How to delight customers like Papa John’s Pizza
- 20 May, 2015
Last night I ordered a pizza from Papa John’s Pizza. It’s usually not my first choice but like most fast food it was convenient. I called to order the pizza and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes.
About 12 minutes later I arrived to pickup my order and was greeted by the man behind the counter who said “Oh you must be here for the Pepperoni Pizza. It will be up in two minutes. Joe right?” I was impressed that he acknowledged me by name and told me I wouldn’t be waiting as long as I thought I would.
When the pizza was ready the man brought the pizza around from behind the counter, handed it to me, looked me in the eye and said “Thank you.” This made me smile.
He then proceeded to follow me as I was leaving (I thought he was walking toward the bathroom.) When I got to the door, he opened it for me and ended our transaction wishing me a good night.
I walked into the store thinking I’d have to wait for my order. Instead what I was treated to was an experience that exceeded my expectations and left me smiling when I walked out the door.
Think of your customer interactions as weights on a scale. In one weighing pan you have delight and on the other pan you have friction. Every positive interaction adds a chip to the delight pan, every negative interaction adds one to the friction pan. In this scale though, equilibrium isn’t good enough. It merely means your customers are tolerating their experience. Create great interactions throughout the entire transaction and you will tip the scales in your favor and have a long time, happy customer.