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For anyone that has worked in the customer service business, specifically food service, you will appreciate this post.
My husband and I love wine. Oh, and food. So when we read that we had one of the top rated restaurants for BOTH in our backyard, we had to try it. And when we found out how much it cost and that it took at least a month’s planning to get a reservation, we thought we’d make it our Christmas present.
The Herbfarm is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. They don’t follow any of the rules of high class dining. They have no view. Part of the experience (if you choose) is to go outside and feed a pig. You sit with people you don’t know and you meet the dishwasher.
It’s a 9 course dinner that takes about 4 -5 hours to experience. There is “one sitting” per night and they are only open Thursday - Sunday. The restaurant holds 50 people. The kitchen is in the same room as the diners. At the beginning of the meal the staff lines up in front of the kitchen counter and the owner/founder and his wife introduce everyone from the head chef to the sommelier to the dishwasher. Each and every one of these people has an impressive resume’. At age 19 our sommelier graduated from Vassar. One of the “servers” worked at the French Laundry in Napa Valley, and the list goes on.
The sommelier and head chef discuss the menu for the evening. The menu is printed out in a beautiful souvenir program and we are informed can change right up to hours before the meal because it’s all about what is fresh from the garden — their garden — just outside with the pig. Basil.
In between courses, guests are invited to walk around the house, take in the antiques, and the amazing bathroom with the most accouterments you’ve ever seen in your life. Herbal lotions, gels, soaps and sprays they make themselves. Each time you leave your table, a fresh linen napkin is placed on your place setting with the herb or flower of the day. Ours was a sprig of fresh pine. Which we will experience later when we cleanse our pallets with douglas fir ice.
The most amazing thing about the experience (besides the incredible food and wine and champagne and port and chocolates, oh my) was the service. Because they literally serve 50 people at the same time, it requires a complete team effort. Everyone from the owner to the sommelier to the sous chef is moving around the dining room clearing plates, filling water goblets, replacing napkins. There are no busboys, waiters, and hostesses. EveryONE is EveryTHING. It’s the ultimate expression of teamwork.
There is no bill presented at the end of the meal either. When you reserve (or rather, first request a reservation) you give them a credit card. They take a $100 deposit and inform you that the balance, which always includes gratuity, will be deducted sometime after the dinner date. You don’t sign a thing. There are many items in the house that are for sale. I had to buy the Herbfarm cookbook written by the chef. I asked one of the staff if it would be possible, when he had time, for the chef to autograph it for my friend Michelle. In all of this hustle and bustle she said, absolutely and walked away. About an hour later the book was presented to me, with the right inscription and the amount of the book was added to the bill. I didn’t have to fill out a form, or go to some cash register and stand in line to pay. There was no process. Their goal is simply to make your dining experience as wonderful as possible.
Which brings me to the pig. Since the beginning, they have had a pot bellied pig on the property. The original pig was Hamlet (god rest his soul) but now they have a pig named Basil. He is being trained to be a truffle pig. But they invite you at anytime during the dinner to just “ask your server” if you can go feed the pig. I did. She said that John would meet me in the parlor. John was waiting, with a cute hand painted bucket of pig food and directed me down a lighted path through the herb garden. Basil was waiting for me. He’s done this before. I did as instructed (pigs don’t know the difference between food and fingers) and even got to pet his little furry head.
Back to the restaurant, it’s time for french pressed coffee and homemade chocolates. 50 of my new closest friends have carefully chosen their blend of coffee and are accurately receiving their order at almost the exact same time.
The final amount was billed to my account yesterday. Grand total $549.00. It was worth every penny. I think we’ll make it a holiday tradition.
I have clients in the financial institution arena who are struggling with customer service. Their staff opens checking accounts and books consumer loans. And they do it one customer at a time. The experience is nothing to write home about. It’s your typical errand.
It’s much harder to make seared duck foie gras with vanilla parsnips, quince and cider sauce for 50 and pair it with a 2005 Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Riesling and serve it beautifully. If you want to see great leadership and teamwork in action, make your reservations today for the Herbfarm. It’s cheaper than sending your branch managers to some lame conference.
