How Sunday lunch changed my life... (sort of)

We recently visited a small farm cafe near us for Sunday lunch. Lets be clear, this is my most favourite meal, I can't emphasise enough how much I love it.

We couldn't have been more excited, having eaten there before we knew it was going to be AMAZING. Except, it wasn't. Cutting a long story short, the gravy was translucent, resembling the liquid that collects at the bottom of your George Foreman (yum!). Worse still, it had saturated the ENTIRE meal. To illustrate this nightmare scenario further, think of a gorgeous Yorkshire pudding which has absorbed so much liquid, it now resembles a sponge. You get the picture. Having already waited 40 minutes for our food, we were in no mood for this. After requesting thicker gravy and nobody reappearing after 10 minutes, my husband handed the plate back to the waiter. They quickly resurfaced and offered us both new meals which we accepted - did I mention we were hangry? Within 5 minutes our new and infinitely improved meals had arrived.. oh god.. what a difference.. I'm still dreaming about those roasties...

Anyway, I thought I'd share this rather long-winded story because when we got to the till, not only had they removed all the drinks from our bill but both of our meals as well and couldn't have been more apologetic. It completely changed the situation for us, going from a "day ruined" (yes, we can get a little dramatic when it comes to food), to a brilliant experience all because of how our complaint was handled. And that's the key, HOW a situation is handled, whether it be negative, or in this case positive, can be the difference between a customer who will return and one who won't!

This got me thinking...

What is it about our experiences as consumers that ultimately forms our final opinion about a business?

Prior to being offered the second dish, we categorically stated we would NEVER eat there again. We had been there many times before, just not for Sunday lunch, but for some subconscious reason, we threw ALL of those positive experiences out of the proverbial window.

So what does this mean for businesses?

It can take decades to build a good customer service reputation for your brand, especially when your brand is in a noisy market. Even then you must ensure you maintain high standards and go above and beyond to avoid the dreaded "we no longer want to do business with your company" conversation.

Sounds like a lot doesn't it?

One negative experience is all it takes to damage all that hard work you have spent building your brand from the down up. One, negative, experience.

A risk worth taking? I think not...

Below is an image I think cuts through my waffle and explains very succinctly what I'm on about!

Who knew Sunday lunch could be so thought-provoking?