Checking in on Foursquare at Ruby Tuesday unlocked a $5 coupon for two entrees. Cool. I had to teach the manager all about Foursquare and show him the screens so he could see what happened.
Through the meal, a waiter (female) proceeded to tip my Stella Artois, which I caught before it emptied on the carpet. No offer to get me another one. The food came, and I was expecting mashed cauliflower as a side. It was cold, soupy and served in a bowl; I asked for a spoon. The bacon (I would’ve given to kidlet) was missing from my sandwich of hard chicken with brown avocado.
When the waiter returned to the table, I asked her if they had Stella on tap; she said, no, sorry. I said, “I really wanted to drink my full beer.” Still no offer of any small glass on tap to replace what she spilled.
The meal came to a close with me stewing and debating whether to speak with the manager about the wait staff, the poor food, customer service, and the last occasion I had gone there and experienced poor quality food, too. At the end of the meal, the waiter came and said, “We can offer you free cupcakes, would you like those?”
What Ruby Tuesday Missed
When a patron walks into your restaurant or establishment and shows you they’ve unlocked a special on Foursquare, what’s the first impression a savvy businessperson should make?
This person who has chosen my eatery for dinner engages in social media beyond just posting on Facebook.
…which means, treat that customer extra special. When you spill their beer, you immediately offer a replacement; heck, the patron doesn’t even need to be socially savvy. You make a mistake, you fix it. Enough said.
Do you think the term “social business” is bogus? I don’t. Being a social business that exhibits social customer service is about the philosophy and strategy with which you adopt, plan and deploy social media.
Consider These Five Social Business Tips
1. Teach restaurant employees on the frontlines about the tools patrons have at their disposal throughout the entire time that person is in the confines of the establishment. These tools are any social media channel that enables a post. Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, Facebook, and other location-based marketing sites and tools. Camera, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, and other social photo sharing tools.
2. What that means is the opportunity for patrons to post a negative Net Promoter Score anywhere during the dining experience and, heck, even 24-hours later via a blog (ahem) is not only possible; it’s highly probable.
3. Social customer service must be taught for anyone on the frontlines of a business and this includes clerks in retail establishments, too.
4. Patrons who leave poor reviews on dining review sites should be contacted directly and with an attempt to build a more positive rapport.
5. Your role as a business owner where customer service is first and foremost the crux of your revenue stream means paying closer attention to social media and becoming a social business where this new normal is incorporated directly into the core of your marketing strategy.
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Love this Jayme, and this kind of thing happens all the time. Your tips are spot on — and the fact that you got this kind of service makes me shake my head. Empowering the front lines to deliver great customer service is, more than ever, a crucial component of business success. Imagine how embarrassed you would be as a business owner to read this review of a dining experience at your restaurant? Actually, that’s a rhetorical question–I know exactly how you would feel! Great post!
@ShellyKramer Thanks so much for coming by to say so, Shelly. That makes me feel somewhat less guilty about this write up, but you know what? These guys had so many chances during the course of the experience and they just failed.
I will always write the good and bad experiences, too. As many said when I singled out Harry and David, they wanted to see the positive stories, as well.
I think customer service has to change entirely. No one should be so in the dark about social media now. Everywhere we go, the device is in hand pre- during and post. A little bit of training goes a long way.
Hi Jayme,
The thing that really gets me is that people make mistakes, especially in the food services industry, all the time. And I’m okay with that. Mistakes are a necessity for growth, that is if you’re willing to see them as a learning opportunity. However, when companies don’t take the ample opportunities to make things better (or less horrible), I get pretty fired up! And it’s always the little things that add up to make a huge difference!
On the flip side, this post offers some great tips and I agree with @ShellyKramer , they are spot on. You have provided yet another opportunity for this establishment to make things right, and another opportunity for them to learn.
Again, great post and thanks for sharing!
