Losing a Customer is This Easy

Last week, my husband and I revisited a restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine that we have enjoyed for about 10 years. The food is good, the prices are reasonable, and the casual, friendly atmosphere is right up our alley. I always look forward to their “Lazyman’s Lobster”, which they remove from the shell for you and serve in a bowl, doused in butter. Ah, what a sinful pleasure!

As I perused the menu, I realized that there was no Lazyman’s Lobster being offered. I decided to ask about it. The answer I got, “Well, we can do it if you insist… But we prefer to serve it whole, in the shell.” This was delivered with a sigh, a squirm, and a notable lack of eye contact.

I was not only disappointed, but annoyed with the response. Here was the unspoken conversation that did the real damage to our “relationship”:

HIM: “I’m really going to hate it if you insist.”
ME: “Of course you prefer to serve lobster whole, because it’s easier for YOU. But isn’t this supposed to be about ME?”
HIM: “I told the cooks they wouldn’t have to prepare Lazyman’s Lobster anymore.”
ME: “Don’t you have to take lobster out of the shell to prepare all this other stuff on the menu, like Lobster Rolls, Lobster Stew, and Stuffed Lobster? Why should this be a big deal?”
HIM: “I hate it when these tourists are too lazy to take apart a lobster themselves.”
ME: “Why didn’t I go down the street to ABC Restaurant, where they still have what I want on the menu and don’t make me grovel for it?”

It’s that easy to lose a customer. A bad decision, rolled eyes, the arrogance to ignore what your competition has to offer, and the inability to consistently make your business about delivering what your customers really want. This restaurant in Kennebunkport will probably never notice when I don’t return or recommend their establishment again, but I have to think that they are slowly and silently losing market share with this attitude. It’s a slippery slope.