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There was a Fly in the soup!!! But they kept the customer

Written by: Bob Janet

Article Overview: We have all heard it happened to someone, we have herd the jokes, Customer to Waiter: “What is that fly doing in my soup?” Waiter. “Looks like the back stroke.” Customer to Waiter: “There is a fly in my soup.” Waiter: “Don’t worry, He will not eat much.”

There was a Fly in the soup!!! But they kept the customer

The other day I was having lunch with my good friend Bert. We were engrossed in conversation about the many details needed to be taken care of for a big party he and his wife were hosting in a few weeks at their home. As he was about to finish the last spoonful of his soup it happened. With great surprise he said, “Look what is in my soup!” It was a fly. I motioned to the waitress, and as she approached and saw the fly Bert was holding on his spoon she immediately gasped and apologized. “I am very sorry,” she said as she quickly retrieved the empty bowl, spoon and fly from in front of Bert. In a very nervous voice she asked, “Would you like another bowl?”

Bert replied, “No.” She then excused herself and quickly went directly through the swinging door into the kitchen. Before a minute passed the waitress returned, and still nervous and with a cracking voice, said, “Sir I apologize. We have thrown all the soup away and we will not charge you for your entire meals.” Bert nodded his head and thanked her. As we left the restaurant Bert turned to me and said, “Well one of my party problems is solved. I am going to use this restaurant to cater our party.”

The waitress turned a “Fly in the Soup” into what may be the largest catering job they have ever had. All because she knew what to do when there is a fly in the soup.

Do you and your representatives know what to do when there is a fly in your customer’s soup?

The fly may be a late delivery, a telephone call not returned in a timely manner, a product or employee not performing up to the customer’s expectations, or one of many things not delivered as promised. The Fly is a problem, and if you and your representatives do not know how to react positively for the customer immediately, you are not going to turn a fly in the soup into a sale.

You do not have to give your products and services away as this waitress did, but you must do something, immediately to regain the customer’s trust. There are just too many other places for your customers to purchase your products and services for you to neglect the need to be prepared to turn a fly in the soup into a loyal customer.



2 ways to prepare for your “Flies in the soup:
1. Predetermine what to do:
A. Write down all the obvious negative (flies in the soup) situations that have arisen or may arise. Do this with all of your representative (sales professionals, delivery personnel, cleaning crew, etc.).
B. Have them help you come up with actions to take when these situations arise. Actions, which can be done on the spot as the flies in the soup situations happen, and actions that can be done without anyone else’s approval.
2. 100% Customer-Centered:
It is very easy to turn a fly in the soup into a lifelong customer if everyone in your organization is 100% Customer-Centered.

When your business is 100% Customer-Centered, everything you say and do will be about the customer, not about you.

One-way to be 100% Customer-Centered is to practice what baseball great Reggie Jackson, of the New Your Yankees called W.I.T. Whatever It Takes. Reggie believes he became one of the sports greatest home run hitters because he did whatever it took to become the best.

I adapted W.I.T. in 1990, for our retail stores, and yes our expenses did increase because we replaced items that did not perform up to the customer’s expectations when we might have been able to adjust them or convince the customer to settle. But, our sales exploded to levels we never dreamed we could reach, and over time we greatly decreased our advertising cost as our customers recommend us constantly to their friends, colleagues and relatives.

For Special Report # 121B “Why & How to Be 100% Customer-Centered” email Bob at
Bob@BobJanet.com with Special report # 121 B in the subject line

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Article Tags: bert, empty bowl, fly, fly in the soup, good friend, job, lunch, many things, spoon, surprise, swinging door, timely manner, waitress



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Re: Politeness! - I sometimes find that people these days will actually go out of their way to be rude when filing a complaint. For instance, why can't a customer just say a simple "no thank you" rather than writing in an angry tone or making threats? Of course the customer is always right, so as professionals we have to suck it in and be the bigger person... but is there a better way to deal with rude clients? When I used to work at McDonald's, I recall the store manager actually yelled back at the customer who shouted profanities at a teenage employee since the order was taking so long. While the store manager didn't use any vulgar language, he still firmly told the customer to leave the store because he wouldn't serve someone who was so rude.
Starting A Business - go get a customer! you can have a great idea but if you don't have a customer you'll never be successful. Build a product / service around someone who will pay you for what you can offer! It's the best way to build a business.
Re: Politeness! - [quote="Kevin":2sd46jnv]I sometimes find that people these days will actually go out of their way to be rude when filing a complaint. For instance, why can't a customer just say a simple "no thank you" rather than writing in an angry tone or making threats? Of course the customer is always right, so as professionals we have to suck it in and be the bigger person... but is there a better way to deal with rude clients? When I used to work at McDonald's, I recall the store manager actually yelled back at the customer who shouted profanities at a teenage employee since the order was taking so long. While the store manager didn't use any vulgar language, he still firmly told the customer to leave the store because he wouldn't serve someone who was so rude.[/quote:2sd46jnv] I think that this is the right thing to do. Nobody should have to put up with rudeness or abuse even by a customer. If the customer cannot behave in a decent manner, I would quietly tell them that until they can treat me with respect I would prefer not to deal with them. I have been in that position and will not allow anyone to behave badly to me. In fact people will only behave badly towards you if you allow it. MichelleJ
Important tips for online business - 1.Traffic. Without traffic, you have nothing. It is like having a store where nobody walks through the door. Without traffic, there is none to buy your product. 2. Your Sales Letter. This is where you sell your product. It is of vital importance that you have a sales letter that converts, and you should work on it continuously to increase conversion. Otherwise those prospects that you have got to your website will just leave and go somewhere else. 3. Your list! You should continuously be trying to build your list and your network. It is easier to convert a qualified prospect into a customer, and an existing customer in to a repeat customer. Hope this helps guys!
Re: Get Improved Sales Optimization - Great Information Jason! As per the online business perspective, every user looking for relevant information and user friendly website structure. You can also provide 24hr customer support to make your customer reliable and easy.


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