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Posts tagged customer service
40 Minute Drive for some Chicken: A Lesson in Brand Loyalty.
Mar 20th
Up until about a few years ago my family had a favorite place to go out and eat in McAllen, Peso Bills on north 10th. The restaurant started off as “Bonanza,” and years later transitioned into “Peso Bills.” For years a huge chunk of my family got together for lunch or dinner at our favorite spot, and we weren’t the only ones who liked it.
Getting in during lunch was a pain in the ass. There were long lines to order, (yes, to order,) plus no space to sit sometimes –yet everyone didn’t seem to mind. We packed in to the horribly dated restaurant that featured some oh so sexy 80’s décor, and we genuinely enjoyed our time there. Meanwhile, the managers and crew had come to know most of my family by name over the years. The other folks who worked there were always really nice, plus the food was just damn great.
There was a lot on the menu, but the one thing everyone in the family seemed to love was the “Chicken Monterey;” charbroiled boneless chicken breast(s) smothered in some damn good sauce, (which is actually Wishbone’s Western salad dressing.) In any case, growing up I spent a lot of time there (it’s a miracle I wasn’t tubby back then,) but we frequented often… that is, until it was gone.
Peso Bills closed without much of a warning. It was just sprung on everyone, (including the workers.) And after it was gone finding a good place to eat where everyone was happy, got so much harder. There were plenty of moments at other restaurants where someone said “I wish Peso Bills was still open.”
And in fact, Peso Bills was open –in Harlingen. When the die-hard fans of Peso Bills found out, there were suddenly more excuses to visit Harlingen, and of course, Peso Bills.
The last time I dined at Peso Bills a few of us decided to ask our waiter how many people mention the old location in McAllen. I wasn’t expecting much, but he said “Tons, I get people asking why the one in McAllen closed ALL THE TIME.” I couldn’t imagine the restaurant having a following after being closed for what I’m guessing is 9 years, (other than my foodie family,) but it does.
Building a brand image and keeping it positive year after year, including when the brand no longer exists… isn’t easy. There were (or are,) a few more Peso Bills’ out there, and they all probably have the same great food. But the fact is this location, in particular, had great management and a great team, that really made it that much better.
And because I have A.D.D. and can’t stick to my topic; I must mention that over time I managed to get my hands on the Western dressing the only way I could, which is ordering it direct and playing about 4 bucks a bottle, and I now make my own “Chicken Monterey” at home; The thing is… no one has forgotten the friendly place that once served it up for us. And truly earned our loyalty.
5 Customer Service Mistakes that Absolutely Tick Me OFF!
Mar 16th
Everyone has had a terrible experience with a business or organization. There’s no way to avoid them, but some of them are quite common. Here’s the top five customer service mistakes that absolutely tick me off.
1. Exaggeration.
Dealing with companies/organizations that exaggerate their knowledge and success, is really a quick way to a horrible experience. When you constantly stump those who are supposed to be fully knowledgeable, it quickly turns into a hectic scene. I’ve personally dealt with a few of those types of companies that bloat what they think they know, and then have no answers to my questions. No business should claim outstanding ability if they don’t posses it; moreover, they should all be honest about their limitations.
2. Language barriers.
Calling a company and getting redirected to the other side of the world is almost always unpleasant. When you’re calling a local place language barriers can be just as intimidating and annoying, they can cause people to avoid certain brands and products. Walking into a store and realizing no one knows a lick of English is also very unpleasant. Unless you receive clear and concise answers customer service is useless.
3. Long wait times due to lack of customer service reps.
Being put on hold for 30 minutes isn’t cool; waiting for a representative in person isn’t either. Waiting minutes and minutes on end to simply chat with an online representative can also prove to be tricky, and when email responses take days to get, that option isn’t much fun either. Most of my grr-moments can be attributed to lack of CSRs, businesses sometimes forget or can’t expand their customer service abilities as their company grows –not cool.
4. Runaround when canceling services.
Time and time again lists of the worst companies tied to companies they simply avoid having you cancel their services. AOL is the most notable and has gained a reputation for being so pushy when annoying when someone calls to cancel their service. Allot of companies seem to fail to fully realize that if they can’t do something as simple as discounting a service, chances are it’ll be the customers last time dealing with them –ever.
5. Being rude.
Everyone has dealt with at least one simply rude CSR. They say “EXCUSE ME BUT—” and really mean “shut up I’m going to do what I want,” or so it seems. There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness. Customers and clients won’t stick around if this is the case.
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