Don’t Forget the Comeback Sauce!

I got a message from an old friend and colleague yesterday (just to clarify… our friendship is old she is not) sharing a story about a not so great customer service experience she had recently.

In her message she said…

I was thinking of you the other day and wished for a printed recipe card for your "Comeback Sauce".

I was at the tire dealer seeking a tire for our trailer. Side note - we are going to NJ to pick up some of the last items from my Dad's estate and thought a spare would be a good idea. Well one guy behind the counter was helping someone and the other counter person was on the phone looking for tires from another dealer or ??.

No problem they are busy and I am happy to wait. I'm patiently waiting and the phone guy hangs up, but he doesn't acknowledge me and proceeds to make a few more calls. Now I can understand if he said I'll be with you in a moment or how can I help or something before he proceeds to get back on phone.

At that point I felt like I had on my invisible cape, of course borrowed from Harry Potter. After another 5 minutes of being invisible I just left. Needless to say I won't be back at that place of business.

After the wonderful years of working with you, I thought boy they need some Comeback Sauce and wouldn't it be fun to leave them a recipe card!

Those words of wisdom continue ...

Do you think they would get it?

How many times have you wanted to do that?"

Now… I know that I have been adamant about the fact that The Butcher Block Exchange is a place to share inspirational food for thought and you might be asking yourself what is inspirational about sharing a not so great service story like this one?

Well… the inspiration for me came a result of noodling on her experience while drafting a response to her questions.

Below is a copy of my detailed reply for your consideration and consumption.

Hi there…

Hmmm… your message IS interesting Food for Thought!

The first thought I had after reading your post was… my Dad would be so proud that you are quoting him!

Next thought… I am sorry you had such a frustrating service experience… unfortunately these days I am finding that you are not alone and yes I have felt the same way many times.

I actually have had numerous Lunchmeat & Life Lessons readers ask what "a recipe for Comeback Sauce” might look like and as a result I put one together that I often share when speaking about the book.

So… here goes… the recipe for Comeback Sauce is:

Comeback Sauce Recipe

1. One Part Recognition
2. One Part Connection
3. Add a Dose of the Unexpected
4. Pour on Liberally & Often

If you would like to know a few more secrets behind the sauce you can check out the YouTube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/maryblucas#p/u/7/sKOcFOTfJmg

Can you just imagine the difference in the interaction you had if the people you mentioned would have followed the recipe above?

Instead of the frustrating experience you detailed in your message I am thinking your exchange might have played out more like this?

ONE PART RECOGNITION:

You walked in to the dealership and the employee on the phone looks up at you acknowledging that you entered the room and he smiles at you holding up his finger and mouths the words “I will be right with you… hang in there with me ok?” and gestures for you to take a seat.

The other guy helping the customer smiles as well and says “thanks for coming in” and something like “I am with a customer just now so Joe here will be with you shortly”.

ONE PART CONNECTION:

While waiting for the “phone guy” to end his conversation you look around the dealership and you continue to be acknowledged while he is winding up the phone call with eye contact, a nod, a smile and some gesture like “hang in there I am winding up the conversation right now”.

The other guy continues to work with his customer and keeps looking over his shoulder to make sure you are ok. “Phone guy” finishes the call with some comment like… “Thank’s for calling I promise we will take good care of you when you come in so I hope to see you soon” and you get a good feeling about him from the interaction you just over heard. He hangs up the phone stands up and walks over to greet you warmly with another smile and an extended hand and says “Thank you for waiting on me now I can totally focus on YOU. So what brings you to our dealership and how can I help you?”

ADD A DOSE OF THE UNEXPECTED:

You share your concerns about the car with him and during that exchange you mention that you are heading to New Jersey to finish packing up your Father’s estate… he asks about your Father’s passing and expresses his genuine sympathy and concern for your loss. He then proceeds to help you with your spare tire question and the wait is a distant memory as the warmth of the exchange has melted Harry Potter’s invisible cape and the last thing you feel at the moment is invisible.

WHY? Because “phone guy” and “the other guy” already know the recipe for “Comeback Sauce” and have obviously been pouring it on their customers for years! That is why the place is so busy!

Thanks again for sharing your comments and questions. Oh and as far as your last question “Do you think they would get it?”

My answer is NO… I don’t they would and I don’t think I would waste my time giving the recipe out to people like the “phone guy” and his co-worker.

In an example like the one you described I think I would have just walked away as well smiling and waving on my way out mouthing something like… “seems like you are really busy and I am sorry we could not connect... have a great day” and leave it at that.

I have found that the people who don’t have an appetite or aptitude to mix up a batch of Comeback Sauce are pretty easy to spot and I think that handing them a recipe card would just be wasteful. We both know where it would end up.

I do however think that this not so secret recipe should be shared with people that already have an appetite for it and by sharing it with them it may even inspire them to pour on more.

So... here is my inspirational thought for the day… thanks to my friend Roberta's suggestion.

What if we all made up recipe cards and carried them around with us and anytime someone poured Comeback Sauce on us we could leave them a card as a sign of our appreciation? One side of the card could have the recipe printed on it and the other a note reading something like this:

Date: (Fill in)
Location: (Fill in)

Dear --------- (Write in name),

Thanks for treating me so well today, because of you I had a great experience here at -----.

Rest assured I will be back the very next chance I get and I will tell others about how great you are to work with as well!

Again Thank YOU… you are just exceptional at what you do and I thought you should know that!

All the BEST!

Signature (Fill in)

You know... we might just be on to something here... by leaving these Comeback Sauce cards for worthy recipients we would actually be pouring Comeback Sauce on the very people that poured Comeback Sauce on us!

Sweet… Comeback Sauce double dipping!