First and Last(ing) Impressions
Twenty-five years ago I was a store manager for Wendy's International (you know, the hamburger people). There was a company story, part of the company "lore", about the time that R. David Thomas (Wendy's founder) and several of the corporate "suits" were visiting a unit when the store was hit with an unanticipated rush of customers. The staff was totally overwhelmed. What did David Thomas do? He put an apron on over his suit and ran the grill so that the manager could run the store and take care of the customers.
I remember this now because of the contrast with what happened
recently as I was shopping with my wife at Whole Foods Market (an
upscale grocery store in the area). We had a typically large bill of
groceries when we got to the checkout line. The store seemed to be a
bit short-handed, something that happens in any business from time to
time. We started checking out as usual: I unloaded the cart while my
wife went to the end of the counter to prepare to pay. Since there
was no one bagging, she decided to start the process herself. I
expected they would have someone come over to help her or that the
checker would scan some items and then proceed with the bagging. Not
what happened. The only help offered was, "the bags are over there
under the counter". Meanwhile, someone who appeared to be The-Person-
in-Charge walked past us THREE times: once to direct an employee to
another part of the store, a SECOND time while he gathered up the
small shopping baskets, then a THIRD time to gather up shopping
carts. When we finally left the store, shaking our heads in
amazement, he was in the parking lot bringing in still more shopping
carts. I felt like I was leaving a Sack-and-Save rather than a high-
end food retailer. And I also understood where the young lady at the
checkout had learned HER customer service priorities.
People notice what you do. A LEADER'S actions show his people
where the priorities are. And they remember. The customers in that
Wendy's over twenty years ago may not have seen the suit at the grill,
but the rest of the employees did, and the message became part of the
company culture. I'm taking a really close look at the messages I am
sending with MY actions!
PS: As I was writing this article, I received an email response
from the Whole Foods management. They were quick to respond and are
acting on my observation. This brings up another point: the
customers who complain really do want to continue being customers, so
treat them like gold. It's the ones who never say anything and never
come back that you lose forever. And we sometimes forget that THIS
impression could be someone's FIRST (or LAST) impression.
JUMProductions copyright 2003 JUMProductions/Michael J. Stammer, All Rights Reserved
po box 522
arlington, tx 76004
vox 817.261.2108 fax 801.881.2717
contact us via email
JUMProductions, the JUMProductions wordmark and the gyroscope logo
are all trademarks of JUMProductions and Michael J Stammer.