Run, Don't Wok!

I love Chinese food! It's one of my weaknesses in the dreaded diet-arena. I can't go very long without getting my next fix and having it show up on the scale.

Beyond my love of Chinese food, is my love of online ordering for restaurants. I'm a picky eater (refer back to my Domino's piece - NO ONIONS!) and you'll understand that I'm a girl who likes to customize my order. "Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Mocha" for example or "Egg-Stravaganza, scrambled hard, no oil, no grits, sub fruit, whole wheat biscuit, please!" Flying Biscuit anyone?

Let me tell you, wahters and waitresses alike, LOVE me.

It's not always easy to get what you want - especially when you are picky. My precise-likeness (as I like to refer to it) can be explained to the uttermost-minor-detail through online ordering. Thank you computer geniuses everywhere! I'm now able to subtract, remove, omit, 86, and forever delete, my dreaded onions! Seriously, why are they in everything?

So when I found out recently that my new favorite Chinese restaurant offers online ordering - I knew I just had to try it out. Had to. It was a must. Sesame chicken here I come.

I logged on. Put in my order with ease:

Sesame Chicken
Brown Rice
Spring Roll
Side of Shrimp Sauce

Paid with credit card. Added on the tip. And waited for Chinese delicousness to arrive at my door.

30 minutes passed.
40 minutes passed.
45 minutes passed.
50 minutes hit. Where in the world is Carmen Sesame Chicken?

Mind you, this restaurant is 0.3 miles from our front door. I could have ordered, drove, picked it up, returned home, and ate it in that amount of time. But when you order Chinese food aren't you generally in a lazy mood?

I picked up my phone and called. Explained I put in an online order. "Yes, we received it!" Great! Why is it taking so long?

She explained that it had just come through on their end. Stupid technology.

I explained that I had been waiting for an hour at this point. She told me she'd put a Chinese fire-drill rush on it. Satisfied, I hung up.

15 minutes later - KUNG PAO! The Chef himself, Mr. General Tso, was ringing our doorbell with my order in hand. Now that is service!

Happily, I tore into the brown paper bag, only to be struck with utter disappointment. Where's my shrimp sauce? Why are there onions in the rice? Why is my order WRONG? Stupid online ordering.

Now, some people would have sucked it up, literally and figuratively, but not me. I expect to get what I order. Every. Single. Time.

I called back. Same girl answered. I explain. She apologizes. She says she'll have the right order over right away.

10 minutes later. Back was the Chef with new rice and sauce in hand. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

As I closed the door and went to turn for the kitchen, I noticed something. There was no car in the driveway this time. I saw the chef start to lightly jog, back to the restaurant. WOW! Now that, that is something to write about.

Not only did they apologize for the time it took to get the food, send the chef to personally deliver it, and apologize for the mix-up, but they made the chef RUN (not wok) it over.

When was the last time you ran, not walked, for your customers? When was the last time you made a WOW! when your service went wrong?

It takes a unique company to understand the power of satisfying each and every customer. No matter how big, or small, the order, no matter how much of a pain or strain it puts on you, no matter what - your job is to serve and exceed their expectations. Because, you never know when you will serve that ONE person who will re-tell your service story.

Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, please visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the friendly folks at Buy Gitomer via email or by calling 704-333-1112.