Yesterday, my family and I went to a local franchise sandwich shop for lunch. This shop is unique in that you record the specifications of your order (e.g., white or wheat bread, choice of cheese, type of drink, etc.) on a brown paper bag that serves as written confirmation of your order details and will eventually contain your completed sandwich.
I handed the bags containing each of our orders to the cashier who reviewed the specifications of each meal order, rung them up, and clipped each of the bags to a wire that ran the length of the sandwich production counter. To speed things up, she relayed orders to the support staff—who was either assembling sandwiches or preparing drinks—as she entered each new order.
After she had reviewed the final bag, she confirmed that she had received five orders.
I said, “Oh wait. There were a total of six orders.”
Here’s where the experience began to head south…
She then said, “Well, I only received five.”
Since I had helped each of my children complete their orders on the brown paper bags, I was quite sure that there were six orders.
The cashier double-checked the orders that were clipped to the wire and said, “Oh. There are six orders here.”
She then totaled my order and handed me two plastic cups to be used at the self-serve soda station and three chocolate milks. As I handed her my charge card, I said, “Oh wait. I only ordered two chocolate milks and I need one more plastic cup for a soda.”
The cashier replied, “You ordered three chocolate milks.”
Again, since I had helped my children complete their orders, I was quite sure that only two of them wanted chocolate milk and one of them wanted a soda.
The cashier double-checked the orders clipped to the wire and said, “Oh, I guess you did order only two chocolate milks.”
I then asked for a third cup for the soda station and she said, “You only paid for two sodas.”
I then said, “I’m pretty sure I paid for three.”
She checked the receipt and, again, acknowledged that she had made a mistake. She handed me another plastic cup.
This experience reminded me of the old customer service adage, “The answer’s yes….now what’s the question?” Had this cashier operated out of a perspective that, between she and the customer, it’s most likely that the customer knows the intent of his or her order specifications, then this unpleasant exchange could have been avoided. The customer should always be given credit for knowing his intentions. His preferences should be affirmed (not questioned), verified when prudent to do so (e.g., clarifying that a $1.50 fountain drink had, in fact, been paid for), and fulfilled.
A contrary mindset that suggests the answer’s no or that the customer is most likely wrong creates an adversarial relationship that undermines memorable customer service and reinforces an “us versus them” culture which, if you’re reading this, is probably contrary to the service culture you’re hoping to create.
