{"id":3231,"date":"2016-06-09T15:40:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T20:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=3231"},"modified":"2016-06-09T15:40:53","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T20:40:53","slug":"serving-up-the-unexpected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2016\/06\/09\/serving-up-the-unexpected\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving Up the Unexpected"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Reman
\nCan you recall the last time you were blown away by a terrific service recovery? I experienced two in one day last weekend. Each was remarkable and accomplished with a very different method.
\nThe first occurrence was at a wine bar, the kind where you get a glass and a card, and can self-serve wine in taster, half, or full glass quantities. It is a fun place and we chose to have a drink there while waiting for our table at the adjacent caf\u00e9. The weather was nice, so we were seated outside. While reaching in her purse to fish out a toy for one of our boys, my wife knocked over her glass. It shattered immediately upon impact with the concrete patio.
\nAlmost immediately, an employee came to sweep up the glass shards. No sooner had she left than another employee came over with a clean glass. She asked my wife what wine she had been enjoying and explained she wanted to furnish her with another glass on the house.
\nI\u2019m fairly certain this establishment has a line on their balance sheet that reads \u201cglass breakage\u201d and another that accounts for comp\u2019d refills. This was likely a trained and well-outlined process at this business. It was executed smoothly, and elicited a great response by turning a stressful situation into one I\u2019m enthusiastically telling others about.
\nLater that evening, I went to a cocktail bar with three friends, the kind of place that makes a lot of fancier drinks that require muddling and other time consuming crafting methods. The bar was jam-packed and the two bartenders were hustling. I volunteered to hover at the bar and try to get a round ordered. It took about fifteen minutes.
\nBefore we had completely slurped up the first round, I signaled the barkeep to set us up again. Ten minutes later, I moved back to my original hover position hoping our drinks were ready. No such luck. They were all sitting on the rail. The bartender shot me a glance and a little wave, indicating it would be a minute or so. I returned to my group somewhat apprehensively. The next thing I knew, he had made his way around the bar through the crowd and hand delivered our drinks. He said,<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry about the wait, folks. I\u2019m training a new bar back and we ran out of walnut-infused bitters temporarily. These are on the house. Thanks for coming in this evening!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve been in many crowded bars and had never seen this gesture. Coming around the bar to deliver the drinks \u2013 and with an apology for the wait \u2013 was pretty unexpected and left a profound impression on my friends and me.
\nHaving experienced a service \u201cWOW\u201d twice in one day made me think back to a\u00a0former employer who always urged me to do unexpected things to create loyal customers. On this night, one example of great service was likely straight out of a corporate playbook. The other was off the cuff. Both of them, though, were perceived as unexpected and extraordinary. Not only do I feel good about patronizing both of these businesses, but also I have already shared these stories with coworkers, family members, friends, and now you. And any time the name of one of these establishments comes up in conversation, I\u2019ll probably tell them again.
\nI\u2019m always excited when one of my ETE teammates does something extraordinary \u2013 and I\u2019d love to hear your stories, too:<\/p>\n