Creating An Unforgettable Experience

Here is a lesson we learned this week about the power of creating an unforgettable experience, in view of creating long-term relationships rather than short-term gains.

It was a warm summers morning in Auckland, the sun was shining and we were on the hunt for a coffee shop. From our Auckland office, we knew there were two baristas close by, one to the left and one to the right both within 100m. Having been to neither we took a random punt and choose the right.

Walking into the small French cafe, a warm smiling face greeted us with a ‘Bonjour’, nothing too out of the ordinary however we felt at home. She took our order and as the cafe was small in size we wandered out the door to the outdoor seating to wait for our takeaway coffees to be made.

It wasn’t long before a man from the cafe popped over and began chatting. He asked all about where we had come from and why we visited his cafe. We discovered he was the owner of the cafe and started the cafe during covid when he lost his job with Air New Zealand. We finished our chat and he went back inside. We turned to each other and commented on his warmness and discussed what nice customer service he had delivered us. It appeared he was out to make an impression in the cafe industry and deliver a friendly experience.

Within a few minutes his wife came out with our coffees and we were about to leave when he ran out with two little brown packages. He handed them to us and asked us to try a slice of his favourite French cuisine from his bakery along with our coffee for free. The little morsels were very tasty and had us heading back to the office singing his praises.

Our order wasn’t big, we made no promises to be a regular or large customer or to even come back. He knew we were from Timaru but he went to the effort anyway to make us feel special and valued.

His warm gesture, brought us back for lunch that day, coffee & breakfast the next morning, and then a purchase of a $100.00 gift card for our team so they could support his little start-up too. No doubt we will be back many more times to catch up with our friend at the coffee shop!

TAKE AWAY: A moment of generosity could turn into a lifetime relationship with any of our customers.

How will you ensure you create an unforgettable experience for each and every one of your guests? Make every stay memorable!