I’m writing about this as I’m a passionate believer in old school customer service and the impact the little things have when working closely with a client.
I recently went to a restaurant, Lola Cocina, where we were treated to some of the best Spanish food I’ve tasted in a while – Paella, Tapas, Sangria, Churros – Yum! But there was something else that made this experience unique and awesome and that’s led me to recommend the restaurant to family and friends and to mention the restaurant in two of our blogs. It was their service.
As we wandered towards the front door, the flavours of Spain became apparent and I could immediately tell the place had soul and feeling – something which is hard to fake or act. The Spanish waitress had the biggest smile on her face and invited us in. I immediately knew we were exactly where we were supposed to be. Naturally, the Sangria started flowing and the great tastes just kept coming – it was an experience rather than a meal.
I reflected on this experience and realised that what these guys got right wasn’t complicated; it was their service, the feeling that they wanted us in there and wanted us to enjoy every moment. Of course their food needed to be great too, but the combination left a lasting memory. Imagine if they have this effect on every customer – no wonder they’re packed each night! And none of that “Hey guys… are you almost done?” but rather, “Can we bring you another Sangria”!
I decided to explore the notion of customer service and see how we can consciously keep improving what we offer to our clients. As a small business, we need to compete for every customer and what they receive from us needs to be the best. Every time.
These are the areas we’re focusing on at DesignStreet, to make sure each customer experience is positive and gives our clients the same feeling I was lucky to receive at that Spanish restaurant:
- Build a loyal client who’s going to rave about us and who wants to work with us.
- Treat each brief like it’s the last one we’ll ever receive. Study it, challenge it and get to the bottom of it before working on it. Then produce something epic!
- Get it done fast. Even if it means a late night. We’ve got winter warmers in place, so our team can catch up on sleep.
- Focus on the execution, and pay particular attention to the detail.
- Show our appreciation in what we say and what we do.
- Do something small every now and then that has meaning and that will be remembered.
In closing, its easy not to make the effort but if you do and your client can feel it, you’re going to build a relationship that’s fun and exciting to work on and will generate repeat business. As the Spanish say… Vamonos!
