytime a young man who is a freshman in high school dons a suit and tie and takes his mother out for a elegant dinner, it’s probably going to be an evening he will remember for a long time! Tammy was extraordinarily impressed that the team at Morton’s in Indianapolis made a point to make it a special evening for BOTH of them!)

On the other hand, there was no one at the front when I entered the Orlando Morton’s. Finally when I was approached, I simply mentioned I was alone and would prefer to eat at the bar. Taking my seat, I was given a menu and placed my order for the special at Morton’s is currently running — a combination of filet mignon and lobster tail.

Perhaps it’s because I am the son of a butcher, I have always preferred my steaks done medium-well. However, I hate spending the money it takes to purchase a filet, only to find they have sliced such a great cut of steak in half. I always tell them not to “butterfly” the steak. I understand it will take longer to prepare…however I do not want to rush an extraordinary meal.

When my meal was delivered, the steak was medium-rare. I requested they return it to the grill. When the manager came over, I mentioned that I happen to know many of his colleagues that are managers of Morton’s — as I was the keynote speaker for their annual general manager’s conference a couple of years ago. I even mentioned that I am a great admirer of their management team in Chicago. The manager dismissed that information and told me he had not attended that meeting, as his first conference was just this last year. He put my steak on a plate and took it back to the kitchen.

There seems to me to be a problem with handling it in that manner. If you eat your lobster and vegetables, you have finished most of your meal by the time the steak arrives. If you wait on your steak to be returned, by then the other portions of your meal are cold.

A waiter brought my steak back several minutes later, and did not wait to see if this time it had been properly prepared. Only the waitress behind the bar offered any kind of meager apology — and I never saw the manager again, nor was given his name throughout the entire process. He never shook my hand or thanked me for my patience…or my business. He just disappeared.

After finishing my meal, the waitress offered to provide me a complementary after-dinner drink. Interestingly, she did not mention whether it was because the meal had not been delivered to their customary standards, or if it was just her way of saying “thanks” for someone purchasing a higher priced meal, and two nice glasses of wine while sitting at her bar.

I finished my Bailey’s, signed the check, and stood to go. Not one person said “thank you” or asked if I was satisfied with my experience of the evening.

However — back in Indianapolis — when Tammy finished her meal, she and Faron were asked by both the waiter and the manager on duty if they were pleased, and if there was anything else they could do to ensure their total satisfaction.

Imagine what my phone conversation with my wife was like that evening. She was ecstatic about the dinner she had shared with her son — and I was highly disappointed by the evening I experienced — even though we had both dined at the very same restaurant chain.

Customers do not want you to “make it right.” We want you to GET it right!

If you don’t get it right…we want to know — beyond any doubt — that it matters to you that the experience was soiled. Only when we believe you CARE will your efforts at recovery have any traction.

Consider this: What if my Orlando experience would have been my first trip to Morton’s? I would probably not dine at the one in Indianapolis. However, because of the MANY superior experiences that I’ve had at Morton’s from Indianapolis to Manhattan, from San Francisco to Miami, there’s no doubt I will return.

What’s most important, though, is that every business must realize that each customer counts. Every customer has to be treated as if each visit to your location will determine not only that individual customer’s future expenditures, but the very viability of your enterprise.

If you fail to receive an “ultimate customer experience” the first time… why would you seek to inflict more pain upon yourself with a second trip?

Are you and your team doing everything you can to get it right for your customers?