Recently, I scheduled a two-hour, lunchtime meeting with a company president and sales manager. I was meeting with the sales manager first, at 11, so I suggested having lunch brought in for the three of us. The company president, who was joining us at noon, said he would pick up our food order and bring it to the meeting.
I placed the order online, under my name, but when the company president arrived, about 20 minutes after the order was supposed to be ready, the employee at the counter told him they didn’t have a lunch order for us. This employee didn’t bother to check with anyone, nor did he offer to place another order immediately.
The company president called me, a bit aggravated with the situation. I put him on hold while I called the restaurant myself and was told that, yes, they had our order and it was ready for pick-up. (Just as I had requested.)
So the company president went back to the counter and picked up the food. He was not happy with the way the employee handled (or mishandled) the situation and neither was I.
We later found out that there was a new employee working in the takeout area that day.
And that brings me to my point today: Employee retention is critical to customer satisfaction, but if you can’t retain ‘em, at least train ‘em. Institutional knowledge is key to a company’s continued success.
I realize all companies have new employees at one time or another. But with each and every new employee at any kind of business—from a Fortune 500 company to the corner diner—you have to offer systemic training. Training is absolutely imperative for employees who have any interactions with customers.
The way that restaurant employee handled our missing lunch order situation was not positive. “We don’t show any order for you,” was not the right answer. If the employee had been trained to look further or ask a supervisor or offer to take an expedited order, our experience would have been a lot more enjoyable.
Our problem wasn’t really the employee’s fault. Yes, it was rush time, and, yes, this popular regional chain restaurant was busy. But we expected more. This restaurant didn’t grow from a single mom-and-pop operation to a successful, multi-state brand by accident. Surely, they have training programs in place. Certainly, every new employee needs to go through those programs.
How an employee handles a problem can mean the difference between repeat business and eventually no business. The restaurant in my example might not get a second chance with that company president.
If high customer satisfaction is your company’s goal, make high employee retention your goal, too. And make sure that comprehensive new-employee training is a priority.
Do that correctly, and you’ll do what you do better.
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