When I was 10 years old, during the summer months when we were out of school, my friends and I used to walk to a local shopping center to buy packs of gum or candy bars—whatever we could get for 50 cents or so.
I remember how hot the summers were in Kansas and how we would always end up at Hayward’s Pit Barbeque, a cramped restaurant at the corner of 95th and Antioch in Overland Park. The owner, Hayward Spears, at that time was the cook, cashier, table busser, and dishwasher. Our motley crew of sweaty kids would step inside the air-conditioned restaurant to cool off with no intention of buying anything.
Instead of running us out to create more room for paying customers, Hayward would bring us cups of ice water. The image is still so vivid. Do you recall those textured red and gold plastic cups? It seems like most barbeque and pizza restaurants used that style of cup back then. He’d bring over a tray of those cups with the condensation trickling down the sides and we would each take one and quench our thirsts.
Why so much detail in that description? Because it was a powerful memory for a 10 year old boy that left a lasting positive impression.
In the years since that time, Hayward has expanded his barbeque empire to include a much larger restaurant near the corner of Antioch and College Boulevard, a banquet facility, catering, and offers a full line of barbeque sauces, which have become a staple of grocery and specialty stores throughout the Midwest.
A few years ago when I was back in Overland Park on business, I stopped into Hayward’s as I always do when I return. This time, to my delight, I saw Hayward greeting customers inside the entryway! I introduced myself, we shook hands, and I told him the same story I’m telling you. I shared that, even though K.C. is filled with quality barbeque restaurants, I always return to his restaurant because of the treatment I received three decades earlier as a sweaty kid on summer break.
Not surprisingly, Hayward has heard similar stories from other customers who themselves go out of their way to buy his barbeque. In fact, Hayward’s is so popular that they are now serving more than 5,000 customers a week!
There’s a saying that if you do it right every time, you’ll be doing it right at the right time. I bet Hayward Spears had no idea back then that his actions would make such a lasting impression on me that I would be writing about it 33 years later.
What’s your memorable customer service story?
