That is very cool Michelle!

You know Michelle, I am actually surprisingly unfazed by average service or missteps. Coming from a retail environment, I know how hard it is to execute consistently. Of course, I see all of the opportunities for improvement, but my expectations aren’t super high. Part of that is also cynicism, I guess, I just don’t expect to be WOWed by service that often.

Of course, my expectations do, like many, adjust to the environment. I went to a fine dining restaurant for a celebration recently. It was one of those where they take the water bottle and put it in an ice carafe near the table. It’s a great service if the wait staff is aware and makes sure to refill your glass promptly. However, if they are not on top of it, then it actually makes a “premium” service worse than the standard service. Point being, in that environment, my expectations are pretty high.

I have family and friends that worked in F&B and owned restaurants. They notice everything.

That’s great that you take the time to share your feedback. One thing, I have always tried to do is to share exceptional service from a waiter/waitress with management. I know I love receiving specific feedback on team members.

Thanks Chase!

I have to check with the boss first… you know how that works!

You know, Adam, she DID state in her last email that Scott is a business owner and had advised her out of empathy for the landscaper — and she told him the name of the business! Maybe we’ll end up hearing from him!

We’ve hired a few teens in our neighborhood, though, so we can invest into their lives. Scott’s teaching them how to grow their own landscaping business, how to negotiate, how to provide great service, etc.. It’s been fun to listen in! Now they’re competing with one another for our business! Isn’t that cool?

Chase, Scott and I both worked in the restaurant business, too (once in the same restaurant), and know exactly what you mean! I have a question for you, then: do you find that you expect much better service than what your fellow diners do? How about food quality?

Actually Adam, I’ll ask the same question to you re: customer service! Do you have much higher standards now, and expect much more?

I was in the restaurant world for several years so whenever I go out to eat now, I pick up on things the rest of my dining party barely notice. Usually, I make a point to let the manager know what they did great, what caught my eye, etc. Managers typically love it since they can’t be everywhere at once. I know I loved it when customers talked with me when eating in my restaurants.

Now if only every complaint could be as nice.

Take the rest of the week off……..

Wow, Michelle! I really appreciate the time you took to share that story. And that story says it all.

I am as guilty as anyone of just walking away without saying anything. Generally, it is a feeling of being so time-crunched that I don’t want to double down on a bad experience. However, as I mentioned in the post, I have been inspired to be better and to try to make the time when I can, because as your story shows, taking the time to share what was wrong enabled a small business owner who did care about your family member’s business to make it right.

Kudos to Scott for pushing the second (and third) chance. That landscaper should have offered Scott some free landscaping, not just your family member!

Great story Michelle — thanks so much!!!

Recent Story to Illustrate: A family member of ours has a landscaper she’s been very pleased with for quite some time. He mows the lawn, whacks the weeds, rakes the leaves, and plows her driveway when it snows. As his little one-man business has grown, he’s hired some young college-aged guys who are not doing nearly the same great job he’s always done himself.

She complained to Scott about it, and said she was going to just “cancel her contract” and hire someone else.

Scott asked her if she’d let the business owner know what was going on. She hadn’t. As a business owner himself, Scott implored her to please contact the landscaper and express her dissatisfaction. After all, he said, she’d always loved his work, and she at least owed him the opportunity to make it right or to make needed changes to his training or his staff.

So the family member sent the landscaper an email and told him she wasn’t happy with the work anymore, and why. Grateful, the landscaper thanked her, and promised to speak to his crew.

The next week, a new team showed up. They did a better job, but still not to the standards this family member had enjoyed for so long. She called Scott and told him, “I’m just going to forget it and find someone else.” Scott explained to her how important it is to a business owner to know why a customer is moving on, and to please let the landscaper know she still wasn’t happy. After all, he said, this guy is trying to grow his business, and these are growing pains. Every customer lost will hurt this guy’s business, and how will he know what’s wrong unless customers tell him?

So the family member emailed the landscaper again. This time, the landscaper, very grateful, went out to her house to see what his last team had done — and he was not happy at all. He thanked our family member, and said that from now on, HE would be her landscaper HIMSELF, because he valued her business.

This weekend, she told us she’d received an invoice from him that said “No Charge” for the shoddy work that had been done the previous two times. She told us, “I’m paying it anyway. He deserves it. And who knows? That’ll probably benefit me in the future anyway.”

Now that’s a valuable lesson for both customer AND business owner!