Like pretty much everyone else out there, I’ve become an eagle-eyed bargain hunter in recent months. So when I heard about a wine bar near the office that occasionally runs $4 wine-by-the-glass specials, I was hooked.
It quickly became a regular stop in my restaurant repertoire, but after a bad experience with a dismissive waitress who rudely handled a question about the bill, the place lost its luster.
They still offer eye-popping happy hour deals there, I hear, but I haven’t been back.
Meanwhile, there’s another restaurant just blocks away where a glass of wine costs about $12.
I went there three times last week.
The difference is simple: The staff at the new place is consistently friendly, and I always leave feeling like I got my money’s worth—even if it’s a bit more than I might have spent elsewhere. Promotions and deals may get customers in the door once, but even the most seasoned discount seeker won’t return if the service isn’t up to snuff.
This restaurant does a number of other things right, of course: The food is delicious, the decor is sleek and the atmosphere is upbeat enough for cocktails with friends yet low-key enough for a business lunch. But it’s the way the staff treats customers that makes the restaurant stand out in my mind.
And perhaps more important, the staff knows not only how to keep diners happy when things are running smoothly, but also when things fall apart.
For example, when a friend recently waited nearly an hour for her food during a particularly chaotic lunch there, she left with no hard feelings because the manager was honest about the problems in the kitchen and gave her a card for a free entrée on a later visit. As a result, she was quick to suggest we go there at a later time.
To date, that free-entrée coupon, which she used for an $11 salad, has spurred us to spend an additional $150 in food and drinks over several visits. And we’re sure to go back again.
While it’s smart to offer specials and deals in these tough economic times, a traffic-driving promotion that comes at the expense of a great dining experience probably won’t lead to success in the long term. It’s takes very little to make a lasting impact with great service, whether it’s with a few dollars in free food or just a friendly smile. By encouraging staffers to reward loyal diners or handle service missteps with grace, operators can create good will among customers that will last long after specials and promotions are forgotten— [email protected]