@GeoffReiner @ShellyKramer Hi, Geoff! Thank you, too. I don’t relish being a bad NPS blogger; however, I swear I gave every opportunity for rectification (that’s a word, right?). I think, too, this was not a one-off experience…I had had poor-quality food prior, but just let it go.
Had I not walked in with my iPhone showing a Foursquare special (it was my first at a restaurant in Ohio and I was pretty jazzed) then perhaps I would’ve had a different expectation. I have no idea.
I know eateries meet with frontline wait staff; it doesn’t take much to teach them a few social media tips when each of them is probably engaging on the channels, too.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing @GeoffReiner @ShellyKramer
I completely agree! It doesn’t take much to train front line people in the art of customer service. You should put together a pitch and bring them on as a client. Sounds to me like they could use some help!
#1 rings truest to me – this needs to be put in employee handbooks.
@jennwhinnem Exactly. Simplest teachings from one square, not foursquare!
It sure is hard to scale professionalism, courtesy, caring and decency, isn’t it? And they wonder why I love Chick fil A!
@barrettrossie I think this story is more than just customer service; it’s about the signals they missed that a patron was social media savvy, Barrett.
Maybe I’m getting jaded about this topic; demanding decent quality food and basic services for all the corners being cut on those two things and the consumer taking the brunt of that.
Those experiences can be really frustrating Jayme. One error gives way to another then to an entire experience. I think my big question is where was the manager? Did no one come check on you to see how your meal was? Of course, there could be other reasons why the manager did not stop by (dealing with fires at the time, etc.), but if not, it could be that this restaurant just has bad cultural leadership, all the way down to your server.
There will always be less than stellar staff members in retail and restaurants, but what does the organization do to follow up and correct?
@Adam | Customer Experience After learning from me about Foursquare, the manager never came back. I have always had great service there; we frequent that restaurant. Won’t be going back for awhile.
I need to think hard about my take on how I see things now. Am I tougher b/c I’m going to write about it? Or, is what was said above about basic service?
Most of these snafu’s are a result of owners/ leadership/ management.
If you can’t train your staff to represent your establishment properly, you don’t deserve to be in business.
Hi Jayme!
@Mark_Harai @RuibyTuesday just followed me and apologized for my troubles and asked for me email. I’d really like to see a brand brave enough to engage on bloggers’ comments. That’s what I mentioned. I hope they do; this community doesn’t attack and maybe I seem more the attack dog of late, but really, it’s having basic service fulfilled…you know what I mean, Mr. Costa Rica?
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Fear makes people do the darndest things… Change isn’t easy.
Making mistakes happens; its how you deal with them in public that matters. More so than ever with social media becoming such a big part of everyday life for most…
To not be social is to not care about your customers. Period.
Social businesses will put their non-social competitors out of business.
I don’t think you’re too harsh, Jayme… You just tell it like it is! 😮
@Mark_Harai Whew. That makes me feel much better! Heh. And, you’re right…I have no time to beat around the bushes. Heh2!
When we gonna catch up? The hairdresser blew me off 2 minutes before my hair cut, so I’m gonna Skype you wild curl!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Oops, sorry I missed this, Jayme… I didn’t realize you wanted a late afternoon call.
I had to go into the city and I have to go again today for a few hours, but would love to connect if you’re available.
Thanks!
Jayme, this experience would normally not be tolerated in my parts. What these folks fail to understand from fundamental base point is that you choose them and are spending your hard earned $$$ in their place.
This demonstrates a fundamental level of disrespect to their business.
Great tips. Maybe you should email their corporate management and get a conversation started. They are likely wondering why that franchise is failing anyway.
Sorry you had such a happy experience.
