Good Service, Poor Hospitality

Service and Hospitality are two completely different things, but are often confused as one and the same. To me, they can be defined as the following:

Customer Service - The provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

Hospitality - The way this service makes a guest feel before, during and after a visit.

Companies spend loads of money on hiring and training new employees, as well as current ones, on customer service issues. They work hard to project a positive image onto the public. Why is it that most (not all) independent restaurants get it right, but most (not all) corporations get it wrong when it comes to achieving customer loyalty?

No matter how big or small, the front lines and store level management make or break a restaurant. An small, independent operator has the authority to make his or her own decisions. If they want to give away a free dessert, by all means they do it. If they wish to publicly curse an out of line customer, they can do that too. Right or wrong for their business, they can do this.

Corporate chains that sincerely care about hospitality, and not just good service, empower their employees to make on the spot decisions. Most of them do not and require strict corporate policy to be followed, essentially making managers robots. Last time I checked, hospitality was a people business.

I had an experience with corporate chain Panera Bread this past weekend that was a perfect example. This is an establishment I have frequented for nearly 10 years. I like the food, the coffee and the atmosphere. The service is average to good, but never stellar.

The problem I have with Panera Bread is their wi-fi policy. They have a restriction on time access of 30 minutes between peak hours. The problem here is, that they are driving out their most loyal customers. I am one among many who will meet friends, colleagues, clients and family to work, do homework or just read the news for hours at a time.

I understand the theory behind this policy. Unlimited wi-fi means squatters. Squatters mean less table turns. Less table turns means less money. Therefore, 30 minute time restrictions means more money. This is fine, as they are in business to make money. The issue is the staff's lack of authority to solve customer issues involving this restriction.

Let me just say that the manager on duty was excellent, and I have received a phone call from the General Manager. They were both great, but the corporate policy restricted their ability to extend genuine hospitality to me or other patrons. The manager had no authority to grant me extended wi-fi access, even though their were plenty of empty tables and I posed no threat to their revenue intake.

When I asked about the policy, I was directed to a customer service hot line to reinstate my connection. Really, a hot line? What I found out was that the hot line was in fact a company that Panera contracts out to in order to avoid dealing with their customers directly. They told me to contact someone in Panera corporate, but would not give me a number.

Unable to find a corporate email, I did the next best thing. I sent a direct message and friend request to Panera founder and CEO Ron Shaich on FaceBook. I have yet to receive a response, but I am hoping he will respond. Maybe he and I will be able to meet one on one over a cup of coffee.

During off-peak hours of course.

I would explain to him how I was unable to finish my taxes online. I had chosen to do this at Panera, because taxes are stressful and usually his store is a stress reliever.

Or about the girls next to me working on a midterm exam online. Oops! They were also booted out. I hope they didn't fail the glass.

Or the family in the booth working on their family tree. Excitement over reaching out to relatives dashed precisely at Noon.

At what expense does a company make extra money? Losing their most loyal customers goes against the entire spirit of the hospitality business.

Floor management excelled at great customer service. Panera's corporate policy chewed up genuine hospitality and spit it out.