Delivering the Pizza and the Promise
By Matthew Hart | BBS

It's Saturday night. The phones are going crazy and there are people lined up to the door. Standing at the counter is an angry customer whose pizzas are not what they ordered. What your staff say and do next will not only determine whether that customer comes back, but also gives you an insight into how your business manages issues and crises.

While those in the industry make their dough on good pizza, how they deliver the promise of good service and customer satisfaction can really determine if their business will survive.

Customers all have expectations of what they will receive in any retail transaction – not just from the product but from the organisation and staff they will be interacting with. As the dollar value of the transaction increases, generally so too do the expectations. Meet or exceed these expectations and you are likely to foster customers loyalty. Fail to meet these expectations and not only are you unlikely to see this customer again, but you may also be unlikely to see this customer’s friends, family, work colleagues and anyone else they may care to share their experience with.

Whether you call it customer relations, customer management or even public relations, the principle is the same. Customers don’t just want delicious pizza, they way great service – and if an issue arises, even better service.

For business owners this means not only training staff in food hygiene, safety, computer systems, etc but also in people management.

By having simple procedures in place, staff will be empowered to proactively and consistently manage situations before they develop into crises.

Steps to Customer Satisfaction
Listen: Ensure staff show the customer that they understand what the customer’s issue is. This is not necessarily an admission of guilt or blame, but a simple step of showing customers that what they are saying matters. This could be as simple as taking the customer to one side, having appropriate body language and repeating the concerns of the customer.

Offer: Staff need to be confident and proactive enough to offer to fix the problem immediately (if possible).

Ask: In some cases, issues can be quickly resolved if staff politely ask the customer what they can do to ensure they leave happy.

Act: An easy way to defuse an issue is to promise immediate action. And once this commitment is given, this action needs to be delivered. If no follow-up action is taken, then issues can escalate despite the best intentions.

Case Study
The following real case study demonstrates how establishing and adhering to an issues management procedure is essential.

1. Annonymous Pizza receives a call from Today Tonight saying that a customer has come forward claiming that they found “baby’s teeth” in their pizza.

2. Annonymous Pizza says it is not aware of the case but launches an investigation to get to the bottom of the issue. It does not admit guilt at this point, but conveys concern for the customer. It also reiterates its commitment to food safety and hygiene and details the business’ procedures and protocols.

3. It asks Today Tonight and the customer to supply a sample of the pizza in question so it can be independently tested.

4. Suspecting that the “baby’s teeth” may be gristle or bone, Annonymous Pizza conducts an audit of its ingredients and liaises with suppliers. Nothing unusual is identified.

5. Sample of pizza supplied and Annonymous Pizza asks Today Tonight to hold off airing the story until the results of the independent tests have been revealed.

6. Independent tests show that the items in the pizza are in fact baby’s teeth, but the tests also show that the teeth were not exposed to the substantial heat of the pizza oven. This means the teeth were added after the pizza was made and likely to have been placed in the pizza by the customer.

7. Today Tonight drops the story.

What To Look Out For
The Small Stuff
Examples: Wrong pizza orders, cold pizzas, wrong amounts, delays, poor service
How to handle: Staff need to be empowered to immediately rectify problems such as these with a sincere apology and swift action, such as pizza remakes or vouchers for a free pizza on their next visit.

The Big Stuff
Examples: Allegations of contamination, hygiene breaches, etc.
How to handle: These are examples all business owners dread, but having a process in place makes it easier to manage.

• All details of the allegation need to be recorded

• A sample of the offending pizza needs to be collected for independent testing

• Replacement pizzas should be offered

• A commitment to follow the matter up needs to be given by the manager/owner

• Don’t be afraid to work with other organisations, such as food authorities, as they will be able to assist you (and even clear you of any wrongdoing)

• Customers need to be informed of the outcome.

The Media Stuff
Examples:
Media following up allegations made against your business, such as poor service, below standard hygiene and contaminated products

How to handle:
• Staff should be told to pass any media call or inquiry immediately and directly to the manager or owner.

• Only the manager or owner should be allowed to speak to the media.

• Have the media outline what their inquiry is about

• If you are unaware of the particular allegation, tell the journalist that no-one has raised this issue with you but you would be happy to speak to the complainant directly to resolve the issue.

• If you don’t know the answer to a particular question, make a commitment to investigate immediately and call the journalist back as soon as possible with the answer

• If you don’t know the answers immediately, don’t lie

• Don’t ignore media as they are unlikely to go away