Avoiding the $6,000 Egg of Poor Customer Service
We all have customer service stories. Some are great experiences, the kind we love to share because it was truly a unique event where someone, almost unbelievably, went out of their way to do something special for you. And…we all have (probably more) stories of where the interaction went horribly wrong. Where it seemed almost impossible that the situation was occurring the way it was. Those moments where it seems as though common sense alone would not allow it to happen as it was.
The story of the $6,000 egg is one of those examples. This experience not only spurred an article, it turned into a website, book, and speaking engagements for the author. The basics of customer service should be easy, but this example demonstrates how it may not be as intuitive as everyone would like it to be. You can find the article on the 6000dollaregg website, or I have also linked a PDF version of the article for quick reference. Take a moment to read the experience and then continue below for some additional insights I have taken away from this.
I have used this story as the basis for several training and coaching sessions for my team. Several years ago, I incorporated this into my kickoff meetings I did with every district in the my region. I attended each of the District Manager meetings and presented this as part of our expectations for the year. Our mantra was to not have any $6,000 egg experiences in our stores for the year or ever again. I challenged each Store Manager to not only take the story back to their teams (we provided every store a PDF copy of the article to have every associate read) but to coach associates to take care of customers so as to avoid having a $6,000 egg in their store.
There is a common sense factor that should come into play at any level of associate when serving a customer. In the story, it is clear that no one understands the value or the simplicity of the situation. Everyone is focused on the immediate moment and the way the process is structured, not how it may impact the customers.
I asked, “As a manager, wouldn’t you rather be one egg short and throw away a waffle that probably costs you fifty cents to make than throw away a loyal customer who brings you $6,000 a year?” She said, “It’s our policy.”
Even when looking at the situation slightly differently, the manager is unable to grasp the simple solution of thinking outside the basic process of keeping eggs for the waffle special. I am also a firm believer that if the phrase ‘it's our policy’ is ever uttered, the situation and experience has just exploded on the customer. Meaning they will likely never shop your store again. While I understand why policies exist, I would recommend invoking them verbally at nearly all costs.
Empowered to say ‘yes’
I explained that I simply wanted a side order of an egg. She said, “We can’t do that.” I asked, “Why?” Her response was: “We only order a certain number of eggs per day, and we have to save them for our special waffle. If we don’t have the egg, we can’t sell one of our most popular dishes.” So I said, “So you can’t do it?” She said, “Nope.”
The first step in ensuring you can avoid your own $6,000 egg is to ensure that your team is empowered to say yes. Even if every associate would not be the final decision point, you could just as easily say that no one says ‘no.’ This story, while still not ideal, could have ended with the manager getting involved and saying, ‘sure we can make that happen for you.’ Even if she had to later figure out some other options, all of the ingredients (literally in this case) exist to satisfy a customer standing in front of you at that moment. But, if associates and leaders in your locations do not feel like they can make those types of choices, the default will be to stick to the process or policy.
Then, to our surprise, we stumbled upon a restaurant in the back of the store called Back Bay Tavern. We shared our experience with Sandee, their server. She shook her head and told us that their company creed is “We don’t say no here.”
Find solutions
I said, “You know what I would do if I were you? I’d send a busboy two hundred feet to the grocery store next door and buy half a dozen eggs. That might cost you a couple of bucks. You wouldn’t have to throw away a waffle, I’d have an egg, and you would make me one happy customer.” She said, “I can’t do that.” I laughed. “In the time we’ve spent arguing about this, someone could have been there and back.”
Beyond being empowered to say ‘yes’ to customers, managers and leaders need to be able to think outside the box for finding solutions. In this case, there was an obvious answer: go buy more eggs from the store. For almost any restaurant, this is an option. If you don’t have enough of something or don’t serve it, but it could be easily obtained and incorporated into the situation, then it makes sense to do it. I have read countless stories of where a customer orders a Coke as a drink, but because the restaurant serves Pepsi the customer changes their order to water or tea. The best of those stories end with someone making a ‘brave’ decision to walk next door or down the street and buying a Coke for the customer to have with their meal. Talk about an easy way to make a customer’s day and get them to remember you. And I just bet they will tell as many people as they can about the great service they received in your business.
We looked over their menu and asked if we could create our own pizza, a combination not on their menu. She picked up her pen, smiled, and said, “We don’t say no.” We got creative and ordered a bacon, cheese, garlic, and olive oil pizza, with a sunny-side up egg on top. It was amazing!
Teach the bigger picture
I said, “So a one-time visitor who orders a waffle for fifteen dollars is more important to you than a $6,000 customer who comes in at least four to six times a month, but for whom you can’t figure out how to get an egg?” Her response was: “We have to be able to serve the dishes we advertise, and we usually run out of the special ones. If we run out of eggs, we can’t serve the waffle.”
Many times our associates and even managers only see the immediate situation. They are not thinking of what that customer may represent over an extended period of time. Local stores or restaurants rely heavily on repeat and frequent visits. This situation was the perfect example, the couple lived nearby, went to this small restaurant frequently and over the course of time spent a lot of money. This was not about a $75 ticket for that day or even more the $2 egg that no one would sacrifice for the $6,000 (or a lot more) in future business. We cannot forget that as leaders, we need to continually show our teams the bigger picture. Any customer can represent a transaction (the moment) or a life-cycle (customer lifetime value). We need our teams to understand that lifetime value.
The great things about stories like this are they are easy to understand and will make sense to almost everyone. All of the players are identifiable - we can relate to the customer and his point of view. We can relate to the server's point of view. And we can understand the manager’s perspective. We can also easily remove ourselves from this situation and say, ‘of course I would take care of the customer.’ But the reality is, too often someone from the team ends up being the server or the manager from this story. It takes practice, coaching, and on-going training for the natural response to be ‘yes’ and ‘let’s find a solution.’
Avoid having a $6,000 egg in your store, restaurant, or business. Share this with your team and ask them for their insights and thoughts. How would they handle the situation? What are some real example that might (or have) happened in your environment? The author of the store put together some great customer service tips that are also easy to share with your team. You can Order the book from the website.
How will you avoid a $6,000 egg in your business?
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