Hungry for Better Service?
When I say, “marketing strategy” you may not instantly think of, “customer service” but you should.
When it comes to customer service, as a marketing professional it is painfully obvious to me that customer service in this country has taken a drastic downturn in the last five years or so.
Making a customer happy, whether an existing client or a new prospect is tantamount in the battle for customer loyalty yet customer service is seldom discussed in the marketing phase of creating a customer acquisition strategy.
TGI Fridays has taken big (but simple) step to improve customer service for their patrons. Along the lines of the call button on hospital bed or an airplane, Friday’s in Toms River, New Jersey has adopted the, “ESP System” to provide better service to their diners.
The ESP system consists of a wireless table top button that when pressed sends a signal to the tables assigned waiter / waitress. The server wears a wrist watch that vibrates and displays a smiley face and table number when the button on the receiver is pressed.
I was a featured conference speaker for the New Jersey Restaurant Association in 2007 at their annual conference and will be speaking there again on March 31st at their 2008 conference. When I spoke there in 07 I was able to sit with some of the restaurant owners and discuss the customer acquisition issues facing today’s restaurants as well as the marketing challenges they are experiencing in a competitive connected world.
I learned that the number one reason diners do not return to a restaurant is poor or slow service and the number one reason a diner frequents a restaurant for the first time is a result of word of mouth marketing from other satisfied customers.
I don’t know how much the ESP System costs but I can’t imagine it is an investment that would take much thought. First off this device solves two major issues facing a restaurant, it increases the level of service offered to a patron (this in and of itself is worth the price of admission). Second, while the device is new it gives diners something to talk about to other people once they leave the restaurant (look at me, I just saw the thing an hour ago and I’m already writing about it!).
In our busy and noisy world creating word of mouth marketing is difficult to say the least. Anything that can help spread the word and attract new people to your business deserves serious consideration and if it can help make a diners experience better that’s a slam dunk!
I have a few clients that run high end restaurants and I already know what their objection would be to the ESP System. They would say, “Our diners are affluent, they don’t want to see a device like that on the table in our restaurant, it cheapens the experience”. Personally, I would want a five star restaurant utilizing everything in their power to make my service the best it can be (and I already expect it to be better than a TGI Fridays), especially if I’m paying five star prices for a meal.
If you’re worried about the look of the device on the table, dress it up, wrap in jewels or put it in a crystal dish but be rest assured, as a diner, I’d appreciate the effort to make my service the best it could be. If anyone from ESP Systems is reading this you may want to create a high end unit for the upscale places so you can avoid the objections all together.
There is a Chili’s, Olive Garden, Applebee’s, Red Lobster, Longhorn, Outback and countless other dining choices within a three mile radius of my house. Guess which one I’ll be visiting next time my stomachs growling?
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February 11th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
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February 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I have to apologize to two prople that posted comments. I accidentally deleted two very good comments about customer service while I was deleting some spam. If you re-post I promise not to delete it (again).
February 12th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
What an innovative idea for a restaurant!
That is one of those ideas that you see and say to yourself “Ah why didn’t I think of that!”
Word of mouth marketing is driven by one thing only: remark-ability. All restaurants should get in on this innovation while it is still unique and different!
Great article Larry!
February 20th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Thank you for the intriguing post on the new ESP System! As a student at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, I have come to realize that success in any organization goes far beyond simply meeting the needs of your customers. Success means reaching beyond the status-quo, and doing things that haven’t been done before. Given the competition present today in any industry, especially the restaurant industry, businesses need to be exceeding expectations instead of simply meeting needs. With its new ESP System, TGI Fridays did just that.
Not only does this device improve customer service, but it sets this restaurant apart from all of its competition. I think it is especially important for TGI Fridays to differentiate itself because it does not offer anything different from competing chains and its consumer base is not unique. With this innovation, however, consumers can clearly see the company taking extra steps to serve them. And there is no doubt that this effort is noticed, and talked about. Regardless of the food quality, people will be talking about TGI Fridays because they have come up with something new, something that is designed to make a better dining experience. The word of mouth advertising the company will receive from this innovation is well worth whatever investment they made to implement it.
I would also like to comment on another one of your points, which is the fact that customer service is generally not considered part of a company’s marketing strategy. I definitely agree that this is a crucial factor that can no longer be ignored. In fact, I think the only way to maintain a loyal customer base is to focus on constantly improving customer service. A company can only do so much to differentiate their products. When it is clear to the customer that you are going above and beyond to make their experience an enjoyable one, they will be yours forever.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Great comment and point of view KLK/ Thank you for your point of view.
Larry
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:59 am
[...] In Shakey’s we had to call out for a waiter, in that TGIF branch, the customers had to buzz the waiter. Check out how they do it. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]