Saturday, June 12  

Honesty the best policy

Building customer loyalty

Hello. I'm up bright and early today trying to finish off a few things in the office before the day really starts.

Building customer loyalty in business is difficult. It's about trust and it's about providing value. Something happened at dinner last night that illustrates this perfectly well.

Mel and I went out with 4 friends to a Thai restaurant last night. After a wonderful feast of great food, wine and good company the bill came. $165. It was my turn to shout so I've pulled out $200 and paid, and said "Keep the change."

The Head Waiter soon came over and said "You have given us too much. The tip is too big!"

Now I don't know about you, but I had 2 thoughts:

1. We had a good night and a $35 was a reasonable tip.
2. Is this guy crazy?? He's saying the tip was too much??!

It turns out I had inadvertently given him $250 - an $85 tip. He gave me $50 back and thanked me for the tip.

Now that's pretty impressive. He could have very easily assumed that the tip was $85 and pocketed it. Or he could have assumed I made an error and kept the money.

He did the only thing he could

But because his restaurant is about giving great value, and it's about honesty and decency, he did the only thing he could: he did what he thought was right.

Good on him. He now has a customer for life, a strong advocate for his restaurant and.......I can't actually think of a third thing, but things sound so much better in 3's!

Most of us

Most of us are in business for the long haul. And to be successful we have to give our clients great value. We have to do the right thing. We have to build our brand for long term growth.

Have an enjoyable weekend. We have a friend's 40th birthday party tonight. I'll be sure to have a beer for you.

Brendon