By Gloria Whitehorn
On a cold wintry day in lower Manhattan a young man walked into an eatery
and requested a hot bowl of chicken soup. He took a table at the far end of the
diner, icicles hanging from his overgrown beard. A few minutes later a waitress
delivered a bowl of chicken soup and crackers to the customer. Upon the first
spoonful the young man noted the soup was lukewarm, not hot like he had
requested. 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.
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