Word Of the Week #36: Experience

April 21, 2009 by · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #36: Experience 

Experience: what people see, hear, and feel.

Playa Del Carmen Restaurant

Playa Del Carmen Restaurant

 What kind of experience do your customers, guests and members have in your establishment?

When I was in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico this year, I took a picture of a restaurant with a banner draped across the front that read:

“IF THIS IS NOT A GREAT DINING EXPERIENCE YOU DON’T PAY!”

How many of you would be willing to do that?

In my WOW #31, I wrote that value was a combination of product, service and atmosphere. To make the point this week about how important the experience (atmosphere) is, I will share what Bill Marvin, the Restaurant Doctor, wrote in his weekly e-letter.

In an interview in the Boston Globe, Howard Schulz, Chairman and CEO of Starbuck’s, said in part:

“We are in the business of creating an experience in our stores that goes well beyond the product. The product is not just the coffee, it’s the relationship we have with our guests, the environment, the music, the entire setting. Our primary goal is not to increase transactions; it’s to increase the experience in our stores.”

A Note from the Doc: Starbuck’s has created an empire (and gets $3 a cup) because they do not sell coffee … they sell an EXPERIENCE based around coffee. What is the experience in YOUR place … and what are you doing to increase it?

So well said, I needn’t say more!