The term customer satisfaction is an interesting term.  Any company that strives for customer satisfaction will never become great.  All customer satisfaction does is to keep you in business.  A satisfied customer is someone that was able to get the minimum level of service they required to simply be satisfied. 

• Our goal every day at Culver’s is to create loyal, raving fans.  This is a level way beyond a satisfied customer.  We have talked in previous posts about building a relationship with the guest.  The easiest way to move a guest from the satisfied bucket to a loyal, raving fan lies within our interaction with that guest.  Whether they had a great experience or a not so great experience, the interaction can turn the experience into a relationship.  I love it when I am out in the community and people start to tell me a story about “their” Culver’s.  They actually tell stories and you would almost think that they are part owner of the restaurant by the way the tell the story.  I am continually amazed how many people want to talk to me about Culver’s and those that will stop me just by seeing the name Culver’s on my shirt.  This is a true testament to the power of our brand and the relationships that are built day by day at every store. 
• In a busy store we can serve over 1,000 guests per day.  What we all need to remember as we serve them is that we need to serve them all 1 at a time as if we only had 1 guest per day.  We need to pay attention to the details for each and every guest.  For us it may be the 100th burger that we are making that day but for the guest it is the one burger that they have chosen to eat.  One thing that Ruth Culver always did was to treat every guest as though they were the single most important guest that came into the restaurant that day.  It was almost like welcoming a long lost friend over and over again. 
• There are 3 basic things that every customer wants from every business out there:
  • 1.  They want the item they purchase to be defect free.  They want it correct and accurate.
  • 2.  They want to get the item in a timely manner.  If it will not be ready in a timely manner the customer should know as soon as possible that it will arrive late.
  • 3.  They want the people that they are doing business with to be nice. 
• When we look at the above model we are reminded that the level of the interaction can either improve or damage how well we do in the other two areas.  We should realize that the first and the last interaction are very important.  We should always make of point of making eye contact and engaging any guest within 10 feet of us.  A simple hello, how can I help you, goodbye, thank you for coming in can go a long way.  It doesn’t take a crazy, over the top act to make a connection with a guest, simply knowing and showing that we care and that we appreciate their business can produce a positive feeling. 
• Loyal, Raving Fans!  That is where we can turn customer service into true hospitality!