Just got back from a trip. Had a big pile of mail on my desk. This is how I sort mine.
Click on BLOG title to enjoy my little movie — made on my new MacBook Pro….
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
“Your customers are only satisfied because their expectations are so low and because no one else is doing better.”
Ken Blanchard’s bestselling book Raving Fans opens with that phrase. Could truer words be spoken of the financial institution industry? Banking is an errand. You don’t GET to go to the bank (or credit union) you HAVE to. Do you know what your customers think of you? Would they recommend you to their friends and family?
The Modern Marketer acknowledges that you can’t beg for business anymore, now you have to earn it. That means you have to stop throwing money at traditional marketing efforts. Direct mail, for instance. I cannot believe how many financial institutions still do this. I’m creating my own little commercial. It shows my hands opening a Capital One direct mail piece, walking it over to a machine with teeth and the voice over says, “Capital One. What’s in YOUR shredder?” I ask marketers all the time what their return rate is on this antiquated process — less than 1%!! That’s a 99% failure rate. Can you imagine spending any part of your marketing budget that yields such dismal results?
So why do we do it? Because we’ve always done it that way. The other thing financial institutions are so guilty of — advertising with hullabaloo “me too” products. Every time I see a FREE CHECKING banner on a bank I chuckle. That would be like my grocery store hanging a sing that says “We have MORE food.”
The biggest myth ever perpetuated by the industry was this — checking determines a customer’s PFI (primary financial institution). It was believed that if you GOT a person’s checking account, that they would consider YOU to be their primary financial institution and come to you for all of their financial needs. Here’s why that didn’t work — PFI is a financial institutions’ goal — not one shared by consumers.
I know what you’re thinking — on your last survey you asked that question. Do you consider us (insert your name) to be your PFI? And many of them said yes. Okay — then look at your services per household. If PFI is real — wouldn’t your services per household be really high? My clients average around 1.9. That sucks. If one of those services IS the checking, than it got you .9 of another.
One other point I have to throw out here. It’s called “stickiness”. Old marketers still justify the direct mail expense of free checking because IF you get someone to sign up for Bill Pay AND they use it, they are far less likely to ever move their checking account again. Why? Because it’s a pain in the butt to set up. Nice strategy. Let’s assume that is true — then eventually, won’t we ALL be STUCK? I use bill pay. I love it and I will agree that it would take a pretty heinous act to get me to move. Which brings me to my real point. The number one reason people MOVE their checking account — bad service. NOT because your bank’s checking is “more free.”
My advice: Stop doing what doesn’t work. The relentless pursuit of product (checking) makes no sense today. It seems like the best strategy a financial institution could adopt today in this commodity saturated world is to focus on the experience. The only bank I know of that has really devoted the time and energy it takes to wow a customer is Umpqua Bank. They are serious about service and it shows. The marketing department at Umpqua works “with” the branch managers to create this experience. They helped to create the Umpqua Blend of coffee, partnered with local musicians to create a program called “Discover Local Music” and feature a Local Hero each month at the branch. The modern marketer goes beyond product pushing and understands that your brand is your reputation. What is YOUR reputation?
There is no other state in the nation as branded as Texas. Not New York or North Dakota and certainly not California. Texas has got it goin’ on. The Lone Star State is proud of their history and their heritage. The Star (their logo) is everywhere. On the freeways carved into the concrete of supports, on the sidewalk, license plates, dinner napkins, t-shirts at the mall (not just the airport gift shop), you name it.
It reminds me of being in Disney World. You know how you’ll notice that mouse creeping up on your soap, in your drink, on the lawn, on the shape of lamps. That’s kind of creepy if you ask me.
But I digress. I’m in Big D. Dallas, Texas. Home of JR Ewing. And I’m loving it! Everything’s bigger in Texas. The hair, the martinis, the baked potatoes. My friend Shari and I ordered the Texas Tator at Jason’s deli. I’m not exaggerating when I say this potato was bigger than my head. Smothered in Texas BBQ and cheddar cheese. It could feed a family of four. For a week.
