06 Jul Distinctly less than soup-er service

The last few weeks have been pretty manic at Onswitch HQ, in every sense. It’s quite common for mealtimes to get missed in a normal working day, never mind when we’re all extra-busy and juggling the responsibilities of our many roles colliding – as parents, children, employers, project managers and all-round miracle workers.

And so it came to pass that one day last week, at almost 3 o’clock, we realised that we’d missed lunch. Fortunately there is a rather fabulous deli very close to Onswitch HQ, so we popped round for a couple of soups.

“Hello, can I have two soups please?”

“We stop serving soup at 3pm.”

“But it’s only just 3, and I can see the soup just there. Please can I have a couple of portions?”

“No.”

At this point we may have lost the plot just a little bit.

Politely, but firmly, a plot-losing occurred.

As a customer, it’s frustrating to be able to see and smell the lovely soup sitting just inches away, requiring no extra work to serve, when indeed selling us two portions would have saved these from being thrown away now that soup time was so categorically over.

Somebody very wise once said that feedback is a gift, and it was duly given.

Clearly a common sense slip.

Computer says no.

Probably a new member of staff who could not see the bigger picture.

But a customer doesn’t know when someone is new, and it shouldn’t matter.

This kind of thing happens all the time, and it got us thinking – where is the ‘soup moment’ in your business? Where do you follow the rules, but to the detriment of your customer experience? Not booking appointments after 4pm so that staff can catch up at the end of the day and go home on time? Keeping spare car park spaces free for staff when clients have to park elsewhere?

Sometimes it’s all too easy to do the wrong thing, by doing what the system says is the right thing. We all need a common sense filter in place, we should all be allowed to override the ‘system’ and make executive decisions where the customer clearly benefits. Because how much more would we have loved that soup if we’d been told that yes, of course we could have two portions, even though we don’t normally serve it after 3. Then it has become special soup, and we are the chosen ones, anointed with the blessings of spicy parsnip.

Which is ironic, considering the poor waitress was within a couple of seconds of that too….