Delighting the Customer

My last post about the importance of the customer experience (see here) seems to have struck a chord with a few people. I don't often find clients talking to me about my blog, but this one seems to have got some people talking (which is a great thing).

I've had discussions about what delighting a customer meant (and even one about who was a customer..!) and I've been searching for examples of what I meant. With wonderful synchronicity, I then went for something to eat at Patty & Bun in the West End (details here). This is a really funky gourmet burger restaurant that, on a Tuesday evening in October, was heaving with people - they were queued up outside. The food is good - actually it was very tasty indeed. But - and I hope the guys there will forgive me for this - it's just a burger. So why is it so busy - so much busier than anywhere else nearby?

I had time for a very quick chat with Joe - the owner/manager who was stage managing everything form the back of the restaurant. He was eloquent about the importance of the customer experience. Yes of course the food has to be good and of course you have to use the best ingredients. The clever part is doing that in a way that no-one else is - and then making sure that everyone who comes in is delighted. Every member of staff understands that and works hard to make sure that their delight in their own product is passed on - and so that customers have a great time.

Great ingredients, great food, great service - it's not complicated. That's what I mean by the customer experience. Joe and his staff completely understand that the experience is probably more important than anything else.



And no - I don't own any part of the restaurant, and there's no kickback.