If you want to lose money, "the customer is always right." I believe in good customer service but you can't go overboard with satasfying the customer.

 

Depends on the industry, market and competition.

 

 

I believe there is always a balance. I've spent my whole career in an industry that is very vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction. But, I had a boss once who characterized those guests you actually lose money on as 1%-ers. He said that the 1% that are "out to get everything for free" are worth the cost. Generally, people don't want anything for free and feel bad about accepting full refunds, unless there was something drastically wrong. People DO want to see you're responsive and receptive to finding a fair solution.

 

In a corporate training once, we were advised to ask people 3 times if they felt a proposed resolution was fair. Once a resolution seems to be agreed upon:

 

"Mr. Smith, I feel badly about your experience. I'm happy to reduce your bill by $X. Is that fair?"

 

He replies yes (usually).

 

"Mr. Smith, here's your new receipt, are you sure you feel that's fair?"

 

Again, he usally replies yes.

 

"Mr. Smith, I hope you come to see us again. Are you sure you feel this resolution is fair?"

 

Involve the guest in the resolution, if it's not clear what they want. You propose a solution in a way to give you bargaining room to negotiate.

 

Most people aren't out to make the business lose money. But the word of mouth factor of a negative opinion usually is much more costly to a business than those people you do lose money on.

I believe there is always a balance. I've spent my whole career in an industry that is very vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction. But, I had a boss once who characterized those guests you actually lose money on as 1%-ers. He said that the 1% that are "out to get everything for free" are worth the cost. Generally, people don't want anything for free and feel bad about accepting full refunds, unless there was something drastically wrong. People DO want to see you're responsive and receptive to finding a fair solution.

 

In a corporate training once, we were advised to ask people 3 times if they felt a proposed resolution was fair. Once a resolution seems to be agreed upon:

 

"Mr. Smith, I feel badly about your experience. I'm happy to reduce your bill by $X. Is that fair?"

 

He replies yes (usually).

 

"Mr. Smith, here's your new receipt, are you sure you feel that's fair?"

 

Again, he usally replies yes.

 

"Mr. Smith, I hope you come to see us again. Are you sure you feel this resolution is fair?"

 

Involve the guest in the resolution, if it's not clear what they want. You propose a solution in a way to give you bargaining room to negotiate.

 

Most people aren't out to make the business lose money. But the word of mouth factor of a negative opinion usually is much more costly to a business than those people you do lose money on.

 

You and I must have worked at one time for the same Boss or they went to the through the same training seminar.

 

As the President of the company I worked for told me, he would rather have one person beat the company out of a $100.00 than have one customer who had a legitimate complaint walk out mad. He felt that the one bad customer might tell other about what he did and he felt most people would look poorly at him/her, but that one customer who had a legitimate complaint would tell others and most people (like we are talking about this McDonals) would write off using our service.

On a strictly food-service standpoint, I've worked in my life as a server, a deli manager and at Starbucks. At every place I've ever worked, if you didn't like what you ordered, or if you ordered something and it wasn't what you expected, it was corrected right then, even if the customer wasn't clear in the first place.

You and I must have worked at one time for the same Boss or they went to the through the same training seminar.

 

...

 

:lol: Could be. He's been in the business a while. He used to be a 5-star chef in D.C. before getting into hotels.

So you won't pull forward even at a place like Culvers, where that's simply how things work? :lol:

 

Not if its a drive-thru.

Not if its a drive-thru.

 

When I worked @ SBUX, we weren't allowed to ask a customer to pull up and wait. If a customer had a difficult order, or there were challenges that impacted the quality of orders waiting behind that car, we had to re-make their orders. That could be dicey on a super-busy Saturday morning. :lol: We used to have people come through DT and order (literally) 2 dozen drinks. Some people came through DT and ordered whole bean coffee and asked for it to be ground, or would add it on at the window.

 

Thinking about it...Starbucks DT's in Louisville aren't even designed to have customers pull up and wait somewhere. Pretty much, the buildings are on tight lots, that offer little room for parking anywhere on a busy day, let alone a convenient pull up spot for DT customers.

