Promotional Failure

Epic Failure. That is how I describe lunch on Tuesday at a local restaurant. The chain is celebrating 90 years, so my family went to lunch. Absolutely horrible experience. No. This is not a restaurant review. It is a customer service/business practice lesson of what not to do.

Businesses have promotions. Great idea. Businesses celebrate success. Even better idea. But when a business decides to have a promotion, it has to be ready for it. This restaurant was not.

Quick background. This is a locally based chain that has restaurants in specific markets nationwide. There are about ten local stores, including at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field), so this is not some small, start-up sole proprietorship. There are franchises, merchandise, advertising - a fully evolved business.

This same restaurant ran a similar promotion for Fathers' Day with equally bad results. What is going on?!

First, we were seated at 12:30 PM, fairly promptly, but the lobby was so crowded we had to fight our way through it. People were loitering, waiting for take-out orders. No one had any information and did not tell the unknowing diners that there would be a two-hour wait for food. We were seated as usual. Eventually, the server took our order and brought us drinks. That was the end of service for the day. Here is a snapshot of what happened:

• At the one-hour point, we asked how much longer. Did not know.
• At the 1.5-hour point, we were going to leave, but decided that we already wasted time sitting there, so we continued as we were visiting and catching up. No drink refills at all during this time. Had to find another server to find our server for refills.
• We never got silverware, so when the server finally threw down a pickle that was ordered (almost 2 hours before), we thought the rest of the food was imminent. Nope. So, we had to find someone to find our server to get silverware.
• Food arrived over 2 hours after ordering. We were all so hungry by that point, feeling somewhat sick. We ate and left, disgruntled and ready to tell anyone who would listen how bad the experience was.

So, this may seem trivial, but from a business point of view, it is exactly how NOT to treat your customers. We have a loyalty card as we eat here too often. But the restaurant did nothing to prepare for the surge that they knew was coming. This same thing happened just a couple months ago, was blasted all over social media, and was discussed widely as a current event in the area.

What could have been done:

• The restaurant sent out a social media post that some locations ran out of bread around 1:00 PM. This is a sandwich place. Sandwich and pizza. Isn't there an inventory control system or someone paying attention when supplies run low? Knowing that there is surge demand, where are the extra eyes on inventory? Ball dropped.
• Give accurate information. The restaurant never told in-person diners that there was a 2 hour wait. That is key information to make a decision about staying or not. Some tables left, walked out, no food or service. How do you think they will describe the experience?
• The online orders and in-store orders were not differentiated. So the flood of orders were filled in the order received, with no priority or recognition of in-store patrons. How hard would that have been? It is already known in the system as an order is either plated or boxed, so maybe in-person diners don't want to sit around for two hours. It's different if you are waiting at home or work - you have options. Not when you are sitting in the restaurant.
• Train servers to be goodwill ambassadors. Knowing that there is a surge, think ahead of what can minimize guest discomfort. No drink refills over 2 hours? That is unacceptable. Our server could have brought a pitcher of soft drinks or water and we would have been self-sufficient. Instead, we had to hunt down our server for any service at all. While it was not her fault for the timing of the food, she could have done a lot more to keep us comfortable during the prolonged wait.
• Plan ahead for staffing. Why were there not more people in the kitchen? Why was there not an in-store order expediter that could just focus on in-store orders? Again, totally different perspective waiting at home or work versus sitting in an overly cold restaurant with no drinks, comfort, or information.

Not ready for prime time. That is the takeaway. Why was this so difficult when the exact same fiasco happened two months ago? Bad business planning, or actually no forethought and planning. Is it market arrogance that you think your customers won't mind or will forget? If you cannot handle the promotion, don't do it. More ill will is created than goodwill. This is a beloved Pittsburgh restaurant, so maybe there will not be too much damage, but reputationally, I know a restaurant full of people who will never go again when there is something to celebrate and have likely told everyone they speak with about the bad experience.

I'm not hangry, so it is safe to speak with me. If your business cannot handle a surge or has structural issues that will cause a customer service failure, schedule a complementary call with me. You can have successful promotions and build goodwill. Thank you, Libby ([email protected]).