An open letter on customer service
Dear Tim Hortons owner;
I love your store and visit every day. You don't normally serve me and were probably only behind the cash because you were short-staffed today, but I always - and I mean always - order a large coffee with 1 cream and 1 milk. I never switch it up and try something new. I'm a boring thirty-two-year-old mother who doesn't like change. In fact, making the switch from 2 cream to 1 cream and 1 milk took months to become permanent.
So, it was with great surprise today that, upon returning to the counter with sugary coffee in my travel mug, you would tell me I ordered 1 cream and 1 sugar. And, when I politely corrected you, you would again tell me what I ordered, despite the fact that I hate sugar in my coffee and would never order that.
I make mistakes all the time, Mrs. Coffee Franchise Owner. All day, every day I screw up. I put frozen peas in the pantry, I find leftovers in the microwave that I had zapped for lunch two days prior, I re-wash clean laundry. I'm about as close to having 'dumbass' stamped on my forehead as a person can get.
Unless they stamped 'dumbass' on their foreheads or something.
However, what you don't understand about me because you are not my regular server, is that I do not mess around when it comes to my coffee. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that. In fact, I ran into a closing Fourbucks the other day because I had to order my grande half-sweet soy pumpkin spice latte, low whipped cream, with nutmeg. And I mean ran.
I go out of my way to buy fair-trade organic Sumatran whole bean coffee for my morning cup. Do you know how hard it is to find fair-trade organic Sumatran whole bean coffee? Well, I do, because I am a coffee connoisseur, which is a classier name for "junkie". My pulse goes up at the sight of a $4000 espresso machine and I have more than once tried to convince my spouse that we could easily carry that cost on our mortgage.
Now, I realize you are a successful business owner with a large sum of money in your bank account. You are most likely a very educated woman, both outside the Tim Hortons company and within. You've undoubtedly had a lot of training in order to run a busy franchise location. Congratulations on those things. You've earned it through hard work and a deep understanding of the golden rule of customer service: the customer is always right .
Oh, wait a minute.
Wait just a gosh darn minute.
Was there not a moment today when the customer was not right? Didn't she come in, set her travel mug down, and ask you to put sugar in her coffee? And then didn't that space-cadet come back and try and tell you - the owner - that she didn't ask for sugar?
It's a good thing you corrected her. It's a good thing you told her what she actually said. Good for you. You showed her how amazing you are, Mrs. Franchise Owner. You showed her who's boss. You showed her that your balls are made of roasted Columbian beans. You go, girl!
But could I perhaps point out one little flaw in your logic, if I may? It's just that - and by no means do I consider myself nearly as savvy and knowledgeable as you with your coffee store and astronomical profits - it's just that I did do some customer service work back in the day and what got me raises and praises was remembering that the customer is always right.
Even if you don't think she is, and even if you're sure you heard sugar, and even if you look for support from the teenage employee next to you and she smiles nervously and seems like she's agreeing with you even though she's probably terrified to do otherwise because you'll go all ninja on her and chop up her Tim Hortons hat before throwing a pink slip at her... Even if all those things happen to be true, the customer is always right.
With these things in mind, would you like to tell me again what I ordered in my coffee this afternoon? Or was my sudden, dark glare and response of "Well, that's interesting I would ask for sugar, considering I never, ever take sugar in my coffee" enough for you?
Just asking, that's all.
Your space-cadet customer,
The Maven
I love your store and visit every day. You don't normally serve me and were probably only behind the cash because you were short-staffed today, but I always - and I mean always - order a large coffee with 1 cream and 1 milk. I never switch it up and try something new. I'm a boring thirty-two-year-old mother who doesn't like change. In fact, making the switch from 2 cream to 1 cream and 1 milk took months to become permanent.
So, it was with great surprise today that, upon returning to the counter with sugary coffee in my travel mug, you would tell me I ordered 1 cream and 1 sugar. And, when I politely corrected you, you would again tell me what I ordered, despite the fact that I hate sugar in my coffee and would never order that.
I make mistakes all the time, Mrs. Coffee Franchise Owner. All day, every day I screw up. I put frozen peas in the pantry, I find leftovers in the microwave that I had zapped for lunch two days prior, I re-wash clean laundry. I'm about as close to having 'dumbass' stamped on my forehead as a person can get.
Unless they stamped 'dumbass' on their foreheads or something.
However, what you don't understand about me because you are not my regular server, is that I do not mess around when it comes to my coffee. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that. In fact, I ran into a closing Fourbucks the other day because I had to order my grande half-sweet soy pumpkin spice latte, low whipped cream, with nutmeg. And I mean ran.
I go out of my way to buy fair-trade organic Sumatran whole bean coffee for my morning cup. Do you know how hard it is to find fair-trade organic Sumatran whole bean coffee? Well, I do, because I am a coffee connoisseur, which is a classier name for "junkie". My pulse goes up at the sight of a $4000 espresso machine and I have more than once tried to convince my spouse that we could easily carry that cost on our mortgage.
Now, I realize you are a successful business owner with a large sum of money in your bank account. You are most likely a very educated woman, both outside the Tim Hortons company and within. You've undoubtedly had a lot of training in order to run a busy franchise location. Congratulations on those things. You've earned it through hard work and a deep understanding of the golden rule of customer service: the customer is always right .
Oh, wait a minute.
Wait just a gosh darn minute.
Was there not a moment today when the customer was not right? Didn't she come in, set her travel mug down, and ask you to put sugar in her coffee? And then didn't that space-cadet come back and try and tell you - the owner - that she didn't ask for sugar?
It's a good thing you corrected her. It's a good thing you told her what she actually said. Good for you. You showed her how amazing you are, Mrs. Franchise Owner. You showed her who's boss. You showed her that your balls are made of roasted Columbian beans. You go, girl!
But could I perhaps point out one little flaw in your logic, if I may? It's just that - and by no means do I consider myself nearly as savvy and knowledgeable as you with your coffee store and astronomical profits - it's just that I did do some customer service work back in the day and what got me raises and praises was remembering that the customer is always right.
Even if you don't think she is, and even if you're sure you heard sugar, and even if you look for support from the teenage employee next to you and she smiles nervously and seems like she's agreeing with you even though she's probably terrified to do otherwise because you'll go all ninja on her and chop up her Tim Hortons hat before throwing a pink slip at her... Even if all those things happen to be true, the customer is always right.
With these things in mind, would you like to tell me again what I ordered in my coffee this afternoon? Or was my sudden, dark glare and response of "Well, that's interesting I would ask for sugar, considering I never, ever take sugar in my coffee" enough for you?
Just asking, that's all.
Your space-cadet customer,
The Maven