I used to work @ a Starbucks with a drive through, so I was fully understanding how the mistake could be made. HOWEVER, I don't understand, if they assumed I got the hot chocolate as my drink, that they charged me $1.99 for it separately from the meal. It was the last thing I ordered.

 

Just a thought on the bolded...

 

(Almost embarrassed to post this as it shows how often I frequent fast food drive-thrus, but here goes anyway...)

 

If I recall, whenever I order a value meal, there is a small discount attached to the purchase of the sandwich and fries together. No discount is placed to the drink, so it always rings up at the regular price. I'm pretty sure this is how combo meals are rung up at McDonalds.

 

Basically, you can buy combos without the drink and get a small discount. If you choose to add a drink to the order (which I would assume most people do), the drink is charged at the regular price. Again, I seem to remember several fast food places ringing up combo meals this way.

 

Can anyone corroborate this, or am I remembering it wrong?

Just a thought on the bolded...

 

(Almost embarrassed to post this as it shows how often I frequent fast food drive-thrus, but here goes anyway...)

 

If I recall, whenever I order a value meal, there is a small discount attached to the purchase of the sandwich and fries together. No discount is placed to the drink, so it always rings up at the regular price. I'm pretty sure this is how combo meals are rung up at MacDonalds.

 

Basically, you can buy combos without the drink and get a small discount. If you choose to add a drink to the order (which I would assume most people do), the drink is charged at the regular price. Again, I seem to remember several fast food places ringing up combo meals this way.

 

Can anyone corroborate this, or am I remembering it wrong?

 

 

Could be. The receipt said:

 

Egg McMuffin Meal

Breakfast Burrito

Small Hot Chocolate.

 

I know the HC wasn't discounted, because I had to find it on the menu and I saw the small was $1.99, and the large was $2.49, and I figured I'd splurge spend the extra 50 cents on my daughter.

Have you reported this yet?

Have you reported this yet?

 

 

Yes, I sent my comments in online. I'm waiting and holding my breath for a response.

Yes, I sent my comments in online. I'm waiting and holding my breath for a response.

 

You'll get one. Trust me :thumb:

Could be. The receipt said:

 

Egg McMuffin Meal

Breakfast Burrito

Small Hot Chocolate.

 

I know the HC wasn't discounted, because I had to find it on the menu and I saw the small was $1.99, and the large was $2.49, and I figured I'd splurge spend the extra 50 cents on my daughter.

 

At least you're allowed to order large hot chocolates at your McDonald's. Every time I try to order one, I am promptly told the largest available is a medium. Come to think of it, I bought one this morning and they charged me $2.49 for it. Either you all get a good deal on your large HC's or they're tricking you into thinking you're getting a large when it's only medium-sized.

 

(Again, I frequent fast food restaurants almost daily, so I can't help but notice these crazy little details. )

Yes, I sent my comments in online. I'm waiting and holding my breath for a response.

Did you mention us and our tremendous purchasing power?*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*"Purchasing power" defined here as combined waistline circumference.

Could be. The receipt said:

 

Egg McMuffin Meal

Breakfast Burrito

Small Hot Chocolate.

 

I know the HC wasn't discounted, because I had to find it on the menu and I saw the small was $1.99, and the large was $2.49, and I figured I'd splurge spend the extra 50 cents on my daughter.

 

My guess is that the egg mcmuffin meal listed on the receipt is less than what you would see on the menu-board. The difference in price would probably be the same as a cost of a drink. Just a guess...

At least you're allowed to order large hot chocolates at your McDonald's. Every time I try to order one, I am promptly told the largest available is a medium. Come to think of it, I bought one this morning and they charged me $2.49 for it. Either you all get a good deal on your large HC's or they're tricking you into thinking you're getting a large when it's only medium-sized.

 

(Again, I frequent fast food restaurants almost daily, so I can't help but notice these crazy little details. )

 

 

Tangent here....if there are only two sizes of hot chocolate, wouldn't it stand to reason that there would only be a small and a large? How can you have a medium if there's no large? :lol: That doesn't even make sense. :lol: