Will word of mouth lose its value? NEVER! But remember one thing, negative comments move faster with more impact than positive ones.
All of us will spend a lot more time telling the next person about how bad the service was, how rude the clerk was, how cold my food was, etc. Now ask yourself how many times did you tell a friend or family member about a really good experince you had? Do they balance?
I always make a point to tell this story to people I’ve trained for retail sales. When I was a student at Southern Illinois University I worked at the Student Center Information Desk. I’d always get asked by visiting parents for suggestions on where to take thier kid out for a “nice” dinner. My top suggestion was a place called JR’s. A good steak & chop place (you bet it wasn’t dorm food!) with great food and prices. One Sunday a group of 6 of us headed to JR’s for dinner after a theater play. The place was PACKED. No problem we’ll go have a drink while we wait, but the bartender wouldn’t serve us because we were “standing.” The oddest thing I had ever heard. Well we finally got a table, and our food was being served. I always order my steak medium rare, but mine was well. To me it’s an ooops and not a great big deal, send it back and get a new one. The second one was also well done. In short I wasn’t a happy customer and the staff and management were not at all responsive to me and my tabel of guests. I took JR’s off my recomendation list that day and I took every chance I could to tell anyone and everyone what a bad experince I had, and several months later the place closed. The moral of the story is you never know “who” you are dealing with and who may be within thier 6 degress of seperation. Treat everyone you come in contact with as well, or better than you would expect to be treated and you will always be a winner.
Will word of mouth lose its value? NEVER! But remember one thing, negative comments move faster with more impact than positive ones.
All of us will spend a lot more time telling the next person about how bad the service was, how rude the clerk was, how cold my food was, etc. Now ask yourself how many times did you tell a friend or family member about a really good experince you had? Do they balance?
I always make a point to tell this story to people I’ve trained for retail sales. When I was a student at Southern Illinois University I worked at the Student Center Information Desk. I’d always get asked by visiting parents for suggestions on where to take thier kid out for a “nice” dinner. My top suggestion was a place called JR’s. A good steak & chop place (you bet it wasn’t dorm food!) with great food and prices. One Sunday a group of 6 of us headed to JR’s for dinner after a theater play. The place was PACKED. No problem we’ll go have a drink while we wait, but the bartender wouldn’t serve us because we were “standing.” The oddest thing I had ever heard. Well we finally got a table, and our food was being served. I always order my steak medium rare, but mine was well. To me it’s an ooops and not a great big deal, send it back and get a new one. The second one was also well done. In short I wasn’t a happy customer and the staff and management were not at all responsive to me and my tabel of guests. I took JR’s off my recomendation list that day and I took every chance I could to tell anyone and everyone what a bad experince I had, and several months later the place closed. The moral of the story is you never know “who” you are dealing with and who may be within thier 6 degress of seperation. Treat everyone you come in contact with as well, or better than you would expect to be treated and you will always be a winner.