The silent enemy in your business

I have a weakness for soup and bread. So am I always looking for restaurants offering fresh soup and bread. I have found a few in my area and sometimes I travel far if I know that the trip will bring a great experience.

Today I stopped at a restaurant that I have visited many times. To my surprise I noticed that very few cars were in the parking lot, even though it was only a little past lunch time. I almost turned around, but having my tasting buds urging me to sample the soup I got out of the car and went in.

I asked what the soup of the days was. No answer. So I went to the soup kettle and read the little sign indicating that the choice of the day was: Vegetable soup. I asked for a cup and paid for it. The soup seemed to be the same quality as before, but I also noticed that the employee's demeanor was not very friendly. He never said hello or thank you.

I also noticed that I was the only customer in the restaurant. There were three employees involved in an animated conversation about sports. On my way out I also noticed that nobody said "Please come back or thank you".

As I sat in my car I could not help but to think that maybe the reason that this restaurant is on its way down is because the employees are contributing to its demise.

So now the business has two enemies: the employees (inside) and me (outside). I have talked extensively about this problem in my previous marketing seminars. Do you think that I would go back? Would I recommend this place? Most likely I will tell my friends and my enemies about the poor quality of this place. NO, I am not vindictive. But I go out of my way to promote business with friendly ambiance and it is only fair that I would do the opposite.

Do you have a business? And if so, do you train your employees? Do you have a manual showing how to greet customers and how to handle situations where the customer is not satisfied?

I can say today is a sad day. One less place to have soup and bread.