Service Beyond Our Borders?

Long time, no blog. It was a busy weekend. I worked late Friday evening and then spent the bulk of Saturday and early Sunday at bachelor party. A friend from my Maplesoft days was the victim … er … I mean the “groom.”

There’s no need to get into much further detail here. That said, we did have two experiences over the 24 hours or so that really stuck out for me.

The first occurred on the Saturday night, at a downtown Toronto club/restaurant called the Chick N Deli. The name doesn’t really stand out, but the owner/manager clearly knew what he was doing.

We arrived at the Chick N Deli early in the evening, around 7:00pm. The place was jam packed with seniors. There was a jazz band on stage playing mostly wartime music. They were great! There were about half a dozen walkers parked close to the doors, and the dance floor was packed! And they all seemed to be regulars.

Apparently, later in the evening, when the seniors are ready to head home, a different band goes on stage, and the place fills with a much younger crowd. Likely another group of “regulars.”

So here’s this little, non-descript establishment, packed with an older crowd early in the evening (when it would be difficult to bring a younger crowd in) and then packed with a younger crowd later in the evening (when the seniors are heading home). The owner/manger is brilliant!

And not only that, but they’re all “regulars.” Chances are the business spends very little on advertising, and they offer great service!

The second experience that hit home for me occurred on the Sunday morning. We were locked out of our rental vehicle. When we phoned the rental company, we went directly to voice mail. It was Sunday morning. We were stuck. CAA came and went, and couldn’t help. We eventually had to smash a window to get into the vehicle!

So, here’s this rental company, thinking that they have provided a great service. The owner/manager was likely having a nice Sunday morning at home, with no idea that his “service” was failing miserably!

So, at Parmasters Waterloo Region, clearly we are providing a service to everyone within the center at any particular time. But, in the minds of our patrons, are we also providing a service when they’re out on the golf course? Especially if they’ve taken our Straight-Line Golf™ lessons. Is it enough for us to deliver results while our patrons are within the center? Will they expect us to deliver results when they’re not in the center?