Why some people order pizza online

Bad customer service speaks volumes

Having completed a day of work in a northern city, it was decided tonight’s dinner was not going to be another meal at the hotel. The individual driving to work that morning mentioned several restaurants as he drove to the location of the meeting for the day.

As we walked through the lifestyle center, we decided to try the restaurant whose name included the phrase “gourmet pizza”. The initial experience was much like any other restaurant; someone says hello and asks how many. They walked you to a table and place menus before each individual.

A second person arrives to take the drink orders and says,” your waitress will be with you in a minute”.

Looking through the menu there are many choices for pizzas along with one page of selections for those not inclined to want a pizza. Definitely, pizza is their specialty.

Drinks arrive, and shortly thereafter so does the waitress. The experience so far has been OK, but nothing that is going to cause you to take note about. However, the initial conversation with the waitress is what gives cause to this article.

“Are you ready to order?”, says the waitress followed by “Do you have any questions?”

“Yes. Let me ask about your pizzas. Are they Chicago style or are they New York style pizzas?”

The waitress says she does not understand, and thinking she does not understand the southern accent, the question is repeated.
“I don’t know what the difference is”, the waitress responds.

We explain that a Chicago pizza has a thick crust and a New York pizza has a thin crust. With that information given, we ask the question again. The answer by the waitress is very “non-committal” and therein lies the reason for the title of this article.

With the waitress being the person a customer is going to have the most experience within a restaurant and her not knowing what she is selling, it gives you the feeling that you are on your own to figure out the menu. The customer is not likely going to ask the waitress to bring someone else who has a better understanding of the menu. The waitress becomes an order taker instead of a salesperson. The only hope of her adding anything to the experience is if she has an engaging personality.

And with the name of the business including, “gourmet pizza”, you have an expectation of there being something special. The lack of a knowledgeable staff begins to change your perspective of the business. The customer might think it is easier to just order a pizza online where they can take their time reading the product description.

There is also the perspective of the waitress in this conversation. She has just experienced a customer who has more knowledge about pizza than she does. What should be her area of expertise in her job has just been proven to relegate her to being an order taker instead of an expert on pizza.

Her employer has made a mistake. While part of the customer’s viewpoint of “gourmet pizza” will be based on the pizza they eat, the knowledge and salesmanship of the waitress is also a part. However, in this case there is none.

The waitress can see she is not getting to add any value to the experience of her customers. This has become just another job. It is no surprise why many people easily leave one job and go to another. This person has not had her employer make an investment in her so that she can add something to the experience the customer wants to have.

While we should always consider the customer when we are hiring and educating new employees, we need to also consider the new employee. Are we making this just another job? Or are we making the job at our business something that is unique; different; and one that requires special skills that we are willing to invest the time and effort to make sure our employee gains?

When we advertise, hopefully we are telling existing and potential customers our business is different in many ways and not just showing special prices for a limited time.

Without the difference, it is no surprise that an employee sees us as just another job and the customer decides to buy online.

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