My mom and I had a similar experience at Ruby Tuesday about a year ago. She and I (and my four week old) went for a late lunch. The place was empty and yet we waited for over five minutes for a table – even after my mom looked around and made eye contact with the manager. Then we were served very stale wanna-be-Red Lobster-biscuits. After that we were served less than stellar, dare I say stale again, lobster mac and cheese and something else I can’t remember. I ate it b/c well, I had a four week old and time was even more at a premium. When the waiter finally came back at the very end of the meal, I stated that the food had been subpar. He made the comment that I should have spoken up sooner. (What was I supposed to go – wander into the kitchen?!) My mother complained to that manager on the way out. He was very dismissive and had a “I could care-less” attitude. My mom took the time to write an old fashioned letter to corporate and has yet to hear anything from them. I haven’t posted about my dissatisfaction before now, but I have refused to go back which is sad b/c it used to be one of my favorites.
The fact that word-of-mouth has even more influence in today’s society than any time in the past should make retailers and other companies up their game even more, but sadly many are still missing so many opportunities. I don’t understand how upper managers don’t seem to get the importance of good customer service and social media. Are they just buried six feet down under a rock?
@Kara Hi, Kara; thanks for coming over and slap me for not answering sooner. What the hey; I have 3 responses here that I’ve fully missed and I’m so sorry for my lack of hospitality!
This post has generated a hailstorm of comments about Ruby Tuesday and none of them stellar to steal a word of yours, Kara.
They saw me on Twitter, combed my site (about 20 pages), got my email from me and then sent me a 25% off coupon and now I’m on some marketing email list I didn’t ask to get put on. I’m sure I’ll be doing a follow-up.
What’s sad, too/two, is this restaurant holds a good place in the community. It’s needed where I live and it caters to families and may I say a lot of older people. So, it should be steady and solid, but in the last year I have become very disappointed with the quality of food. The service by us isn’t half bad; certainly NOT like you experienced!
I completely agree Jayme; I mean, did she have to go through any kind of probationary period? Do they even watch their staff? We had a similar experience last year when a waitress brought my husband and I each glasses of water with faded lipstick residue on them. We immediately left and went to the restaurant across the street. Thankfully we live in Niagara Falls, so restaurants are everywhere!
@SandyAppleyard Hah. I remember. I read this comment and answered you somewhere else! Niagra Falls. I actually always thought it was a tourist locale with no permanent residents except polar bears! Heh.
Ok, so I’m a little late – h/t to social search for bringing me here. 🙂 It’s a tough biz; I cut my teeth in school doing this and yeah, this is bad. My sister and I had a similar bad experience at a Ruby Tuesday a few months back. I waited until the end to tell management b/c I know how the game works – we didn’t want a free desert or whatever, but they needed to know how poor the service was – can’t fix if you don’t know it’s broken.
But as others have said, it’s all about location and management. Sometimes that location of a chain is awesome; others not so much – but as a brand, they tend to be a little marketing-proof unless something else changes, like the neighborhood, new competition or the major retail draw moves, etc.
Now when it comes to social, that’s a whole other thing. I just read about some restaurants trying to ban patron use of phones – not b/c hey, it’s rude to be gabbing away yada yada – but b/c they don’t want bad pics and negative posts. Good luck with that! *eyeroll* Bottom line is that it’s different now; there is more pressure b/c you are being ‘watched’ socially. Agree that management needs to monitor, really listen to feedback and respond where appropriate. And as someone who’s been there, I’d say help them – find ways to train better, teach better and yes, staff more appropriately so that everyone can do a good job. FWIW.
@3HatsComm Shoot, and I’m late getting back to you! Wow. If everyone around the country is having BAD Ruby Tuesday experiences, then how the heck is that chain still in business?
I saw that about restaurants not wanting to allow phones and photos in their establishments. I think this area of industry is going to struggle terribly. They can no longer hide from the bad reviews; it’s front and center with Yelp leading the way.
Are you going to SoSlam, Davina? I’m thinkin’ I will; good keynote line up.
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Doing the Solo PR in February and my conference time/budget kinda limited. It’s a good event and i’d love to go, but I might be better off finding one that’s more biz, ie biting fish. FWIW.