Make It Or Break It - 3 Key Differences For Businesses

Introduction:

In the past 12 months, my wife and I experienced two dramatically different services by two food establishments. One was in Atlanta, GA by the name of Chai Peking, and the second was in Monsey, NY by the name of Monsey BBQ and Grill.?

The two experiences were so dramatically different that we will never go back to one whereas we will go out of our way for the other!?

What made them so distinctly different??

Chai Peking:

The owner at Chai Peking was rude and had a terrible attitude and character [For the full story, read this article ]. It seemed that the owner had only one thing in mind = make a sale and make it as big as possible. He didn’t care whether the customer was happy with the order or not. It wasn’t as if it was going to be a major loss for him, but he chose to be “right” and have the customer feel bad about themselves.?

Monsey BBQ and Grill:?

At Monsey BBQ and Grill, there’s this guy that works there that goes by the name of Yaacov. He is so friendly, is so charismatic, and makes everyone that eats there feel super good about themselves [For the full story, read this article ]. For Yaacov, the thrill of working in his position is to see the smiles he puts on the faces (and tummies) of the people he serves. Yaacov makes you feel that the only thing that matters in the world is your satisfaction.?

Key Differences:

The differences between Chai Peking and Monsey BBQ and Grill are massive, one will make you feel like you are the only customer in the world, whereas the other will make you feel like your wallet is the only thing that matters. However, the three differences that make or break each of these organizations are:?

Difference 1: Impression

Chai Peking had such terrible customer service that it made my wife and I forego our passion for Chinese Foods (in case you didn’t notice, my wife and I are foodies - her more than I). Whereas Monsey BBQ and Grill will have us drive 20 minutes out of our way only in order to experience Yaacov’s enthusiasm not to mention the tasty food that they serve there.?

Lesson:

The lesson is that it doesn’t matter the quality of your product or service. It doesn’t matter whether you are priced right. What matters most is the impression you leave on your customers. They will either leave with a terrible taste in their mouths or want to only do business with you. It will all boil down to your attitude and character at that time of service. You may be priced more than your competitor, you may have lesser quality products or services, but your attitude will make or break your business.?

Difference 2: Personal or Professional?

Let’s assume that perhaps the owner of Chai Peking was just having a bad or “off” day on that particular day that we were there. Perhaps normally he’s a great guy and truly serves his customers in a top-notch manner. We all can have those “off” days. However, Yaacov at Monsey BBQ and Grill seemed to have never had an “off” day. Even if he was ever having an “off” day, he at least knows how to put it aside when it comes to serving his customers.??

Lesson:

Leave your problems at home, or learn how to cope with your issues, but never make your customer feel the brunt of your “bad day”. It has nothing to do with your customer, and if you do not know how to cope with your struggles, there are resources available to you so that you can better cope. Yes, this may sound trivial, however, first impressions, second impressions, and experiences all matter a whole lot! These impressions and experiences will make or break your business. Customers don’t really care how your day or life is going, they care that they get good service, good products, and a good deal.?

Difference 3: Ego

The owner of Chai Peking seemed too busy with how he felt or what he thought was right. Even though it can be argued that we were at fault on some level and it was our responsibility to specify the quantity size of the portions we were seeking to purchase. The guy from Chai Peking was too busy being “right”. Whereas Yaacov from Monsey BBQ and Grill doesn’t care about what he’s feeling, he is entirely focused on: How satisfied is the customer? Is the customer getting everything they need? Are their expectations being met or perhaps even exceeded? Yaacov is not ashamed or afraid to call out across the restaurant just to make sure that the customer is fully satisfied, happy, and having a good time.

Chai Peking’s owner is too focused on licking his wounds and ego, while Yaacov from Monsey BBQ and Grill has left his ego at the door when he entered his work that day. Now, that’s a massive differentiator!?

Lesson:

Many people go to work for themselves because they have had negative experiences working for others. Often you will hear many business owners say “I’m not the type of person that can work for someone. I need to be my own boss.”?

Well, here’s a little wake-up call for you…?

If you do not like bosses, then don’t work at all.?

If you would prefer only one boss, stick to your 9-5 and suck it up working for someone.?

But if you think that going to start your own business will negate you from having a boss, you’re very wrong. Now you have just acquired yourself hundreds of bosses, your customers.

You now work for your customers. They are the bosses, they are the ones that will be paying your paycheck at the end of the day. So you better treat them right or else you will have a hard time holding on to your “job” - you will lose customers.

Therefore, when dealing with customers, leave your ego out of it. It no longer has anything to do with you. You are serving them and that requires a good attitude, a good character, and it will require you to leave them with a good impression and giving them something to come back for.

Most shopping experiences these days are experiences rather than necessities. Be irresistible, and watch how many people will keep coming back to you. You won’t have to worry so much about the quality of your product or the price of your service, leave them wanting more, and watch how they will crawl back for more!?

Bottom line:

The bottom line is that one of the two establishments created a "resistance" and a "tension" while the other proved to be irresistible. The meaning of the differentiation will be explained in the next and final article, however, for the purposes of this discussion, Chai Peking has created a resistance by which if the owner would have removed his ego for a little bit or would have put aside his negative behavior, attitude, and character, my wife and I would not have the need to avoid his business every time we travel to Atlanta, GA.

Whereas in contrast, Monsey BBQ and Grill will get our business every single time we are in Monsey, NY. Even if our meetings or our business is elsewhere in NY, we will go out of our way to go see our irresistible friend Yaacov. His attitude, character, and behavior earned our hearts (and tummies) and business.?

You see, when you are focused on running your business with a positive attitude and with a good character, your behavior will provide a competitive advantage. You will make the customer feel good, and that’s the most important impression you can give. Remember, please remember how you make them feel. No matter what. People remember how you make them feel more than they remember other things.

Stay tuned for the next article which will discuss the difference between resistible and irresistible in which we will also cover how to make your business so irresistible that people will go out of their way to do business only with you.?

In the meantime, what experiences did you encounter that caused you resistance, and which experience did you encounter that you have such great memories of? What about that experience was so special to you??

What can you do today to make your business more irresistible??

Please feel free to reach out, and let's explore together how we can make your business "irresistible". Feel free to visit our website www.yermikurkus.com or you can email us at [email protected] . We are also reachable on LinkedIn , Bizfluence , Facebook , Instagram , and YouTube .

Yermi Kurkus