Lagniappe is a term commonly used in one region of the country. It means a little something extra, often in the context of a service or purchase (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagniappe ) In my opinion, it is a key part of exceptional customer service and may reflect corporate culture. When producing a product or offering a service, does the company give a little lagniappe?
Lagniappe and customer service
While eating lunch at a local Elevation Burger, I observed a situation that started me thinking about this topic. A customer from the next table (one of two people) asked an employee for some Elevation sauce. The employee began to walk to the counter, but then stopped to ask how many. The patron was already walking back to his table and couldn’t hear the question. The employee had three options to make a decision:
- Walk 10-15 feet to the customer’s table and ask how many cups to bring
- Count the number of people at the table and bring a cup for each person
- Only bring one cup because that was the bare minimum
Which option did the employee choose?
Human nature loves to satisfice (see Nobel laureate Herbert Simon’s work in that area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing). But, good training could make up for that. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here. The employee yelled one more time, then gave up, and walked to the kitchen for one cup of Elevation sauce. Maybe the patron only wanted one (although there were two people at the table), but that’s not the point. The employee should be trained to make the correct choice–#2 (it’s logical and safe from a customer service perspective).
What is the lesson about corporate culture and lagniappe?
There was a lack of customer service at this location which may reflect the corporate culture. This employee didn’t go above and beyond for a simple request, and the cashier forgot to give customers cups and didn’t ask if they would like anything else with their order. At the least, complimentary Elevation sauce should be offered given how much the company highlights it.
The gold standard is the Ritz-Carlton—they are famous for their Ladies and Gentleman going above and beyond for any request, often coming up with novel solutions. If you ask for one keepsake, you’ll often end up with that item, plus 1-2 more, plus something else nice that you didn’t even know to request. I know this may be an unfair comparison given the level of staff, luxury, clientele, expectations, etc. at the Ritz Carlton. A more apples to apples comparison is Starbucks (similar pool of staff to select from for hiring, similar clientele, similar industry). It’s very common to be offered a sample or asked if you would like extra items (the barista’s are trained to ask). That’s part of the success of Starbucks.
Is this example a sign of the corporate culture at Elevation Burger generally or just this site/local management? I don’t know–I haven’t sampled more locations at more times. But, it inspired me to think more about the role of lagniappe and corporate culture in providing exceptional customer service and the possible effect it has on success.
