The importance of the moment of truth
A typical Friday night begins with a family dinner in a friendly atmosphere. This time we decided to visit one of our favorite restaurants for a light sushi dinner. Upon arrival we were amazed. Usually this place is packed on Friday nights. Today, more than half of the seats are empty. Therefore, getting in and sitting on the conveyor belt is very easy. Before the waitress has a chance to approach us, we have already had a few dishes with Sushi. We tell the waitress that apart from some drinks, we don’t need to order from the menu.
She confirms “So you take the buffet for two adults and a teenager?” “You call it buffet? We just want you to count the number of dishes as usual.” “Sorry, we no longer offer this. We offer buffet instead. Prices are ….”
A little disappointed and caught in the act we decided to stay and surrender to the new scheme. And of course we eat more than expected, since we pay for it anyway. While we eat and enjoy Sushi we draw some conclusions: It is not surprising that this place is half empty. People definitely don’t like the new scheme. Did you see that half of the self-service screens are broken? So is the knowledge of the product on the part of the staff.
After finishing more food than originally desired, we asked the waitress for the bill. Another waitress comes to our table and starts counting the dishes. Now we are very perplexed. “Did we think you weren’t counting the dishes anymore? Did your colleague tell us we had to take the buffet …?” During some round trips we don’t get any answers to our question about what the restaurant’s pricing strategy is. I give up and walk over to the cashier, still feeling cheated, hoping that he will admit his big mishap and compensate us with a refund or a voucher or something like that, and I apologize. Nothing. I paid the price of the buffet.
They will surely not see us in this place again.
Conclution
A “Moment of Truth” is the moment when the business interacts with the buyer. Careful product development, successful marketing, and perfect product preparation can easily be destroyed by minor mishaps during the moment of truth. Unfortunately, in a restaurant you have a series of these moments, all of which can dramatically shape the impression of the experience. Often times, this experience is much more important than the price or even the food itself.
The later in service delivery the Moment of Truth turns bad, the less time is left to remedy it. If the remedy is not applied on the spot, the possibility may disappear forever, along with the client.