Susanne Dansey’s Blog

Yes that’s right reader, I want to share with you a story about how four men and myself spent the night with the man of our dreams…

Let me set the scene; imagine tripping up accidentally on a restaurant that we had talked about visiting at a time when we were hungry with nowhere to go. We’d been told that this was a good place to go (even better than Daniel’s Broiler?!) and we were running out of evenings to make time to pay it a visit.

The place in question? The Metropolitan Grill (or “The Met” for those in the know) and from the moment we stepped in, we were absorbed!

A certain friend of mine wasn’t feeling top of the world and wasn’t in the mood to eat. Wasn’t in the mood to eat?! This is meant to serve “the best steak in town” and he didn’t want to find out? So whilst he stays in the toilet contemplating life, the rest of us try to wrestle with our consciences as to whether we sheepishly take our friend back to the hotel or live with the guilt and let him watch us eat!

So the decision is left to me and I pretend to take the moral high ground and say ‘we’ll go back to the hotel, it wouldn’t be fair on him’ but ill friend in question says ‘no! stay!’ and so we do… (phew)

Sitting around the table we see the photos of all the famous people who have previously dined here and notice all the letters of congratulations and thanks that are framed on the high walls. The presentation of the restaurant was impressive and there was a great buzz that made us comfortable. It really must be that good here so we wait in anticipation.

And then it happened…

The man of our dreams walks up and gives us the best customer experience we have ever received in a restaurant…

He was confident, knowledgable about the food, and above all, enthusiastic about us and his work. As he went round the table he asked what we usually ate, how we like our steak and matched what we told him with something from the menu. We were all excited already and relied on him to find us the right steak. Some of us got carried away and thought we’d try something new (being in a special steak restaurant) but no! Waiter Man advised us otherwise…

Don’t change for us,

Stay with what you know,

Why not have what you like, but have the very best of what you like!

And you know what? He was right!

The guys picked their favourites and they’d realised their previous steaks were insignificant compared to what was presented before them. He sold us on the idea so well that he even converted our poorly compadre! Wow!

Now when I have steak (not very often), I like fairly rare so it has to be a good steak. I told this to my waiter and he recommended the Sirloin (which I like anyway) and when it arrived it was cooked exactly how I like it! It cut like Turkish Delight and was by far and away the best steak I have ever tasted!

But there were other things I noticed:

• When one of the guys left the table for a quick break, Waiter Man came over, picked up and folded the napkin and placed it on the table.
• When we went to order the wine, Waiter Man matched it to the steaks we were eating - a success!
• When the steak was served by one of the other waiters, Waiter Man oversaw it and kept our water and wine topped up.
• Waiter Man treated us like we were the only customers in the restaurant (we obviously weren’t) and he never hurried us.

Hopefully the guys will comment on this post about their impressions but I know we were all wowed! Even more so when although being so full, we made room for dessert! We even ordered the Peach Melba (which we shared) just because we wanted to see one of the other waiters come out and prepare it before us!

Even now, we are still commenting on how good it was. Time flew by without us realising - our dinner was an experience and it was all down to great company and our Waiter Man.

Why am I telling you this? Well you are your customer’s own Waiter Man. Selling to our clients should be an experience, it’s what adds value to a purchase and it’s what creates that je ne sais pas ce qui. It’s that thing that you can’t quantify which separates you from the competition.

Waiter Man was our account manager. An account manager oversees a project to ensure that you meet and exceed what the customer is looking for. The attention to detail and management of the staff that help deliver the answer are all the types of things we should be doing. You don’t get to see the kitchen staff but you know that what they deliver will be A1 and your waiter will ensure everything is presented well and exceeds your expectations.

You are your customers’ account manager - think about the last time you experienced great service and convert that experience into something you can deliver to your clients. The best thing is that delivering a great service isn’t difficult, and transferring your passion for your work to the customer is addictive and enjoyable.

I was a happy customer, I had a great experience and I’m telling you all about it. Do the same for yours and soon they’ll be telling others what a great job you do!

Always aim to exceed expectation.