Customer experience

At Mary's we want everyone to leave with a smile on their face and that's why this module focuses on the importance of creating positive customer experiences. 

Our goal is for everyone to leave feeling satisfied with the experience we have provided them. From the time they walk through the door to the time they leave, we want them to feel welcomed. To ensure this we follow the following values.

Values we uphold throughout service:

Adaptable: Go above and beyond to make the customer happy and adapt to their needs within reason. 

Timeliness: Provide timely service in all that we do. Attend to customer requests quickly and follow up if it's taking time for them to receive food or drink.  Keep the customer informed if there is a long wait for any items.  

Personal connection:  Provide personalized customer experiences, make the guest of honour feel special and make conversation when you have time. 

Complaint management 

Customers complain for various reasons, regardless of how trivial it may seem to us, all efforts should be made so the customer feels they have been listened to and their complaint resolved. The most important thing for us at Mary’s is to resolve an issue so the customer, should they leave a review, can say we did our best to help them.  

Common complaints: 

"The food and venue were good, however, unfortunately, the service was bad" 

"We were sat for over 25 minutes with no waiter interaction (on a seemingly light crowd). Despite being told she was coming. I had to go up and ask to be served twice and still nothing… so we decided to leave and it was the best decision we could have made based off reading some of the other low-scoring reviews for this place." 

"we’re left feeling so disappointed because the service was so bad, in fact it was virtually nonexistent. Every time we needed something we had to get up and ask. We had to find a waiter to order and reorder. We cleared out our table twice! We ordered scones after the mains and the waiter just left all the dirty dishes on the table! We saw other patrons doing the same thing. As we left we saw so many tables not been cleared and a huge stack of dirty dishes mounted up at the front area. The food was ok- the scones were really delicious but we would never go back. I’d rather serve myself and clean up after myself at home and not have to pay for it! The place has the possibility of being really great but the owner needs to wake up to themselves."

Managing tricky situations 

Acknowledgement

1. 1. Acknowledge what the customer is saying.

   2. Apologise.

   3. Repeat in your words back to the customer their complaint to show that you have heard and understand what they are saying to you, making sure you aren’t missing any facts. 

Customer -“My pie is cold!”

You - “Oh no, I am so sorry your pie is cold. Let me fix this for you.”

1. 4. If a complaint is related to an allergy or 

Communication

2. 1. Let the manager know the exact situation.

   2. If the issue is an easy fix, do so immediately, if possible. E.G get the kitchen to make a new pie

   3. If the issue is bigger than a quick fix, refer to the manager. 

   4. The manager will do the following:

      • Seek out the customer to get first-hand knowledge and make a decision on handling the complaint. Methods of resolving may include:

        • • Complimentary sparkling

          • Comp the meal altogether

          • Ask the customer what you can do for them Act quickly and keep your promises

          • Don’t over-promise something

          • Ensure any monetary resolution is put into Square i.e: comping an item

Follow up

2. 5. Touch base with the customer to see if they are satisfied with the result. 

   6. Let them know feedback was passed on to the relevant departments for improvement.

   7. Thank them.