I really like eating a good steak, but honestly good steak is very hard to find. And even though I live in Boston – a major city in the U.S. - I can count the number of terrific steak restaurants on two hands. That said, there are a few really good ones and I was especially excited last Saturday, knowing I was going to one of them; Grill 23. I was so excited, I tweeted: “Dinner tonight – going to one of Boston’s premier steak and seafood restaurants - @grill23andbar. (Top 5 in my opinion).”
Well, to my surprise, I received a tweet back from Grill 23 and they said: “@ValaAfshar we will do our very best to make sure you have a great time, so that we can stay high on your top 5!!” Being in the customer service business, and adopting a social enterprise mindset, I was delighted to receive a prompt and welcoming reply from one of my favorite restaurants. In fact, at this point, they had achieved a milestone – a satisfied customer. But the story does not end here.
I arrived 30 minutes before my reservation and normally when you represent a larger party – 6 in my case – you would wait by the bar before your entire party arrives, before you can be seated. Not tonight. I was promptly greeted, given the option to sit at the table, and had arguably the best services that I had ever received throughout the course of the evening. Friendly staff, engaged management, attentive service… absolutely brilliant. To be fair, the service is always very good, but for this particular evening, the service was exceptional.
Now I have no insight in terms of how Grill 23 prepared for my arrival, given the social media correspondence, and whether that influenced the quality of service, but I like to think that it did. At this point, Grill 23 achieved a second milestone – a delighted, perhaps committed customer. I might even consider moving them to a top-3 position on my ‘restaurants in Boston’ list.
Now I have no insight in terms of how Grill 23 prepared for my arrival, given the social media correspondence, and whether that influenced the quality of service, but I like to think that it did. At this point, Grill 23 achieved a second milestone – a delighted, perhaps committed customer. I might even consider moving them to a top-3 position on my ‘restaurants in Boston’ list.
I really like a good steak. But what I love even more, is a superb customer experience. Thanks to social media, and Grill 23’s customer engagement strategy, I was able benefit from both.
Well done Grill 23 (for the record, I like medium rare; I bet you already know that).
