Human ExchangePoints can make even crepes irrelevant
Last week I had a crepe for the first time. If you don’t know a crepe is a very thin pancake rolled around various ingredients, either cheese and meat or some kind of fruit. It can be quite delicious and the little shop I visited in Kingston last week was no exception. But no matter how good your product is, one little lapse in service can ruin it all.
Jaime Les Crepes is a small shop right next to the Kingston Ferry, where about 80% of its customers come from, and the whole shop can’t be more than the size of a small kitchen lending to it the distinct feel of a European shop. I liked it immediately. I enjoyed it even more when on the first day I was helped by Kattie, a two year crepe veteran. Kattie made the crepes, held a conversation with multiple customers, and rang up the orders all by herself. I was in and out in about 5 minutes or so. She was very personable, completely competent, and left me wanting to come back the next day.
The difference the next morning was night and day. I walked into the shop to see two younger girls at the counter, both seemingly in a bad mood, trying to work around each other in a cramped space. The whole mood inside the small shop had changed. When they finally got to my order (two took longer than one) it was made well, as far as I could tell, but without the conversation or the enthusiasm. Since I had to transport the order back to the cabin my wife and I were staying at, I tried to help by telling her what Kattie did the day before. This employee looked right at me and said with almost a sneer, “I’ve done this before.” Okay then… I stepped back and observed at that point. I paid for my food and brought it out to the car only to find that the container with the blueberry crepes had leaked on my foot. She hadn’t packed it right.
All of these factors make a huge difference. I would rather have this entry be a love letter to that establishment as a shining beacon of what customer service should be, but instead I would probably not remember to personally recommend that shop to anyone I know.
All companies have points at which they exchange value with customers, ExchangePoints, and the human point is often the most important (as well as the most difficult to control). Customers buy into these exchange points just like they do a regular product, I wanted the service interaction just as much as the crepe.
In the end this is the difference between a destination point and a stop of convenience. Most customers will use the product until a better alternative comes around, then the customers will jump ship and swim to a newer boat. Whether it is a service business or a chance conversation, the little things matter, and a quality Human ExchangePoint could be the difference between a loyal friend or a passing acquaintance.
