Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Brand Redemption
Last night I experienced redemption. Not for myself, but from the other
side of the table...literally. But let me start at the beginning.
My wife and I ate at The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, Maine, for our anniversary two years ago. The White Barn Inn is the only AAA Five Diamond, Mobil Five Star restaurant in New England. We're talking about the finest of fine dining, top notch service, a refined atmosphere, the works. Needless to say, our expectations were high.
Unfortunately, our expectations could not have been less adequately met. Briefly, the tuna carpaccio was served on a hot plate and was sliced so thin that it pretty much melted and had to be scraped off the plate nano-speck by nano-speck. The lobster bisque tasted bad and had a soggy fritter floating limply at the edge of the bowl. The lobster dinner had an ammonia flavor (a sign of bad lobster) that permeated the entire dish and made every morsel on the plate inedible. This is in Maine, which I have heard is the source of 90% of the world's lobster! We were so disappointed that we left before dessert was served, bringing it back to our hotel with us, where we were equally underwhelmed. My wife and I agreed to never go back, and were not shy about telling people of our experience.
My wife sent a disappointed letter to the White Barn Inn, expressing our dissatisfaction, and we assumed that was the end of it. But someone responded, offering us a gift certificate to come back and try them again. I try to keep an open mind, and even while this was happening, half-assumed their chef must have been on vacation that week and that it couldn't be that bad normally! So we accepted their offer and agreed to come back and try again.
Two years later, we finally had the chance. And our experience couldn't have been more different. Every course was perfectly executed - with sometimes delicate, sometimes kick-you-in-the-face (in a good way) flavors, beautiful presentation, aromas that hit you as soon as the food was delivered, the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've ever had, etc. I'm no food critic, so I won't even try to describe it, though I will mention the roquefort mousse was indescribably delicious. (That one had a kick-you-in-the-face flavor!)
Anyway, this long post is appropriate here on Beenovation because it's about brand redemption. Beehive Media is a service business. We live and die by our reputation, as do so many of our clients. And we're not the cheapest option out there, like the White Barn Inn, so when we disappoint our clients, I think it stings that much more. This experience has reminded me that you can always accept and admit when things haven't gone well; you can always offer to do something about it; you can always do your best to redeem yourself. And if your audience is open to it, and honest with themselves, they will accept your genuine efforts to change outcomes.
This has also reminded me that at the core, every service business is really at least as much about delivering service as it is about executing on a deliverable. Good execution is assumed. More importantly, you must listen, understand and translate your client's vision, integrate it with your own vision, and make everyone feel as though their problems are being solved, and the experience is a pleasure all along the way. This has helped us for 15 years in business, and I expect that if we live up to these standards, it will help for another 15 years or more.
side of the table...literally. But let me start at the beginning.
My wife and I ate at The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, Maine, for our anniversary two years ago. The White Barn Inn is the only AAA Five Diamond, Mobil Five Star restaurant in New England. We're talking about the finest of fine dining, top notch service, a refined atmosphere, the works. Needless to say, our expectations were high.
Unfortunately, our expectations could not have been less adequately met. Briefly, the tuna carpaccio was served on a hot plate and was sliced so thin that it pretty much melted and had to be scraped off the plate nano-speck by nano-speck. The lobster bisque tasted bad and had a soggy fritter floating limply at the edge of the bowl. The lobster dinner had an ammonia flavor (a sign of bad lobster) that permeated the entire dish and made every morsel on the plate inedible. This is in Maine, which I have heard is the source of 90% of the world's lobster! We were so disappointed that we left before dessert was served, bringing it back to our hotel with us, where we were equally underwhelmed. My wife and I agreed to never go back, and were not shy about telling people of our experience.
My wife sent a disappointed letter to the White Barn Inn, expressing our dissatisfaction, and we assumed that was the end of it. But someone responded, offering us a gift certificate to come back and try them again. I try to keep an open mind, and even while this was happening, half-assumed their chef must have been on vacation that week and that it couldn't be that bad normally! So we accepted their offer and agreed to come back and try again.
Two years later, we finally had the chance. And our experience couldn't have been more different. Every course was perfectly executed - with sometimes delicate, sometimes kick-you-in-the-face (in a good way) flavors, beautiful presentation, aromas that hit you as soon as the food was delivered, the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've ever had, etc. I'm no food critic, so I won't even try to describe it, though I will mention the roquefort mousse was indescribably delicious. (That one had a kick-you-in-the-face flavor!)
Anyway, this long post is appropriate here on Beenovation because it's about brand redemption. Beehive Media is a service business. We live and die by our reputation, as do so many of our clients. And we're not the cheapest option out there, like the White Barn Inn, so when we disappoint our clients, I think it stings that much more. This experience has reminded me that you can always accept and admit when things haven't gone well; you can always offer to do something about it; you can always do your best to redeem yourself. And if your audience is open to it, and honest with themselves, they will accept your genuine efforts to change outcomes.
This has also reminded me that at the core, every service business is really at least as much about delivering service as it is about executing on a deliverable. Good execution is assumed. More importantly, you must listen, understand and translate your client's vision, integrate it with your own vision, and make everyone feel as though their problems are being solved, and the experience is a pleasure all along the way. This has helped us for 15 years in business, and I expect that if we live up to these standards, it will help for another 15 years or more.
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