Texas is the only state in the nation where you can go to Home Depot and buy stepping stones for your backyard in the shape of the state. Think about it. Better yet, go to your Home Depot and try to do that.
If you think YOUR state is more branded than Texas, I’d love to hear from you.
Giddyup.
Okay, maybe I am a feminist. But I have to tell you — it is a man’s world. When it comes to business travel, I know what it feels like to be a minority. Today is a perfect example. I’m flying from Seattle to Chicago (currently stuck) and onto Hartford, CN. In the Red Carpet Room as I gaze around me I see only 3 women. All the rest are men - and it is packed in here. AND those three women appear to be traveling partners or vacationers. The TV is on at the bar (which only has BUD and BUD LIGHT on tap) and is playing some kind of sporting event. Every stool at the bar is occupied by a man in a wrinkled shirt, and ill fitting slacks with his big CrackBerry on his belt.
In a WOMAN’S world we would be watching What Not to Wear. Screaming at the set in horror at bad shoe decisions — and cheering with delight when the soccer mom from Racine decides to finally cut her 80’s hair! We would have chocolate martinis in our hands and there would be microbrews on tap. There would be a manicure/pedicure salon where the “smoking room” currently is. There’s nothing RED about the Red Carpet Room. It’s actually rather beige. If it were a woman’s world — we would fix that.
When I went to buy my first suitcase for business travel I discovered that all suitcases are built for the man’s wardrobe. Suit, dress shirt, tie. The garment bag is the classic example. If it chicks rules the business travel world you would have a suitcase with a separate department just for shoes. So they don’t touch your clothes — some kind of trough where you could get at least six pairs in there. The new TSA requirements — All liquid items (and this includes mascara and liquid eyeliner for god’s sake) must fit in one clear, re-sealable quart-sized plastic bag, in containers of 3.4oz or less. Are you kidding me? What woman traveling for business is that low maintenance? My hair products alone won’t fit in that bag. I rent my cars through AVIS. They were trying to help out the business traveler by giving them toothpaste, shave cream, and cheap shampoo when you rent a car. That’s all it takes for a dude to go to a meeting. I gave it back to them.
People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue had an entire section devoted to sexy bald men, sexy men who dared to go grey and sexy men with glasses. People magazine ran an issue on women at 40, 50, and 60 who still look 30! There is no pressure for a man to look 30. He’s allowed to be sexy bald, grey, fat and wearing ugly glasses, and we will still print him on the page. Unless he’s gay. When C & C Music Factory made their video for the hit song “Everybody Dance Now” the fabulous
And don’t even get me started with the music industry. Try this right now. Turn on your TV to VH-1. Watch videos (which apparently only run in the middle of the night –so you’ll have to do this later) for 1/2 an hour. Find me ONE regular looking woman. Just one. Someone who is not perfectly thin,huge rack, scantily dressed, puffed up lips, huge hair blowing in the wind gyrating their hips.
In the hit song Everybody Dance Now by C+C Music Factory, Martha Wash’s (incredible vocals) were lip synced because her “size” was not marketable. Can anybody say Meatloaf? Ozzie Osbourne? Jack Black? The dudes on VH1 can be greasy-haired, sloppily dressed, standing in one place strumming a guitar. If you look at the Top 10 downloads on iTunes today the women — all extremely sexy with album cover photos that look like the cover of MAXIM magazine — Beyonce’, Gwen Stefani, Nellie Furtado, Fergie (not the Duchess) and Avril Levigne (okay she’s more angry than sexy but she is thin). Check out the dudes…..Akon with Snoop Dogg (could there be a slimier guy on earth?) The All American Rejects (not a pretty bunch of guys, thus the name), Snow Patrol (ditto) and okay — Justin Timberlake who is very pretty.
So I guess what I’m saying is — if I have to travel with this many men — at least I want something great to look at. There’s very little pressure today for a man to look good (unless he’s gay). Justin Timberlake’s hit promises that he’s bringing sexy back. I’ll let him.
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