Birthday lunches and employees that count

So yesterday was Anna's birthday--for those of you who haven't talked to Anna, she is our frontline recruiter.

We took Anna out for lunch to celebrate at YiaYia's, a restaurant in Germantown. Our service started out OK, but swiftly went downhill as drinks were not right, food didn't come out in the correct scheduled order, etc....Now one note: Anna demands very good customer service and speaks up when she doesn't get it. (This is also one of the traits that makes her good at assessing talent) As our meal progressed, it became apparent our table wasn't happy and the manager, Brad, came over and apologized.


But Brad didn't just apologize. He made things right. He comped part of our meal, gave us discounts on the whole bill and gave us all gift certificates for future meals. Brad did all of this without being asked and without knowing that this was the third year in a row we had celebrated office birthdays at YiaYia's. Not only did he save the day, but he instilled a loyalty with us that could have easily walked out the door and chosen not to return.


My point? Finding employees and for us, potential candidates, that can exhibit the ability to not only resolve a problem but turn it into an opportunity to create brand loyalty--is a trait that we all look for and unfortunately, is not always easy to find. Creating customer satisfaction is part of everyone's job and occasions like this are are a strong reminder of the power of one person, one employee.


Our hats go off to Brad Skinner. We will be celebrating future birthdays at YiaYia's in the years to come.