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On a cold day like this he
needed something that would warm up his insides
and reduce the chill to his
bones.
He hailed the waitress and
told her the soup was only lukewarm and if she
would ask the cook to heat it
up a bit more. He wanted it hot.
The waitress said in her Bronx
vernacular popping her chewing gum,
"We
don't serve anything hot cause
we ain't looking for no lawsuits from customers
scalding themselves. We don't
need that kind of trouble. No sir,
we don't!"
With that she turned and
walked away.
Baffled, the young customer
with all the gumption of a 25 year old got up out of
his seat and walked up to the
lunch counter where he could catch the eye of the
cook. The cook was busy
placing orders on the shelf for the waitresses to pick
up. When the young man got the cook's attention he told the cook
about the
incident and asked the cook to
heat up his chicken soup.
"We don't serve our soup
as hot as you're asking just in case someone
accidentally spills it on
them, or burns their mouth or something.
Management
don't want no lawsuits. He heard about that hamburger chain
lawsuit where the
lady burned herself with that
hot coffee and that was enough for him."
The young man asked to see the
manager. "Ain't no use talking to the manager,
they'll tell you the same
thing. That's our policy."
By now the young customer was
more than a little ticked off. But
he decided to
keep his cool. With quiet
restrain he said, "Does the café down the street serve
hot soup?" "I don't know, I guess they
do," said the cook.
"Well I didn't get what I
asked for, so I guess I don't owe you anything. Have a
nice day." And with that last barb, the young
customer left the eatery.
It just so happened the young man was CEO of a large
firm that published
magazines featuring the best places to eat at in the
world that no one had ever
heard of. It was
no accident that landed him in this particular eatery on this
cold wintry day to buy chicken soup.
Not only did the establishment lose a customer. It's
possible they also lost
a favorable endorsement in a national magazine.
The moral of this story, don't
lose sales by being too rigid in your business
dealings. Always look for a
solution that will appease a customer.
What could the management have
done if they were worried about someone
burning themselves with hot chicken
soup?
For one thing they could have
a lawyer write up a legal document for patrons to
sign relinquishing the diner
from liability. Anyone wanting hot
soup would have
to sign it before being
served. They would have to show
proof of identity and that
they were of legal age to make
their own decisions. Heck, it may even be a good
idea to get a fingerprint pad
and take their fingerprint as added protection for you.
Of course your lawyer would
have to tell you what could stand up in court in the
state where you reside and
what wouldn't. But there is almost always a way to
give the customer what they
want and keep yourself out of hot water in the
process.
No matter what business you
may be in, remember to stay flexible.
It's better
to compromise than to lose a
customer.
The content in this article
was written to enlighten you of the importance of keeping
your customers happy. Only the
characters in this article were a figment of the
author's wide reaching imagination.
Since no names were used, no names had to be
changed to protect the innocent. Don't get tarred and feathered because
you lost
sales over chicken soup!
Copyright © 2008 Gloria
Whitehorn and www. Dovemang.com All rights reserved
About The Author: Gloria Whitehorn is a
freelance writer, business coach and an
authority on salesmanship and business
practices. Check out her site that's
jam-packed with the exact information you
need to start, build, and grow your
very own profitable Internet business. I
highly recommend visiting her website
http://www.dovemang.com She knows what she's talking
about.
*Attn: Ezine Editors/Site owners* You have
permission to reprint this article
in your ezine or on your website as long as
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