Marketing For Raving Fans- A Sandwich Story

A few years ago I read a book about creating raving fans in your business. It talked about culture, setting expectations and then of course delivering on those expectations in an above and beyond way as to WOW that customer.

So, the story. Today I went and voted and on the way home Marie and I stopped by our favorite sandwich place, The Sandwich Shack.

This place makes the most wonderful turkey and avocado sandwich you can imagine, called a Shack Attack. Its so good I’ve only ever tried 1 or 2 other things on the menu and I’ve been eating there for years. I don’t personally know the the owner outside of my interactions with her while at her restaurant, but she’s a light-hearted, good-natured person who is always concerned about the quality of the product she is delivering.

We decided to sit down and eat as opposed to getting the sandwiches to-go. As I dig into my Shack Attack I notice its not the normal sandwich I’m used to. The bread is different, it seems as if its almost stale. The avocados are not ripe and almost crisp to the bite as opposed to soft and delicious. I’m a little bummed thinking- “what’s going on here. This is a good sandwich, but this isn’t the GREAT sandwich that I’m used to.” Thoughts like, “I wonder if the economy is the cause here,” roll through my mind. I debate if I should tell her about the sandwich quality because it wasn’t a horrible sandwich that I would return saying, “This sucks.” but it just wasn’t that “WOW” experience I had grown used to.

At the end of my lunch I had a small pile of bread edges and avocado pieces I had had not eaten.

The owner comes over to take our plates and inquisitively this asks, “Did you not like your sandwich today? Please, give me candid feedback.”

Now I was on the spot, I had to tell the truth.

“Well, the bread seemed like it was almost stale,” I said trying not to be offensive.

She replied they were trying out a new kind of more authentic Rye bread as some patrons commented the previous bread they had been using wasn’t up to snuff. I’m enlightened- ah, the bread wasn’t stale, it was slightly different bread that makes more sense. It doesn’t change my actual experience of not getting what I PERCEIVED or EXPECTED I would be getting, but it made sense of the situation and made think, “ah- no worries, well do you have the old bread anymore for next time?” She of course did.

I then mentioned the avocados as well. She apologized and said, “yea, they all looked and seemed ripe when we bought them this morning, but cutting into them proved otherwise.”

I explained the sandwich was still good and there was nothing to worry about and no issue, it just wasn’t the “WOW” it usually was and knowing there was a change of bread really put my mind at ease as to a potential drop in quality.

What happened next took me by surprise. She went to the register and pulled out the $4 for the sandwich and tried to give me my money back!

I wasn’t about to take the money, the sandwich was good- I mean I basically ate the whole thing except for the edges and some avocado pieces. She was insistent about me taking my money back for that sandwich but I still refused as we made our way to the door.

I don’t think I could have been more impressed with someone’s desire to strive for the best possible product and their willingness to put their heart into the delivery of that product. How many businesses do you know operate like this? How many are completely dedicated to customer satisfaction- which lies well outside reality and in the realm of perception? Often businesses operate from the standpoint of, “Hey- I gave you a sandwich. There was no SLA (service level agreement) on its performance or quality. I didn’t guarantee anything other than a sandwich and you got it. You ate it and there is NO refund, now go away. Next!”

In today’s socially connected world that attitude doesn’t fly.

Take a look at T & J Towing who decided to sue a college kid for creating a facebook page about his experience with having a car towed. ABC has the story here, but basically the towing company started to lose its contracts with property owners due to the facebook page and people banning together against the company. Was the company in the wrong? Was it underhanded corporate dealings at work or was its college kids creating an angry mob to outcry against parking fines?

Who is right and who is wrong? In today’s world I would argue ultimately it doesn’t matter. What matters is how the matter is dealt with, “Hey I see there is a problem, lets talk about it.” Or a, “No- forget you man.” The bottom line is the damage is done during the process- long before the law get involved and fighting someone in the social space can wreck a reputation, wreck a company and wreck a lot of things very very fast.

Approximately 14,000 people are part of the facebook fan page and they are engaged in the discussion regarding that company; which sparked from a single issue and multiplied at the speed of the intertubes. That is bad scary.

The good scary flip-side is what happens when you get wickedly awesome, over the top, holy-cow service; people talk, and share and spread the information. Albeit good doesn’t usually spread as fast or as far as bad, but it will spread nonetheless.

So- I tip my hat to The Sandwich Shack. May my sharing of information here pack your doors with hungry people.

– Mike