Seven Deadly Sins Case Study

Laws of Service Case Study

Danielle Gagnon

To be a part of a customer service oriented business you must be aware of the customer’s needs and wants and be appreciative of them.  As well you must be in tune with what your customers will come to expect from the type of service you provide.

In the case study, the restaurant failed to meet the guest’s expectations by not being accessible, consistent or empathetic.  They were not accessible because they implied that they were not available for when Mrs. Cooper’s party wanted them to be.  They lacked consistency when they tried to get Mrs. Cooper to switch their reservation which would normally have not been an issue.  As well they were not empathetic by not trying to be accommodating to Mrs. Cooper’s needs and not seeing the situation from her view.

The restaurant presented an unprofessional look in all aspects.  The employee and manager were unprofessional because you should never put your own personal wants in front of what your customer wants and needs.  As well, they were unprofessional because they didn’t assess their customer’s needs as everyone in the customer service industry should.

They also committed one of the worst seven deadly sins by implying that the customer and their needs were unimportant.  Regardless of whether or not they were a celebrity they should be able to expect what they want when they want it.  In essence, every customer is valuable regardless of status.

One of the behavioral clues that the hostess missed was when Mrs. Cooper paused after she alerted her of the situation.  This pause meant that Mrs. Cooper was probably upset that her plans weren’t going as scheduled and that she was disappointed in the restaurants priorities.

As well, the hostess missed another behavioral clue when Mrs. Cooper called and said “we’ll just go somewhere tonight so you can entertain your celebrity”.  Although it may be difficult to recover since this is after Mrs. Cooper and her party had made their decision the hostess could still have picked up on how Mrs. Cooper presented her feelings on the situation.  Her comment was somewhat sarcastic and implied that she felt unimportant because they had replaced them with a celebrity.

Obviously this situation could have been avoided if the employees were trained properly, including the manager himself.  Proper customer service starts with proper training and being able to perceive people properly.