Article III

HOW TO GAIN LIFE CUSTOMERS

So I arrive at the airport, trip hasn’t even technically started yet. It’s before 8am, so all I was able to do was down a cup of coffee before the car ride. I begin searching for some breakfast. You come across the mandatory’s within the airport, Starbucks, Wendy's, Five Guy's. A bagel wouldn’t suffice, my stomach knew exactly what it needed this morning to start off a 3 week venture in another country. Pancakes. Preferably with copious amounts of syrup and more coffee. I stop into a blue wire, looking at a knock off GoPro thinking if it would be worth it, the sales rep was trying to convince me, I said I have to have breakfast before I can make any big decisions like this. She said The Kitchen is over there. 

I walk over, looks like a modern, fairly elegant place. I check the menu, there are omelettes, specialty cheeses with bagels, croissant sandwiches. I’m sold for this as a breakfast place. I walk over and ask if I can sit down to eat (what I didn’t know was that I was speaking with the manager) and being the outspoken person I am, I ask.

“Do you guys happen to make pancakes?”

"No." was the response. 

“Damn, that would have made my morning, I’ll have the white cheddar and bacon omelette.”

I received my omelette and coffee then proceed to eat slowly and enjoy the calm before the 16 hours of travel ahead, crammed into small sitting spaces with strangers. Suddenly the waitress walks over and places a plate down with two crisp and fluffy pancakes on them. 

“No way… Can I give a hug to the chef or something? Is that alright?”

I received a look along the lines of a blank stare combined with elation from the waitress. The manager came over and I gladly shook his hand and thanked him. I over-indulged and I knew within 5 minutes of sitting down on the plane, I would fall asleep before take-off. Perfect. As I paid the bill, my waitress kindly smiled and said, “We will see you next time Mr. Patrick” 

I smiled and said, “until next time”

What I didn’t mentioned was that, hell yeah, I am now a customer for life. Whenever I am in an airport, I am seeking out “The Kitchen, By Wolfgang,” or any other establishment by this mysterious Wolfgang restauranteur. 

How do you get customers to be loyal? How do get repeat users? How do you instill the most positive memorable experience from very first interaction they have with your brand, in a unique way? If I broke down a journey map of experience for this restaurant, it would might help clarify. The big kicker in the experience was that they didn’t make pancakes and didn’t tell me they could make them. The surprise factor brought 10x more joy, than if he had told me they don’t make them, but they have the ingredients. 

Exceed expectations while listening. I’m sure that if I had just asked for pancakes and received a no, that would have been the end of it. But instead he listened to how important, something so ridiculous as pancakes, could have been the highlight of my day. I can say it was the highlight of my day, because my flight was delayed for about 5 hours due to “airplane wheel replacement.” Unfortunately I didn’t get to sleep within 5 minutes on the plane.