One Step From Flawless | Accelerate Success with Lorraine Moore

Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan has been operating in a historic building for over 20 years. While attending meetings in Manhattan, my American colleagues and Constance Dierickx and Linda Henman and I went to Gramercy for lunch.

Although we arrived late for our reservation, they were welcoming and courteous. Forsythia branches, pussy willows, and early spring flowers contrasted beautifully against the dark wooden structures and reminded me of France in the spring. We were offered seating in the more casual bar area and the dining room.

After we settled into the dining room, we learned that we could not order the appealing burger featured on their website menu.

Kelsey, our gracious waitress, explained that the burger was not available in the dining room, only in the more casual area called the tavern. She provided the rationale, but frankly, as three business experts, it did not make good sense to any of us. She offered to serve us anything from either dining room or tavern menus, except the burgers. She also told us the burgers were excellent.

Although the tavern was noisier, we opted to relocate so two of us could order burgers. She found us the quietest table possible and passed us off to another friendly, humorous and highly engaged server, Carolyn.

The chef beautifully adjusted the squash flatbread so that I could enjoy it dairy free – fabulous! By all accounts, the burgers lived up to their reputation and the cookie plate offered a variety of mouth-watering choices. No tips were accepted, for the meal or coat check.

Our experience was highly memorable for many reasons: the historic building, the well-appointed spring décor, two highly attentive and hospitable servers, excellent food….and a burger policy that creates additional work for the servers and a level of frustration for the customers.

Kelsey and Carolyn were heroically successful in their efforts to overcome our frustration and to accommodate our every wish. Just imagine how much more Kelsey, Carolyn and the rest of the staff could contribute if they were not hampered.

The whole experience was one step from flawless.

I advise many clients in service industries – retail and wholesale. Such levels of service are hard to achieve, particularly on a consistent basis – and so easy to erode.

What policies or practices are holding your company back from flawless? Ask your employees. Ask your customers.

Elevate your leadership performance by learning from some of the best. Pick up a copy of my book, The 360 Degree CEO: Generating Profits While Leading and Living with Passion and Principles available on Amazon.

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