By Kathleen Hawkins, Proud WOAMTEC President

Ever wonder why some restaurants succeed and some fail?
I do often…but it is no different than the Photography industry that I have spent so much time in. You can be a fabulous portrait artist and struggle to pay bills or eat. Likewise, you can be brilliant at business and teach an $8.00 an hour employee how to click a button and make a profit in the photographic industry. See, it is not as much about the craft, food or product you are selling; it is more about the experience the clients are receiving.

Recently, I was at the Ale House Restaurant in Altamonte Springs ordering take out for my family.
They have this thing where they ask you your name and then see how many times they can use it. How nice it is to here your name! We went from strangers to instant friends, only because she referred to me by name.

I felt comfortable enough to say, “you know I tried to place the order on the phone and was put on hold for more than 5 minutes, so now I am here.” She apologizes, said it was a new phone system and  immediately told the manager. He offered me a glass of wine while I was waiting and apologized profusely! Now, I looked horrible, spent the day cleaning, and he didn’t know me at all, but they treated me like I was a “SOMEBODY.”

It truly is the little things that make a difference. The simple touches. The nice gestures that make you feel important or appreciated for your business. Those are the things that keep you coming back again and again.

As I sipped my complimentary glass of Chardonnay,  I recalled one of our past experiences with one of our other WOAMTEC venues and began typing this blog on my blackberry. We brought them consistent business 30-40 women every other week for over a year at $20 a pop! After a meeting, we were celebrating because we just got a 2 page feature article promoting our chapter in a local magazine and they took pictures of our women in front of the restaurant sign.

I jokingly said to the general manager…”We are getting you free publicity…you should bring us a celebration drink!”  There were only 4 of us celebrating, what a great day it had been for the women of  WOAMTEC. The general manager responded, “Oh we can’t do that. We can’t give anything away with out the owners permission.”

That response shocked me so much, because I was half joking, but he definitely was not making me feel like a “SOMEBODY.” So I responded, “Well it sounds like you need to go call the owner. ” He didn’t and we felt so deflated. He left us feeling so discouraged, we changed venues that week. We also cropped the photo removing the restaurants sign because we were at a new location.

Why would one restaurant see value in someone ordering take out and another not see value right in front of them. Isn’t your restaurant name in print in 30,000 magazines worth 4 glasses of Chardonnay? My guess is Ale House would think so!

Remember, always choose your battles with your customers and never forget that everyone deserves to be treated like a “SOMEBODY.”

The bottom line… if you are seeing life as the glass is half empty- fill it up!
It could cost you your customer!