Great Brands Start with Great Service
My wife and I recently moved to Portland, Oregon, and love it here. It’s been fun exploring this wonderful city and everything it offers. From restaurants and brewpubs to theaters and art galleries, the dining and entertainment temptations lure us empty nesters out nearly every night. And to our delight, an acquaintance encouraged us to try a “great” restaurant (I’ll leave the name out) in southeast Portland – our neighborhood.
The eatery had an impressive brand reputation. And we were excited to eat there.
My wife and I arrived to a bustling restaurant teaming with energy and smells that were out of this world. But after a 10-minute wait to be seated, we still had not been welcomed. When the hostess finally arrived, we were quickly ushered to our table with hardly a sentence or two as a greeting. “Jane will be serving you,” we were told, and that was it.
When Jane finally arrived, she didn’t know the special of the day, which was okay. She took our drink order and said she would find out what the special was. Upon returning with our drinks and information on the special of the day, we politely informed her our drink order was wrong. Oh boy, our experience was not off to a good start.
Despite our decent meals, the evening continued to serve a mishmash of poor service, which ultimately left us with a bad taste for the restaurant. Poor service resulted in a poor experience – an experience that did not align with the brand we expected. To us, the brand was forever tarnished. Not only will we never recommend the restaurant, there is very little the owners can do to improve our image of it.
As you look at your brand, focus intensely deep at the service you provide – the many opportunities you have to interact with your consumers. Now more than ever, brand and experience are inextricably linked. Your brand feeds the encounter, and the consumer’s experience as a whole feeds your brand. They have to be in alignment if you are to have a powerful reputation that attracts in a crowded marketplace.
Cheers!
