A Denny?s Restaurant may not seem the most likely place to go after a night of ?liquid enjoyment? but that?s where a friend of mine and I found ourselves more than 10 years ago.
We were on a late night mission to consume a very special dessert.? I believe it was called the Hot Fudge Brownie Supreme.? This was a wonderful caloric celebration of a brownie, vanilla ice cream, and hot fudge.
Our server, Mike, made a quick impression on us as we placed or order.? We knew his name because it was on his name tag.? A name tag that was upside down.
?Do you know name tag is upside down?? my friend asked.
It was at this moment that Mike revealed himself to be charmingly unstable as he narrowed his eyes and said, ?I know.? I like it that way.?? He then walked away, chuckling to himself.
While some might have guessed that Mike was an expert at personal branding, we were slightly frightened by him.? As TV News professionals we were familiar with some of the disturbing types who fill a city?s underbelly.
So our excitement at the appearance of our desserts was somewhat muted as Mike presented them to us.? I took a bite and knew immediately that something was wrong.? I could tell that my friend was having the same experience.
?This doesn?t taste right,? he said.
I took another bite and realized what was wrong.
?What should we do,? I asked?? ?Should we tell Mike about this??
After a brief debate, we decided that we had an obligation to speak up.? We waved Mike over.
Slowly, I told him, ?The brownie has chocolate syrup on it, not hot fudge.? It?s not the same.?
Mike stared at me and then at the brownie.? He then snatched the desserts off the table and yelled, ?You can?t delegate anything around here!?
Two minutes later we were quietly eating and enjoying our Hot Fudge Brownie Supremes.
When dealing with customers, little details matter.? Train your team to honor them.
