Last Friday, my wife and I planned to meet for dinner after work.
I was to arrive first and get a table.
When I entered the restaurant, the hostess told me that I could sit at any table that was open. As luck would have it, there was a single table for two along the back wall. I grabbed it, and sat down.
I then sent my wife a text: “Got a table. On the bar side, back wall. Will have dirty martini waiting.”
I felt like a true hero.
Five minutes later, the hostess came over to my table.
“Sir, we can’t serve you at this table. It belongs to the party to your left.”
Off to the left was a private party of twelve.
“Oh – are they expecting someone else?”
“No, but we promised them that they would have a private section.”
“Oh, I understand. Can we slide the table over to the right, so that they can keep their privacy?”
“No, we can’t do that. I’m sorry. But if you’d like, we’ll put you on our waiting list.” (Fat chance, I thought...)
Right about that time, my wife arrived, expecting her dirty martini.
I had to deliver the bad news: No table and no martini. I was made wrong by misinformation.
False expectations can kill an experience before it happens. Make sure that you nail the expectations by following three simple steps:
- Think before you speak. Don’t say “you can sit anywhere” if that isn’t 100% correct.
- If you do mislead the customer, inconvenience yourself by going out of your way for the customer, rather than having the customer go out of their way for you. Move the table, or find another one.
- Remove misleading messaging. If a customer can’t sit at a table, place a “Reserved” sign on it, or remove the table from view – completely.
Improperly set expectations can trigger a bad customer experience, and ruin relationships and reputations. Think before you speak, go out of your way to fulfill what the customer heard, and be sure that all your messaging is clear and consistent.
Thanks to "The Portlander" for this lonely-looking table.